Chore System for My Amazing Six Year Old

When my oldest turned six I began giving him an allowance.  I had previously been giving him prizes for good behavior and completing his book list, or filling in a thermometer which culminated with him receiving a toy that he wanted.  When his addiction to Legos became unmanageable with this system I decided it was time for him to earn his own money and give him some responsibility.

But how much to give?  I did some research that indicated that a good amount for young people to earn weekly is to "earn their age."  So my son would be getting six bucks a week.  I decided that was too easy.  I wanted him to learn to pull his weight in chores and complete his schoolwork.

I came up with a system where he would earn "points" for each job he did.  36 points would equal $6, any less would be a deduction in allowance. So each job ended up being about 16cents apiece.
It took some adjustment, but here is a breakdown of his current allowance:

Points	Money	Points	Money
1	.16	19	3.16
2	.33	20	3.33
3	.50	21	3.50
4	.60	22	3.60
5	.83	23	3.83
6	1	24	4
7	1.16	25	4.16
8	1.33	26	4.33
9	1.50	27	4,50
10	1.60	28	4,60
11	1.83	29	4.83
12	2	30	5
13	2.16	31	5.16
14	2.33	32	5.33
15	2.50	33	5.50
16	2.60	34	5.60
17	2.80	35	5.83
18	3	36	6

We began with the things he could already do:

• put his clean laundry away
• take the empty hamper downstairs
• wipe out the bathroom sink
• put his dirty clothes in the laundry chute
• act of kindness
• exercise

Then when school started he got points for his homework:

• Practice math
• writing
• reading

Hampers Downstairs
Clothes Away
Laundry in Chute
Clean Up Toys
Turn Laundry Over
Silverware Away
Recyclables to Bin
Dishes to Sink
Practice Reading
Practice Writing
Practice Math
Act of Kindness
Exercise
Handwriting
Trash Out

I have added chores over the past year to  train him to do more jobs around the house and give hime more opportunities to earn points.  I also offer bonuses o holidays, vacations, and birthdays. In 29 day (but who's counting?) he will turn 7.

In the Lurch

So Miles is finishing up the year at West Side and will start Summer School there to keep up his services.  There are so many questions I have about his future education.

His speech teacher is wonderful.  She's very focused and knowledgeable.  But he hasn't met any of the year long goals she had west for him.  Not one.  This is discouraging.  She increases to 3 times a week in the fall but I'm not sure it's the frequency that's the problem.  Perhaps it is her approach to him that is not working. Miles will do things when and how he wants to do them, and this teacher is very particular.  I've worked with this woman for several years and I've never seen her fail, but now that it's my child my confidence is a bit shaky.

His Special Ed teacher went on maternity leave for six weeks and left Miles to an amazing substitute. During this time we saw the most progress from Miles that we have ever seen.  He met every goal he was supposed to and bonded really well with this new teacher.  Although he was happy when the old teacher came back, I worry that the progress will not be the same.  I wonder if I can get the sub back for him for next fall.  Since he is not going to Westside I can use whomever I choose to be his teacher.

His classroom teachers tell me nothing.  I barely get eye contact from them and most of the time they just shove Miles out the door at pick up time.  I understand this is a busy time for the teachers, but he gets 2 services in their classroom and I have given them many avenues to communicate with me.  Still I get no feedback at all, or the old "he had a good day" line.  This tells me nothing except that they can think of no significant event worth mentioning to me at the moment.

Suffice it to say I'm less than satisfied with the system in place at the moment.  For the fall I hope to make some changes that will boost him socially and academically.  In the meantime I am left with not enough choices, an angry preschooler, and little support.  Add to that it is still very awkward for me to even walk into West Side and it makes for a  stressful environment.

He has come so far in the last year and I want him to continue to make progress toward classroom success.