Are you a Top Banana?

ES Session 4: Week 2

The Studio was a mess (again). Papers fluttering on the floor, trails of crumbs from snack, chairs lost from their desks. It was time to take action.

I had heard rumors of Acton Austin’s legendary Studio Maintenance Competition. TVS had tried a modified version in Session 3 with some success but I needed to raise the stakes. 

Beginning Session 4, the game has changed: the competition happens on random, unannounced days and the studio that accumulates the most points will win a pizza party. But I needed a physical reminder of each daily win. A little searching on the Amazon trophy section and enter- the Top Banana Award!

Day 1, the motivation was a little higher. Day 2, a Spark judge gave out the first Top Banana Award and motivation sparked. Today, one week later, the Wonder Studio is pulling ahead 3 to 1 on the Explore Studio and motivation is soaring.

Moral of the story- we all wish our children loved to clean. That they appreciated their beautiful places and intrinsically wanted to keep them that way every day. But let’s face it- cleaning up is not the most fun part of learning (or most things). Sometimes a little extrinsic motivation is, well, motivating!