Elf Point time again!

It’s Elf Point time again. The children have been eagerly waiting for these little felt magnets to appear on the fridge. So eagerly that they practised getting elf points for a few days before. Like a rehearsal. I was tempted to introduce an Elf on the Shelf to the household, but apart from time racing away, I still love the concept of the Elf Points.

I love that the children work together as a team. For anyone new to my blog, the children are awarded an elf point every time they help without being asked or show kindness. The sort of actions that an elf, sent by Father Christmas, would be pleased to see and hopefully report back to the big man himself. They earn the Elf points as a team. Once the team has been rewarded with all 20 points, then they are allowed to take a chocolate each from the Elf’s tin. The points are cleared down and they start again. Every time one of them earns a point, then they are all happy, rather than the others sulking about a missed opportunity for themselves.

It works. It really does. The children are bombarded with adverts everywhere and friends talking about what they are getting for Christmas. Shops are full of tempting goodies. One year, my daughter’s teacher let her class have a toy catalogue which they cut out pictures and used to write a letter to Father Christmas. My daughter came back home convinced that she was having all the toys she had chosen. Toys she had never seen before. It is difficult to avoid and I want my children to learn to differentiate need from want.

This is the third year we have had Elf points in December and the children spend at least some time each day thinking about helping someone else. The immediate reward is a felt magnet and hopefully a happy feeling. “I did good and we have a point.” There are definitely not too many outbreaks of “I want”. Hopefully each year, the habit will stick a little bit more.

It works for me too. I’m hopeless at sticker charts. With these reusable magnetic points, I find it a lot easier to award them. For more info on how to make them here and how they work here. I might still have an elf turn up around the house, but for now, this is enough.