Ok What is a rewards chart with a medieval style money bag and coins? I was trying to come up with a way to have my kids 'earn' without having to spend a lot of money that I didn't have to give them. A way to also teach my kids frugality and working for what you have/want without necessarily having to dole out 'allowances' every week. I don't think that kids should be 'paid' for chores...but sometimes incentives are fun. This is what my brain(with the help of God) came up with:
We chose to use jobs they have to do anyway. They are things that are expected of them...just because we are a family and all family contributes to the well-being of the household. BUT..like I said we wanted to teach them certain things and frankly, I'm tired of having to remind them to do this stuff EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!!!! They are 13 and 11 for heaven's sake. I should NOT have to remind them to pick up the bathroom after usage and comb your hair and brush your teeth before leaving the house. Yet I do. Daily. Everything on the "Jobs" list has to be completed without me reminding them. If I see it before they do it, they don't 'earn' the coins for the day. They still have to do the job, but they get no rewards from it. (for instance, My son was the last one out of the shower today. It was his job to pick up the bath mat, make sure the curtain was closed and pick up his dirty clothes from the floor...he didn't. I saw it. He has to still do it..just no rewards.)
From there we then gave each 'job' a 'value'. If I do this...I earn this for it. You can see in the picture below what types of jobs I used and what kinds of values I gave them. (You customize this to fit your family...you are not required to follow my list) What you can't see on the list is the things like "for every 'A' you can earn 10 coins, every 'B' 7 coins...etc" I home school the kids and I thought this would be a good incentive to do well on their assignments and tests. My MIL gave me a good idea too...for every 'D' or 'F' they would have to PAY me back! That's awesome! Thanks for the idea, Ann! Anything that needed a 'disclaimer' on it, I put it on there in red or another color. (i.e. Our household jobs like dusting/vacuuming/mowing the lawn are available to only one child in a week. I think I would love the cleanliness...but the house being dusted 10 times in a week??? A bit excessive...and I know my children would do it just to earn the coins....LOL) I also put what was expected of a certain job in red. Like for us, clean/organize the Living Room means to fold and put away all the blankets, pick up the movies and put back on the shelf, make sure all dishes have left the room and straighten up the coffee table. It might mean something totally different to your family. That's the beauty...this is totally customizable to your family, your needs, your children's ages and ability levels. Mine are 13 and 11...so not only do I place a larger 'value' on the jobs..but it also costs them a great deal more to 'buy' rewards! :) Oh one more thing: I put a green dot next to all jobs that are required daily. I even put on there "Daily Hygiene w/o having to be reminded...must have parental approval before claiming". We have a 'list' in the mornings that I have to run through with my 11 yo EVERY DAY! Hair, teeth, pits, underwear. The boy would go commando every day if I let him. And he stinks from more than one spot on his body...and he hates to brush his hair...I'll let you know if this list actually works to correct any of it and make him more responsible for himself (a plea to God...Pleaaaase)!!! LOL
They get 'paid' their coins every day before bed.
**side note** We took our 'jobs' list to a local sign company and had them laminate it. It cost us $4.75 and we can use dry erase markers on it. A wise investment so you can use your list for a longgggg time!
Here's a supplies list for the Charts: (I only have two kids, you might need more poster board for more kids)
2 pieces 20"x28" poster board (got mine 2/$1 at the dollar store)
Markers of choice
Long ruler
List of Jobs and corresponding 'job worth'
Here we get to the FUN and REWARDS portion of the charts. I started out writing things down that I thought the kids would think were great rewards. As a matter of fact I thought some of the rewards like "mom picks up dirty clothes" would end up fueling their imagination and they would be all about 'what kind of dirty things can we make mom and dad do'.... Not so when it came down to it. I asked them to read over what I had put down for rewards like "I get to choose the movie for the night" or "I get to rent a movie" or "I don't have to empty the dishwasher for a day/week"..stuff like that. When they thought up rewards it was nothing like what I was expecting. My son was all about getting done with school early or getting extra time on breaks and things like that. My daughter was into buying picnics at the park or going swimming at the pool or buying an hour with mom or dad and doing whatever they wanted with them alone(excluding spending $). (Please don't get the idea that we spend no time with our kids...it's just usually all together as a family.) I wanted to include them in choosing the rewards because, ultimately, it was going to have to appeal to them if they were going to work towards it.
