You don't get what you wish for, you get what you WORK for.

We took a different approach to summer free time and "chores" this year. We told them the story of Genesis 29: how Jacob worked for YEARS for Rachel and instead he was presented with Leah. Then how he worked MORE and eventually got to marry Rachel.

We applied it to games, tv time, and outside play. We didn't really put a lot of restrictions on them (except for the no games on Sundays rule), just asked them to come to us with suggestions of what they could do to "earn" free time to do things they like.

Wow... my bathroom was deep cleaned, my dining room and living room were picked up instantly, and my entry way was moped! I didn't have to go INSANE to get anything accomplished! I wonder how long this will last! Exciting!

Last year we used "tech tickets" and it became clear that when they didn't want to do anything to earn tech tickets, they would just go outside. So we changed it to "whatever it is that you want in that moment."

We were a little shocked at what they chose to do with their "earned free time,"  P wanted to read, M wanted to play outside, the boys wanted to play Wii and the two littles wanted to play the iPad (which only has educational apps on it). They each got 30 min. of time to do what they wanted and now we move on with our day!

I'll let you know how the rest of the summer goes!