Motivating with comments

[my3sons]

This is an easy fun idea to try. Comments can really be motivating to dc, but it's tough to think of creative ones on the fly. I think I spent quite a few years writing "Good Job!" at the top of schoolwork, or nothing at all other than a star. Then one year I decided it was time I mix it up a bit. I decided to try to write a comment each time beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. This would be an easy way to force me to come up with different comments each day. I also decided to start writing them BIG, as my dc love that! I've been doing this for many years now. This past week, I was on "R" and S"...


I thought I'd share some comments I've come up with through the years, and you can add more to them if you have some...
A: Amazing, Awesome
B: Beautiful
C: Cool, Colorful, Cute, Creative
D: Dynamite
E: Excellent, Exhilarating
F: Fantastic, Fabulous, Fun
G: Good, Great, Genius
H: Hip! Hip! Hooray!
I: Incredible
J: Just _____! (Amazing, Incredible, etc.)
K: Keep Up the Good Work!
L: Lovely
M: Magnificent, Marvelous
N: Neat, Nice Work
O: Outstanding, Outrageous
P: Perfect, Pretty
Q: Quite ______! (Lovely, Fantastic, etc.)
R: Remarkable
S: Sensational, Super
T: Terrific, Talented
U: Unbelievable
V: Very Good, Vivid
W: Wonderful, WOW
X: X-tremely Excellent
Y: Yahoo, Yippy
Z: Zippy

Some dc are really motivated by comments, and some not so much. But it's fun to try and see if they enjoy them! If dc are working on something with letters (i.e. a handwriting or cursive book, or a LHTH letter of the week activity), I like to write the comments beginning with that letter, as it helps them see it written correctly one more time. I also like to write their name at the end of the comment when they are little especially, as they are learning to write their name (i.e. WOW, Emmett!) The bigger, the splashier, the better. If you all have some more to add to my comment stash, by all means add them! I'd love to have some more to use.

In Christ,
Julie

[psreit]

Julie,
You are so creative. I'll have to keep that in mind for Angie. I have let her put stickers on some handwriting papers, but the motivating words should be included. Thanks for posting this.

[GinainMD]

Can't wait to try this! I have one dd in particular who is really motivated by genuine praise so I think this will work great with her because it shows more thought than a standard reply like nice or good job. She really can tell when she is receiving empty flattery as opposed to appreciation for a job well done. Thanks for the idea.

[deltagal]

Julie - You rock...as always!

[lmercon]

This is such a timely and wonderfully helpful post! Just this morning, my 10 yo ds saw me taking out a book of stickers to use with his little sister. He looked kind of longingly at them and then said, "I remember when you used to put stickers on my papers. I liked them." I realized that just because he's 10, doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy that kind of praise. So, after I checked his Singapore math workbook page, I wrote in red pen a positive comment. He's severely dyslexic, so he said, "What's that?" I told him, and it put a huge grin on his face. Thank you for reminding me that though he's a gangly 10 yo boy, he's still a child who loves stickers and smiley faces!
Laura

[my3sons]

Thanks, ladies! I sometimes forget my older dc still love positive comments too. I started writing them on Wyatt's work again after this post, and he gave me that side smile that said 'thanks, mom - yeah, sometimes I'm still just a kid too'. They seem so grown up sometimes, but everybody appreciates hearing when they're doing something right, no matter how old they are. I hope your dc enjoy the comments too!

In Christ,
Julie

[pjdobro]

I'm printing these out and putting them in my notebook. Now if I can only remember to use them! Thanks for sharing!