Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Courage Jar

I got this idea from my friend Kristine... who got it from our friend Amy. :)

I love to find great mothers and then pester them with questions about their parenting ideas and of course copy them!
I ain't no dummy.
I've been trying to encourage my kids to do things that challenge them and might even be a little scary. I feel like it is getting harder and harder for our kids to do what is right and often they stand out because of it and sometimes even get teased for it.
So this is our "courage jar".
When any of us (including Trevor and I) do anything courageous we get to decide how many fuzzies we think we deserve to put in the jar (up to 5 for each act).
It can be anything and is different for each of us.
For example Megan gave herself 3 fuzzies for talking to her friends about not gossiping about another girl.
Hallie gave herself 3 fuzzies for asking a boy to stop saying a bad word.
We all added some fuzzies for attending a county meeting to support a friend and express some of our concerns to the elected board.
Campbell got some fuzzies for working on some of his potty training goals (I'll leave it at that).
and so on...
When the jar is full (150 fuzzies) we are going either here or here for an over-nighter and a little family fun.
Anyway, it has been working great so I thought I'd pass the idea along.
Thanks Kristine and Amy.


18 comments:

Hana said...

Thanks for the neat idea! Before I even looked at your links I knew EXACTLY what that first one would be. We're hoping to go to the Great Wolf Lodge sometime too. Looks like so much fun! Hope you make your goal soon!

Hana
MomTog Diaries

Margo said...

Though I love museums I would say go to the indoor water park. They are great. I have been to 2 different ones (one in South Dekota, Mt Rushmore area and one in Northern Michigan). Both were great experiences and my kids still talk about them. They have not talked about all the museums we have gone to and let me tell you we have been to LOTS! Enjoy whatever you choose!

thatgirlblogs said...

that post gave me fuzzies!

Melissa said...

You always have such great ideas Kathryn! I am going to save this one so when my kiddos are a little older we can implement it!!

Jen@Notes From the Heartland said...

Such a great idea. We just might need to add this to our parenting repetoire! I love the idea of encouraging children (and ourselves) to be brave. :-)

Rachel Moss said...

Great idea!

Cotton Candie said...

Oh that is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

craftykitty said...

That is an AWESOME idea! :-D

Lynn Kellan said...

This is a great idea! I love anything that focuses on the positive!!

Connie Babe said...

ah, your girls' stories made me smile..good for them and good for you!

ptatjohn said...

This would be a great FHE idea. President Monson gave a great conference talk using the fuzzy idea. Great idea adapting the message. Love your blog!!!

mylittlegems said...

Right after I heard Pres. Monson's talk on the "warm fuzzies" I went out and bought some to do this very thing! Still haven't done it yet ;) Love the idea of calling it a courage jar. Thanks for sharing!

Dawning Inspiration said...

Hey! Your dad suggested your blog to me today. Fabulous idea! I am going to pass it along!

Sabra at Sew a Straight Line said...

We do the "warm fuzzie" jar at our house, based on Pres. Monson's talk. My kids have filled it up a few times, and it's big! It's fun to be able to have a visual reminder of good things--courage or deeds.

Colorado Oldroyds said...

We also got the inspiration for this idea from Pres. Monson's talk and are doing the same jar for the YW in our ward. We have plans to send it to Sister Dalton and to have a luau when it is full. The courage jar goes along perfectly with this year's mutual theme, Joshua 1:9. I didn't think to do one at home for my family though. Thanks for sharing, love your blog. We've never met, but we know a lot of the same people having been in Crestwood 1st Ward from 2002-2007 (think we just missed each other). Oh the power of a warm and fuzzy.:)

Emy said...

Thank you for sharing, I am definitly trying this jar-thing out. :-)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful idea! It will also motivate them(your family) to teach others, good morals, manners. Honestly some people just aren't taught themselves, because of the home envirement or whatelse, and just need gentle pushes in the right direction.

This made me smile! Thank you!

stampinsusan said...

Love, love, love your blog!! What a talented couple of women you are! Thanks for sharing your talents with us. It truly is inspiring. I just saw a link to your site on Moneysavingmoms.com and I'm addicted! I could tell right away that you're LDS--way to be a missionary! Thanks again! I can't tell you how much I am loving your blog already! I'll be spreading the word to my friends!