Let your hunger work for you

I try to connect jobs to routines that happen daily.  Here are the ones we do now:

make bed -- breakfast
clean up playroom -- after school snack
clean up main floor -- movie, dinner
dinner or lunch clean up -- treat

The jobs get done because we get hungry!  I try to make sure I don't snitch or it's hard for me to get the kids rounded up to do their jobs.  I'm motivated by hunger too. :)

Live in the Present

Through reading and life experience I have seen that young kids have no concept of the future.  So saying, "you can have another brownie tomorrow" is of no consolation. I try to redirect to something in the present and that helps ease the transition much better.

10 points

I wanted to get the kids to help turn off the lights, so we started bringing attention to it by calling "ten points" each time we turn off the light. We don't tally the points, but it's kids against parents.  If the parents start getting a lot of points J and X start running from room to room turning the lights on and off to catch up.