Star Chart

I've been thinking long and hard about what to do with poor little Brin and the difficulty she has trying to be perfect. It seems like no matter what I say it doesn't get through and she's still so very hard on herself when what she's capable of doesn't meet up with her standards. After having a frustrating morning again on Monday before school even started I decided I had to come up with something to help her. I want her to realize that all I care about is that she tries her best. I don't care if what she does is right or wrong, or even good/bad/perfect, I just want her to try it and not get frustrated when it doesn't come out right.

We talked through the fact that everyone has to make mistakes in order to learn and get better. The best ballerinas didn't just walk onto stage and dance perfectly. They had to try, fall, mess up, and fail but with lots of hard work and practice they eventually got better and didn't mess up as often. But even with all the hard work even the best dancers still make mistakes. She understands... but still couldn't be content with that principle applied to her even after we prayed about it together and gave it over to God. I'm hoping if we continue to talk about it and pray about it, that she'll begin to change her thinking.

It seems that drawing, art, and writing are her hot buttons which really cause her to melt down. I came up with a sticker chart to try to help keep her focus in the right place. The idea is that you don't have to do something perfect or even right... you just have to try your best and have a good attitude and not get frustrated. If you can do that then you get a star for each activity of the day. When the start chart is filled there will be a special surprise at the end!



So far it seems to be working well. Whenever she started to get frustrated she would say, "Mommy, I was going to get upset but then I saw my chart and remembered to be calm and try so I could get a star! Praise the Lord and lets hope this continues to help her do well and get through her day without those frustrations pulling her down!