Homework, please?

I do bonus points for the kids to help encourage good behaviors. For example, stacking up dishes after dinner or remembering to put their clothes in the dirty clothes closet. Well, for this week, it was getting their homework done.

I thought this was a brilliant idea until I tucked my four-year-old son into bed last night. Here was our conversation in narrative form:

After reading Skippyjon Jones for the second time this week, I tucked Eli into bed and snuggled him into his covers. I noticed he looked a little forlorn. He scrunched up his forehead and in a pout said, "Mom, I'm never going to get bonus points. I don't have any homework."

Suppressing a little chuckle, I replied, "You're right. What if Mommy made some homework for you so you could get bonus points too?"

"Ok!" he said. "But, I don't have a backpack."
"Hmmm, that could be a problem. But, you know, I could look around for a backpack. What kind would you like?"
"I want an army gut backpack like buddies."
"What about an Iron Man back pack or Transformers?"
"Oh, yeah, Transformers. That's what I want."
Hardly able to contain himself, he threw back his covers and started shooting off his Transformer weapons.
"Now I can go to school and be a big boy like Buddy."
"Well, you can't go to school just yet, but you can have school at home."
"Then I can get bonus points?"
"You can start tomorrow and get your first bonus points."

So, here is my solution:

New 'school' clothes

New backpack with 'school' supplies

I told him to pose. I'm not sure what the pointing is all about, but it's dang cute.

He earned his first bonus point today.