SPRING is officially here! I opened my windows and let fresh air fill our house. I wanted to just play outside all day and not do the Spring Cleaning that was calling my name. It’s times like this–when there’s a lot to be done and no one wants to do it–that I call in the troops and we have SERVICE BUCKS (or sometimes we say Movie Bucks, you’ll see why). This is a fun way to have happy helpers when there is a lot of work or cleaning to be done. Plus, I’ve got a FREE PRINTABLE of PLAY MONEY for you HERE.
1) Using play money, I offer the kidlets $5 per job (the pink one). I make a list of all the jobs that need to be done in a certain amount of time (usually 2-3 hours). If needed I will assign certain jobs based on their age levels. I also tell them what jobs My Man and I are working on and we clean right alongside them. We turn up the music and just go! This is different than their regular job charts or daily jobs. This is a great Saturday afternoon activity. I rarely get whining from them when we do this.
2) The more jobs they complete, the more bucks they earn. When they complete a job, I’ll go check it, and if it is done well they get $5. I pay them right away so they can get a visual idea of how much they are collecting and it motivates them to go faster. They love the notion of getting paid $5 to sweep the floor.
3) When the cleaning time is done I open a Movie Concession Stand and we’ll watch a family movie that night. They get to spend their movie bucks at the stand for treats during the movie.
This is how I set it up. Nothing fancy. I treat them like real customers too.
4) I’ll usually combine the movie night with dinner. So they have to “buy” their dinner. I’ll have a main course and a drink they can buy. That way they don’t just spend their money on candy. But they can choose. This time I had corn dogs (yes, I actually bought a box of corn dogs . . . I’m one of those moms after all). A corn dog costs $5 in movie bucks each and so do the drinks.
5) In order to encourage them to eat something healthy, I’ll always provide a few free options. Low fat popcorn is always free, along with a fruit like apple slices (since it is dinnertime).
6) The other items for sale are candy for the movie. Each one is $5 each (just like the inflated prices at the real movie theaters). The high price also keeps them from overloading on too much candy.
I only buy small treats and I don’t spend a lot on it. I’ll get something that they don’t always get or our favorites. These lemon heads are only 25 cents in real life. But at my store they are $5!
Peeps are fun because we rarely get them . . . and yes, it was $5 per Peep.
In the end, the kidlets love being able to choose what to “buy” for their own dinner and having candy as a option is a huge plus. They work really hard and will usually earn about $20 in Movie Bucks each. That’s enough to get them a corn dog, drink, and 2 candies, plus some free popcorn. Movie Bucks are only good for this one night.
Then we all sit down and watch a movie together in our sparkling clean house.
Hope you find a way to enjoy Spring Cleaning with your family this year!
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