Curricula and Learning Links - Character Training
The Bean Jar
A Fun Way to Eliminate Grumbling
By Patricia Rider
"Oohh, Mom, do I have to do THAT?"
"I don't want to do that..!"
"Oooh NOOOO!" Sound familiar?
I read an article in Homeschooling Today about a way a homeschool mom used beans to get rid of the "grumblies." She gave each child a little cup and set a handful of dried beans on the counter. She told them that each time any one of them groaned, sighed, rolled their eyes, etc about their schoolwork, she placed a bean in their cup. For each bean the kid got, he had to copy a sentence once.
The first day went as usual, and each kid got a look of surprise when a bean plinked into his cup, and by the end of the day, each kid had several sentences to write. Mom avoided the obvious "I will not groan in class," but instead gave more upbeat sentences like "Learning is fun!" or "Doing my schoolwork is such a wonderful opportunity to learn new things!" The next day, whenever a child showed signs of the "grumblies" like slouching in his seat or started to groan, Wise Mom would ask, "Are you telling me that you would like a bean?" This brought an immediate attitude adjustment. So the struggle turned into a game! After a few days, the kids greeted Daddy upon his arrival home with "Guess what? We didn't get any beans today!!" Learning became more fun than ever.
For appropriate Bible verses for the Bean Jar, please see HomeschoolChristian.com's Character Verse page.
