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I have been fretting that when school was out, the kids would spend too much time in front of the TV or computer screen. I came up with idea to give the kids 30 minute media chips that they can spend and earn.  Here’s how it works:

Each morning they are issued their first two chips after they have gotten dressed and made their bed.  They can earn additional chips by doing reading, writing, or math activities.  Isaac loves to read, so I had to stipulate that they have to do all three learning activities before they can repeat any activity.

Media chips can be redeemed for video games, movies, or computer games. When they redeem a chip, I set a timer for them.  If they stop or manipulate the timer, they lose the rest of their chips for the day.  The only exception is that they can stop it to use the restroom. 

So far I’ve been pleased with the results.  The kids have gotten dressed and made their beds without me asking and when they want more media–they request school work.  Plus,  the majority of their time has been spent playing with toys or playing outside.

The picture above is of what I made for this program.  The media chips were made in a document on the computer then printed,cut out, glued on a piece of scrapbook paper and laminated.  I used a big yogurt container to store the media chips in and I laminated some envelopes with the kids names on them for them to keep their own media chips in.  I also added yarn to one and attached the other to a necklace so they could wear them or hang them.