Lately, Lily has been working on how to help the children be more productive, healthy, happy and balanced now and during the summer given the Covid situation. She caught a beautiful vision of what she called the family economy (now calling it the Summer Carnival) which is a system whereby the children can earn money (and be fined) based on certain behaviors. Here is a link of her sharing how it works over an amazing borsch dinner.
As always, I LOVED her borsch, but I have to say her salmon, creme fresh, and dill mittens stole the show though. They were as delicious as they were cute.
I should also mention that this Summer Carnival is designed by Lily to be not only productive, but also very fun for the children. I think they are very excited. Lydia insisted on accompanying me to the bank (I cleared out ever dollar coin they had, which was 163), and Mary helped me clean the backyard to ear a dollar. Lily got them adorable piggy banks that divide their money into “save” “share” and “spend”.
At times like this I find myself reflecting yet again on how grateful I am for Lily. Not only does she put so much effort into our family, but she is brilliant and fun, and pouring creative energy (like the family carnival) into our family. Our children are so so lucky. I love Lily’s vision with this carnival, and I’ve included her letter to the kids and how it works below.
Dear Kids,
Dad and I are so grateful for each one of you! Observing you in our home is–often–delightful! You are our favorite treasures. We want to take the best care of you we can.
One way we care for you is to provide a childhood full of opportunities to play, learn, grow, and relax. (When you are a grown-up, it is much harder to find time to relax. Relax while you can! But if it’s more fun to play, that’s good too.. Just clean up your messes, please.)
This summer we will not be taking any big family trips, and we probably won’t even take many (any?) day trips. We will spend a lot of time at home.
Since we don’t want you cooking your brains on screens all summer, I have written up a list of activities that you can do to occupy yourselves if you feel bored. Some of these activities are naturally fun (like reading, baking, crafting, etc.). You would probably do them anyway without rewards. But to make them extra fun this summer, you can earn rewards doing these activities. You’re welcome!
There are also activities on this list that require extra effort. I hope you will choose to earn some rewards by growing yourselves through these activities. These activities will enrich and deepen life inside your heads and hearts. When you have knowledge, skills, and interests, life is never boring. There is always something new to learn.
We will pay you to complete these activities because we want you to feel extra motivated to grow yourselves. As you get older, you will feel naturally compelled to pursue purposeful, disciplined personal growth. Humans love to learn! But kids might feel more excited by watching a show than by, for example, the task of memorizing a Mary Oliver poem or Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.
To counteract the enticement of screens, we are bribing you to make better choices. Frankly, I don’t know if this is a good thing to do or not. But I also don’t want to make you memorize poems, speeches, or even new dance moves just because I say you have to do these things. I’d rather you feel bought into these challenges, and the best way I can think of that is through money and prizes.
Think of it as our own crazy family carnival. You earn $1 for each activity you complete at any booth. For every $5 earned, you get an item from the grab bag. The different booths in our family are:
- Healthy, helpful Habits*
- Make your bed every day
- Pick up your room completely at the end of each day
- Clear your dishes after every meal
- Bathe every other day
- Wash your hair 3x a week
- Clip your nails 1x a week
- Put away any laundry Mom puts on top of your dresser the day you find it
- 1 hour DEAR a day
- 1 hour of educational computer programs daily 4X a week
- 30 minutes math 5x a week
*Required but rewarded weekly for completion of ALL tasks. $1 will be subtracted for tasks not completed as described above
- Healthy Body
- Learn new dance routines
- Go a week without sugar
- Run a mile without stopping
- Hike a mile or more without complaining
- If you haven’t yet learned–or have forgotten–learn to ride a bike
- Do 30 minutes of yoga
- Master a vinyasa yoga sequence
- Walk around the block for 30 minutes daily for a week with your oldest sibling (Take Arlo monitoring bunny camera with you. Only applicable to Mary and Lydia.)
- Play outside for four hours–no fighting
- Go a day without any snacks between meals
- 10 push-ups every day for a week
- Mary: 5 sessions of eye exercises
- Mental Health
- Meditate every morning and night daily for a week
- Set a timer in the middle of the day, sit down, and just breathe (10 minutes)
- Keep a daily gratitude journal and write 5 things every day for a week
- Don’t fight with your siblings for an entire day (When they make you mad, take a deep breath, remove yourself by heading calmly to a different room in the house. If they follow you, alert your parents calmly and quietly. While the parent deals with your sibling, continue to remove yourself calmly and quietly to a different location.)
- 7 days of daily nature journaling (quiet observation, detailed illustration, and paragraph of text)
- Skill development
- Practice your instrument for one hour 5x a week (Complete all tasks assigned by your teacher. Flashcards or work on reviews if you have extra time.)
- Spend 30 minutes learning German or Spanish
- Bake or cook something new – clean up completely
- Crochet a granny square
- Crochet a blanket
- Embroider something pretty onto a tea towel
- Sew a skirt, pajama bottom, or simple dress
- Learn to beat box
- Bake a cake. Freeze, ice, decorate with piped flowers and clean up completely
- Bake a pretty focaccia bread – clean up completely
- Plan an imaginary trip (Print a map and highlight the route or highlight the route in one of our atlases. Type out an itinerary with places we will go, where we will stay, and what we will eat. Calculate the cost of each day and provide a total estimate of what the trip will cost. Explain what we will learn or enjoy or endure on this trip.)
- Write and illustrate a beautiful, interesting picture book. Should take at least three hours to complete.
- Complete a 300 piece puzzle and don’t lose any pieces
- Babysit Clarissa or Ammon without using a screen for one hour
- Idea Ingestion — each of these qualifies as ONE GRAB BAG!!
- Memorize an approved poem or set of poems
- Memorize an approved speech
- Read 5 approved books and mark them on Goodreads
- Read 1 approved book about science, mark on Goodreads, and write a three paragraph essay on it
- Read 1 book about history, mark on Goodreads, and write a three paragraph essay on it
- Read 3 books on the same scientific or historical subject
- Listen to 5 approved audiobooks and mark on Goodreads
- Research famous works of art and replicate them at home
- Lectio Divina on any scripture and discuss experience with your parent after
- Write a Shakespearean sonnet
- Write five limericks