Well, said son and Pokemon savant has always been wanting me to knit him things. But I haven't (well, not since he turned mobile). He also has, in a manner reminiscent of his mother, had a hard time sitting still and doing work at school. Remembering my own grade school career, cut short in 2nd grade for similar problems (I seem to remember an incident involving spit balls...) I have been working with his teacher on ways to keep him in the mainstream (mainly: drug-free).
The latest plan was a behavior contract. I wanted a plan that had us working together as a team, that would have a delayed reward, and also provide a tangible marker of his progress. Pokemon boy could earn knitting energy units at school only by completing all his work. Those energy units, transferred to me, would result in knitting. We decided the Pokeball hat was worth 8 energy units, so I divided the pattern into 8 and did 1/8 every night he earned knitting energy. We even made a chart to keep at his desk, with an 8-box energy bar he could color in as we went. Some of those nights I was falling asleep with needles in hand.
Today, 3 weeks after we began, my poke-boy earned his final unit and I stayed up past my bedtime to have this ready for him in the morning. I'm so proud of him! And so pleased to see his pride each day that he completed all his schoolwork on time.
On another note, this is maybe the fastest I've ever finished a project. Its small and simple, yes, but my whole mental block to seeing things through to the end would typically shine through around the halfway point. With this, I really wanted to do my part so he could keep doing well in school. Maybe the behavior plan is a good way for ME to get things done.
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