GOOD Days

The tantrums and whining were getting to be a bit much for us.  Last week, my husband and I had to sit Alex down and explain to him that this may not be regular public school, but he still needed to do the work.  He doesn't necessarily have to do it happily, but he at least needs to stop his fits and whining.  He wouldn't act that way towards his teachers when he was going to a brick and mortar school, and he shouldn't do it here.  We explained that he would be much happier if he didn't act out so much.  A change of attitude is a MUST.

We now have a reward system in order.  We keep track of his good, non-whiny days on a chart.  There are 30 squares on it.  When he has a sticker in every single box, he gets a special prize.  When we presented ideas for said special prizes, we included really big things like a day at an indoor water park, things that we sweated over because we knew they'd cost big bucks.  Imagine our surprise when he said that he'd much rather have a sleepover here at home with some of his closest friends!  And so far, it's working great!  All three days since the last bad day have been good.  He's gotten a few warning looks, but when he saw the looks, he shaped up immediately.

 
Another good thing that has come from this is that Alex's school days have gotten shorter.  He now realizes that fewer tantrums=work done quicker.  Work done quicker=more time to do the things that he WANTS to do. 

Also, now that he's trying not to whine or throw fits, he's actually having some fun with his different subjects.  He wrote a really fun story today!  Enjoy!