Flat Charlie

This is "Flat Charlie"....well at least our version of it!

What is a "Flat Charlie"??

Well in our school they have these "Way to Go" slips. They are given to the kids in school when a teacher sees a child doing something that demonstrates good character.  It is a way that they continue to encourage the Character Counts idea into the daily school time.

Gabriel came home last week talking about this "Flat Charlie" and how he REALLY wanted one. I had no idea what he was talking about so I e-mailed his teacher to find out what it was.

One of the colleges in our state - the college I graduated from - is the University of South Dakota.  Their mascot is "Charlie the Coyote".

As a part of Character Counts, Charlie visited the school and the teachers, for the month of March, started giving out the "Flat Charlies" instead of the traditional Way to Go slips.

So to encourage this good character at home I came up with my own Flat Charlie seen above!  Now everytime Gabriel does something helpful without being asked, or really behaves without complaining I give him a "Flat Charlie".

Yesterday he went outside after we got home and picked up sticks in the yard...without being asked!  A few days before he went out and picked up garbage around the house.  The first one he got was for doing everything I asked in the morning without complainig or arguing once.

He has them taped to the front of his bedroom door. He LOVES this form of "reward" and I have to say it is an easy way to encourage good behavior!

So how do you encourage good behavior/character with your children?