Rewards for Middle Schoolers That Keep Them Motivated

My daughter has been doing great in school this year, and I want to help keep her motivated.  I mean, middle school is where a lot of students tend to lose interested in school and find it elsewhere.  I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and talking to my daughter about different things I do to help keep her motivated.

Rewards for Middle Schoolers That Keep Them Motivated

Here are a few rewards for middles schoolers that keep them motivated to get those good grades and apply themselves in school.

Date night

My husband and I both agreed we would take my daughter out for a date night/day and do something fun every time she brings home a report card with good grades.  We left Vayda to choose what she wants to do.  She just recently got her report card back, and we went to dinner and a movie of her choice.

Pick family movie

We do family movie night once a week and whoever brings home good grades for the week gets to choose the film.  It’s motivating because the kids are competitive and there have been times we have had three family movie nights in one week, which is a huge plus for everyone.

Ice cream

It doesn’t matter how old you are you’ll always love ice cream.  Stop by the ice cream shop on your way home from picking them up for school as a little surprise.  When they ask what you are doing just tell them a little something to say, thank you for doing such a great job in school.

Tell family and friends

You don’t have to brag, but it’s good to tell family and friends how good your child is doing in school.  Just make sure they whether call and say a good job or that your child is around when you tell someone about their grades.  This has been one of the best ways to get Vayda to keep her grades up.  Being in middle school is an awkward age, you are a child like to do kid things, but like to hand with the adults.  It always makes her pick her head up when she hears my husband or I talking about her good grades.

Tell them you are proud of them

Nothing goes further than your child knowing you are proud of them.  Even when Vayda doesn’t do so well on something, as long as she tells me she tried her best I tell her I am proud of her.  All we can ask for as parents is the effort.

iTunes

You don’t have to use iTunes, just let them download a set amount of music.  Middle school is when they a start to love and experiment with music.  It’s a great reward, especially when their friends are all talking about the newest songs they like.

Get out of chores tickets

Give them get out of jail tickets that they can use for chores.  Vayda saves hers up and uses them when it’s her turn to do dishes and gives the ticket to my husband, and he has to do them lol.  It’s a great reward and sort of fun because she can pick on whoever she wants, and they have to do it.  It also helps make her sister a little nicer to her lol.

Books

Reading books are great and they help keep kids interested in reading, which is a huge plus but you can also get books to help them in school like the BIG FAT NOTEBOOK series.  Not only will they assist them in if they are already doing well in school but can help them with anything they are having problems with in school.

Vayda has turned to her BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS more times than I can count and to be honest so have I because they help me remember how to do something I am unsure about.  It’s been a long time since I have been to school and it’s also good for Vayda to see me turn to the books when I need help.  It gives her confidence in the books, she also gets to see mom willing to learn and that it’s okay to understand something as long as you are willing to learn it.

We’ve used all the books in the BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS collection, but I can honestly say the math book never gets put back on the shelf because it gets used the most.   It’s filled with everything middle schoolers need to learn math and explains it in a way that they understand it.  This book has helped Vayda bring her grade up from a D to a B and even more importantly she knows what she is doing.

Have you heard of the BIG FAT NOTEBOOK SERIES?  If not and you have a middle schooler I’m telling you these books are AWESOME!

Big Fat Notebooks Description

The BIG FAT NOTEBOOK series is an excellent study guide series that are made for middle school students from the brains behind Barin Quest.   This series is built on a simple and irresistible concept – borrowing the notes from the smartest kids in class.

There is a total of five of these awesome books, one for each main subject taught in middle school – Science, Math, American History, World History, and English Language Arts.  In each book, you’ll find key concepts that are designated and summarized.  Definitions explained, Doodles to illuminate tricky concepts in marker, Mnemonics for shortcuts that are memorable, and even quizzes to recap everything.

The BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS meet Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and even state history standards.  They are also vetted by the National and State Teacher of the Year Award – winning teachers.  The BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS help makes learning, a little more fun and they are an awesome next step for every child who grew up on Brain Quest.

Learn more about the BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS by head over to their website here and following their blog here.  You can purchase the BIG FAT NOTEBOOKS by visiting Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound and Workman

Do you have any rewards for middles schoolers that keep them motivated that worked with your children?  Leave us a comment and let us know if you do.

This is a sponsored post; all opinions are my own.