It pays off!

I've never been the kind of parent who pays their children for grades.  I remember growing up and seeing some of my friends get a certain amount of money for an A or a B.  I guess I lucked out so far because all of my boys are honor roll students.  They are just motivated to succeed and get good grades.  We're mean at home too, they don't get paid to do chores.  We have daily chores and we switch them weekly.  I tell them they are getting paid in food and shelter :)  I tried to do an allowance one time and ended up "owing" my kids so much money, so I decided that wasn't going to work for us.

Well, last year at the school they started a walking/running club.  I thought it would be great for my boys, so Kirk and I decided to offer them 25 cents a mile.  They wouldn't get paid until they reached 100 miles.  Preston and Kolby took off!!!  Last year they both made a lot of money from miles.  I think $50.00 each.  This year they are really serious!  Preston has run 265 miles and Kolby is at 240 I think.  They have these little mile cards and get them punched by a recess teacher every lap, so there is no way to "cheat" on your miles.  When the mile card is full of punches that equals 5 miles and they get a little plastic foot for a bracelet or necklace.  They had an awards assembly on Friday and Preston and Kolby were presented a certificate for their miles.  They are the two top runners in the school.  It was awesome!!!  I'm so proud of my boys.  It is one thing I'm glad we decided to pay them for.  They even told me I didn't have to pay them anymore, but I still do because I think they really earned it.

It also made me wonder how awesome It would feel if I had walked/ran that many miles.  So as a personal challenge to myself, I am going to try and get in some miles every day.  This is pretty big for me, I HATE the cold and I am not very athletic.  It's hard for me to get moving, but I think It will pay off in the long run.  Wish me luck!!!   Beth