Reward/treat for effort in Y4

[sunshine75]

That's about it really. Dd has tried amazingly hard all year at school and in sport. She's had a super school report and special mentions in the teams she plays in.

Would like to get her something to reward her excellent attitude and effort. We go on holiday as soon as school finishes so a treat day/outing would be ages away and lose it's impact. Therefore, I think it would have to be something could actually give her when school finishes next week.

Typical 9 year old - she has everything and I'm struggling to think of something special.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

A little bit of spending money for her holiday (which you would have probably spent anyway but she gets free reign).

I used to take my dc out for a treat at the local ice cream parlour.

If I want to treat my kids outside of birthdays/Christmas I tend to go for an activity rather than a present. I will normally think up a few options (that I can afford) and let them pick. For example last time I did it the options were; bowling, water park, fun fair, crazy golf or strawberry picking.

Although there's a delay, I'd agree with PPs and go for a meal out or activity too.

Also, i'd be inclined to encourage her to feel that the exemplary report and particular praise relating to her sport are her reward. She has tried hard all year (as anyone should) and this has been thoroughly recognised in writing. She can always refer back to those comments, and remember what she did to deserve them. That, along with your appreciation of her efforts, should be a wonderful and lasting reward for her, more powerful than an experience or a present.

If she had tried her best all year and for whatever reason this had not been reflected in her reports, that would perhaps be the time to give your own additional reward.

I'm honestly trying not to be mean! I don't think it's a bad idea! It's just that with a 'present', you run the risk of her comparing it with the previous year's 'present', or worrying that if her report wasn't quite so glowing she might not get such a good 'present'.

Reflecting on this further, I think my parents went too far the other way. We were not overly praised because they expected best effort and high attainment as ‘standard’. Largely we met these expectations, but I do remember, after some particularly impressive musical performance when I was in my teens, which was met with a simple ‘well done’ from my parents, wondering what else I had to DO, and feeling that the only way was down! It was just fleeting impressions, but they come back to me now.

An interesting topic!

We don't reward anything with school attainment.
Is it a normal thing to reward hard work at school in England?

Irvine I think there is generally a strong (too strong?) 'reward' culture in schools nowadays. It wasn't like that when I was a kid. I can only speak of schools in England, then and now.

There are lots of threads about 'star of the week' and 'headteacher's award' and things from the 'prize box'. It's definitely a 'thing' now in schools, which inevitably has an impact on expectations at home.

Attainment and effort are two separate things, of course.

irvineoneohone some people do, I don't think it's that common, and I don't think Ginmummy1's description of schools are the same as the ones around here or my families in a different town. But certainly you do hear about such things. It may be quite regional.

Thank you, Gin &Sir.