Rewarding Summer Homework

This summer I had the kids doing homework so they did not get too far behind for school in fall by forgetting everything they had been learning.  I didn't assign a lot of homework.  The math, reading, and handwriting worksheets only took them about 30 minutes to complete.  But it was still good to keep them in learning mode.

For the math portion, I used the Khanacademy.com website which is a great online resource for learning and practicing math skills because the problems progressively get a little harder as you improve.  This website also provides hints and solutions to make sure that your kids understand the answers.  It is also a great way for your school kids to practice their computer skills.  Just click on "Practice" at the top of the page and you'll lots of different math topics to choose from.  I also included my own timed math tests as part of the homework.

For reading, I had my kids choose a book and read it out loud with me.  Then to practice their handwriting, they had lined paper to practice.  We're working on cursive letters, so I gave them a writing sample they had to copy to have them practice the different letters.

As an incentive for completing all of their summer homework, my kids earned a tickets.  

I made my own tickets by putting stickers on some small rectangular pieces of card stock.  You can also purchase a large amount of tickets at Michaels or other general store.

Then the weekend before school started they were able to "cash in" their tickets at our own homemade movie theater.  I simple displayed some movies that we already had (because, let's me honest, we have quite a few that we don't watch very often).  I also made a "Show Times" schedule to make our movie theater more realistic.

I had a small concession stand available where they could use their to purchase Pizza, candy, popcorn, drinks, and cotton candy.  I made sure to get my kids' favorite treats and drinks for them to buy at the concession stand.

You can decide how many tickets each movie or treat is worth, you can see my "prices" for the concessions in the picture above. 

Even though school has just started for many school-aged kids, you can still reward them for a summer of hard work.  Or, now as they complete their real homework, this could be a good reward/incentive to work towards--a fun movie night with the family!