We placed high values on most of this stuff because they have the 'potential' to earn close to 100 points in coins/day with just their daily stuff and grades. I didn't want them to think that they were just going to get it for nothing...because then it means nothing. This way if they have to earn for one or more days...it makes them think "What do I really want to spend my coins on?" "What is worth working that hard for?" (Early financial training, 13 yo has already decided she's going to spend only a portion of her coins for rewards and save some for really big rewards later. LOL. That's cool!)
Items that cost real money are only available on Fridays/Saturdays and only to one child per week. Once one child decides to buy that item (we decided that whoever earns the most coins in a week gets the chance to be the first one to 'buy' the real money items) then it goes on an every other week schedule. You will only be eligible to 'buy' that item every other week..if you choose not to buy that on your eligible week..then you forfeit until your next eligible week. So no fussing about how you didn't get a chance to buy it and you got skipped...blah, blah, blah...if the rules are in place before you begin...no one can fuss. Obviously you need to tailor this to your family and your financial situation. Our financial situation does not allow us to arbitrarily spend extra money for more than one or two things a week. That is the reason behind "One real money item per child/per week".
The mom and dad list is one of the most expensive lists. No way was I going to put a small amount up there for me and Tony to have to clean their rooms! If they want to save their coins and it means THAT MUCH to them for us to clean it...then I will do it for a 1,000 points in coins. LOL.
We also have a special times list that I didn't take a picture of. That's where it has the "15 extra minutes on break" or "Picnic at the park". I will let them pool their coins together to purchase things like 'swimming at the public pool' or 'picnic at the park' since these are items that the whole family would partake in anyway. I don't think that just one child or the other should have to pay for things like that.
Ok, now onto the crochet pattern(pics first, then patterns)!!
Medieval Money Bag and Coins
by Elizabeth Mareno 2008
***This pattern has been tested by no one but me..let me know if anything needs to be fixed!***
Materials List:
1/2 skein-Bernat Softee Chunky Acrylic yarn (or other #5 bulky yarn) color of choice.
med-large scraps- RH Super Saver in Gold, Carrot, and Light Grey
I Hook(bag), H hook(straps & coins)
Scissors
Large eye needle for weaving.
Bag: Working in rounds, do not join until stated.
With I hook and bag color.
R1- ch2, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook (6sc)
R2- 2 sc in each (12)
R3- (sc in 1sc, 2sc in next) around (18)
R4- (sc in next 2sc, 2sc in next) around (24)
R5- (sc in next 3sc, 2sc in next) around (30)
R6- (sc in next 4sc, 2sc in next) around (36)
R7- (sc in next 5sc, 2sc in next) around (42)
R8- (sc in next 6sc, 2sc in next) around (48)
R9- (sc in next 7sc, 2sc in next) around (54)
R10-R16- Sc in each sc around.
R17- (sc in 7sc, sc dec) around (48)
R18- sc in each
R19- (sc in 6sc, sc dec) around (42)
R20- sc in each
R21- (sc in 5sc, sc dec) around (36)
R22- sc in each
R23- (sc in 4sc, sc dec) around (30)
R24- sc in each
R25- ch3, (sk next sc, dc in next sc, ch1) 13 times, sk last sc, sl st to 2nd ch of ch3. (14dc)
R26- ch1, sc in join, sc in each ch1 and dc around. (30sc) join.
R27-28- ch2, hdc in each sc around, join. (30hdc)
Finish off, weave ends.
Strap: Make 2 for each bag.
With H Hook and Gold.
ch51
Sl st in 2nd chain and each across. (50)
Finish off leaving a long end.
