Cowabunga Bay Baby/ Marble Jars

The kids' earned a trip to Cowabunga Bay....they have Mason Jars where they can earn marbles for jobs etc...and the first line was a trip to Cowabunga Bay....all 3 kids earned it!

The marble jar has been the BEST reward system we have ever done...and the one that has stuck for the longest amount of time.

Juice and I made a list of "jobs" or ways to earn marbles...then next to each job is an amount ex: 1 Marble 2 Marbles ...etc....depending on how big the job is...almost all are 1 marble...but some of the bigger jobs, like cleaning the playroom, will earn them more.....emptying the dishwasher, taking out garbage, cleaning their room, cleaning bathrooms etc..are all 1 marble.  They clean up the backyard, pull weeds, wipe baseboards and fingerprints, dust...etc....
also for good behavior, helping others out, good deed for a neighbor, and they can get a marble for making healthy food choices and trying new foods, also going to bed w/out a problem etc....not just jobs.

We pretty much give marbles for anything positive...and it's fun to give  then for lots of things because I have found that the more they earn, the more excited they get and the more motivated they stay...
also, there is something about the sound of the marble dropping into the jar...
when one child earns one and puts his/her marble into the jar, it makes a loud sound, and the other kids come running to see what that kid did to earn a marble...it's fun...
plus, just the fun of picking which marble you are going to put in your jar has been fun...
I know...kids are simple...
really.

They have LOVED this system....and so have I.  The main reason is that I don't have to ask them to do anything...at all.  It is totally up to them as to whether or not they do anything to earn marbles....and they all want to.

It is actually a fight as to who empties the dishwasher because they think that is an "easy" marble......sweet huh?

The first line was drawn 2 marble heights up from the bottom of the jar....which really is more marbles than you think....I think it took around 39 marbles to get there....that's a lot of jobs...each kid 39 marbles x3 = lots of jobs!! 

Anyway, i'll post a picture of their jars soon.......it's nothing fancy....but you can have the kids make them all cute...we just took a Sharpie to them and wrote their names...they were worried that if they glued decorations etc. onto the jars, they couldn't see their marble progression ;)

The next line they get to they get $15 each....they also have another line coming up soon where if they hit it, then they get to pick a night and stay up as late as they want (which hardly EVER goes past 11:30pm) :) but they love it.

So, today is Cowabunga Bay all day passes (which I got for 1/2 price here) ...with Pizza and a bucket of fries and soda!  They can hardly wait!

***forgot to mention a very important part of the marble reward jars....they "lose their marbles" heehee....yes, you can take marbles away from them...which I have to admit has not happened that often because they have been sooo driven!  They also can "pay" a sibling w/a marble to do something for them...which has only happened once or twice...noone wants to lose a marble.***