The Joyful Jar - An Attitude Booster

Summer has begun!  We have enjoyed some beautiful weather!  We are still wrapping up a few subjects from school, but for the most part we really have been enjoying the easy-going pace of summer.  Playing outside, riding bikes, running through the sprinkler and playing in our kiddie pool.  Working in the garden, grilling out, camping, digging for worms and little league baseball games. 

Regular summer fun!

 

But their has been one area that has not been fun for anyone!  We've had a bit of an attitude problem at our house.  These things really sneak up on you until they seem out of control.  Arguments between the kids, rude talk, angry responses, yelling, and disrespectful attitudes even toward mom and dad.  Like I said, not fun for anyone!

So the other day I launched the Joyful Jar! 

Summer Reading Kit

I love playing summer reading games with my children.  I think it is so much to track our reading - especially since we do so much!  And it's a great way to spend a rainy summer day!  We usually participate in the summer reading game at our local library.  But this year we also signed up for one through Journey Forth:

http://www.bjupress.com/books/summer-reading/

It's from BJU Press, some of you might be familiar with their homeschool products.  It's worth checking into, since they are offering a Kindle Fire as a Grand Prize for the game.  Plus, they have a wonderful list of great books to read, divided by age groups.

I poked around online (I love pinterest for this) and found some great resources for tracking your summer reading.  I pinned my favorite here.  I was only able to get the printable to open in my picture viewer and since I'm not all that computer savvy, I decided to make a few adjustments and make my own version.  I love how it turned out!  And today is the day we are going to get started on it!  (It really helps that it's a rainy day, too.)

Here is the Summer Reading Kits my kids are receiving today. 

I placed their logs inside library pockets (the same ones I used for our Tricky Tic Tac Toe game).

The logs are made to look like the old fashioned library cards!