Weave through dc's on row 25, sew ends together firmly, pull on opposite side to hide seam.
Weave and sew the second one so that it pulls the opposite direction.
Coins-Single color:
With H Hook and coin color.
ch4(does not count as first dc)
15 dc in 4th ch from hook. sl st to first dc. Finish off, weave in ends.
Coins-Double color:
With H Hook and first color.
ch2
8 sc in 2nd ch from hook, join, cut first color, join second color.
2sc in each sc around. (16) Finish off and weave ends.
Our coin values go as such:
Gold= 10
Grey= 5
Bronze= 1
Bronze/grey= 20
Bronze/gold= 25
You can give your coins any value you want for your individual needs.
If you use this plan...I hope you have fun...and let me know!! I'll be updating as our family becomes more involved in it. So far, so good.
I love this !!!! You've got my wheels turning now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed post and pictures.
Blessings,
Theresa
Hi! I really want to do the money bag, I'm a bit confused at the pattern. What does the number inside the parentheses mean and am I understanding it correctly that I have to fit 6sc in 1 chain? And then 2sc in 1sc?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm a bit new at this... :p
Hi Amber. The number inside the parentheses tells you how many stitches you should have in total for that row. Yes, you must fit 6 single crochets into 1 chain and then 2 single crochets into 1 single crochet.
ReplyDeleteHope you have fun with the pattern!
I'm happy to answer any questions. Feel free to email me with any more!
Biz
Something weird happened... I just continued the rounds without joining and it looked like a spiral... was I doing it right? When I reached the double crochet part, the first double crochet was not aligned with the last double crochet... :(
ReplyDeleteHey Amber. They won't be aligned. Essentially what you are doing when you do the first ch3 is you are using the last sc and ch2 of that ch3 for your dc. The remaining ch of your original ch3 will be the ch1 between your dc's. That's why you only join with the second ch of your original ch3. It might not be textbook crochet. But it's my way around having to do extra steps. Let me know if you need anymore help!
ReplyDeleteBiz
oh my goodness - what an excellent idea!!! - i have to say i am all for this one - i love it - will be talking this one over with hubby to start this also - our children are 7 and 4 but they are at the age where they can start learing the value of 'earning' their coins for the tasks and getting to use them for special picks (love your ideas for spending them too)
ReplyDeletethanks for all the patterns :-)
Deb
Thanks Biz!
ReplyDelete(Should have posted this sooner.. :P)
I finished the project a long time ago and it was a success! Thanks for the pattern :D I made one each for my mom, dad, and brother for their real coins :P and they love it!
I did adjust the pattern a bit by adding some extra rows since crochet threads that are available here are the thin ones that's usually used for filet crochet but all in all it was excellent!
Thanks again! <3
I just have to say I just love these cute little bags. They are so easy to make and cheap too. You gave me such a great idea to use as a reward system in my classroom!!! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHello! thanks for this fabulous pattern, but i'm a bit stuck!
ReplyDeleteI've gotten to R25, and it says the skip next sc, dc in next sc, ch1 13x
then skip the last sc.
i have more than just one sc left over? as in it doesn't seem i've completed the round enough? i'm not really sure where I went wrong. or if i'm wrong. Is it supposed to be that way?
and reading on to R26 sc join? i'm not sure what that indicates.
Thanks so much for your help!
Hello! thanks for this fabulous pattern, but i'm a bit stuck!
ReplyDeleteI've gotten to R25, and it says the skip next sc, dc in next sc, ch1 13x
then skip the last sc.
i have more than just one sc left over? as in it doesn't seem i've completed the round enough? i'm not really sure where I went wrong. or if i'm wrong. Is it supposed to be that way?
and reading on to R26 sc join? i'm not sure what that indicates.
Thanks so much for your help!
Hi there. You will probably have more than one sc left over. You should have 15dc and 15 ch 1 spaces at the end of row 25.
ReplyDeleteRow 26 indicates for you to sc in the same space as the "join" from Row 25.