Free Printable Reward Punch Cards and 16 Ways to Use Them in Your Homeschool
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There’s something to be said for the feeling you get after a job well done. Intrinsic motivation is definitely something I want my kids to experience often, as they work hard to reach their goals and accomplish tasks.
However, sometimes we can all use a little incentive to encourage us! And as we homeschool, there a lot of ways we can incorporate fun rewards into our daily routines.
I created these free Printable Reward Punch Cards to use to do just this, and I want to share them with you (plus some ideas on how to use them).
Using incentives in homeschooling
We began homeschooling when my oldest was in kindergarten, and I love surprising my kids with fun rewards for a job well done. The first time I saw the benefits of incentives was while using our All About Reading curriculum. I loved that the curriculum came with a sticker chart, and every time my son finished a lesson, he got to put a sticker up on the chart. We came up with a prize he would earn when he completed the entire chart, and it was truly motivating to him as we worked through some tough lessons.
Character Badges is another system we used where they could earn stickers and coins for working on positive character traits such as showing initiative, being kind, obeying, and having good manners. I was honestly surprised at first how well they took to it, but the incentives worked! And even though we don’t rely on the system as heavily since my kids are getting older, the positive results have stuck.
And just like those two systems, there are so many easy ways you can use my free printable reward punch cards to incentivize tasks in your homeschool. They can be great motivators to kids from kindergarten all the way to upper elementary ages.
You might find that some of your kids will respond better to these external incentives while some might do just fine without them…but many kids will enjoy using them either way!
Using reward punch cards in your homeschool
Here are 16 ideas of ways you can use my free printable reward punch cards to motivate your kids in your homeschool.
Spelling Tests
Spelling is a tough subject for my girls. If your kids have a tough time with their spelling tests, try using these cards and giving them a punch whenever they ace a list.
On a side note: I like to give my kids more than one shot with this one. If they miss any spelling words, they have the opportunity to study and re-test as many times as they want. They get the “punch” once they have the words down.
Silent Reading
To encourage reading habits, you might decide to give a punch for every book that is read. If your older kids are reading chapter books, you could also choose to give a punch for each chapter they read.
You could also do this by minutes (one punch for every 60 minutes of reading), or when they listen to an audiobook. Our family loves Epic! for our e-book and audiobook selection.
Chores
Give your kids a “punch” when they finish all of their assigned chores for the week.
We use this zone cleaning chore system, and while I don’t offer incentives all the time, it could be a fun idea to offer an incentive every once in a while for chores for kids (especially if your child needs some extra motivation to make chores a habit!).
Acts of Kindness
Use the free printable reward punch cards whenever your kids show random acts of kindness to one another or you “catch” them being kind to someone outside of your family.
You might pair these with my Monthly Kindness Bingo boards and give them a punch every time they get a Bingo.
Music Practice
If your kids have a hard time remembering to practice their instruments when they are supposed to, reward punch cards would be great to use! They can earn a punch for each day they practice.
Finishing Schoolwork
You might give a “punch” on the card when your kids finish all of their schoolwork for the day or the week.
We use these Daily Homeschool Checklists that I created with the same designs as the free printable reward punch cards. So it’s really easy for me to see when they have completed everything for the week and reward them with a punch on their card.
Personal Habits
On our weekly checklists, my kids sometimes struggle with the “Weekly Habits” section, where I would put personal habits I wanted them to work on (like remembering to brush their teeth and hair each morning). A little incentive goes a long way for something like this!
Good Behavior
You could use these punch cards while working on character training with your kids. You might focus on one character trait per punch card, and they’d get a punch when you notice them displaying that trait.
Some ideas would be teaching them about being respectful, tidy, cheerful in their work, diligence, kindness, and showing initiative.
Completing Tasks
My oldest son has a habit right now of wanting to skip every English or Reading problem that requires a short answer – he is just not a big fan of writing! Earning a punch for each writing task he completes to the best of his ability is a big encouragement.
If there are subjects or tasks in your homeschool your kids typically drag their feet on or don’t like doing, a reward punch card can be great motivation.
Obeying
Even your preschool kiddos can get in on the action! Right now we are working on obeying “right away, all the way, and with a happy heart” with our youngest, and we are also working on accepting “no” answers the right way (without throwing a fit or arguing!).
Sometimes older kids need to work on these things still, too – bring out the punch cards when you see positive responses displayed!
Bonus Work
If your kids need extra practice on something, encourage them to put in the work with the punch card system.
You could also use this to encourage them to go deeper in their learning of a topic, outside of what would typically be “assigned” to them in your homeschool.
Encouraging Good Grades
I’m not necessarily one to push perfect scores all the time, as we do a lot of learning from mistakes and taking time to go back and make corrections. But there is a lot to be said for taking the time to study hard, and do the absolute best you can on a test, quiz, or project. Punch cards can be used to reward those perfect scores and a job well done.
Exercising
If your kids need any extra motivation to get up and move their bodies, use the punch cards to encourage exercise. You can choose how many minutes equals one punch.
Volunteering and Service Work
This one would take the random acts of kindness idea a little further. I have a lot of ideas on how you can begin volunteering with your family in this series; use the cards as a challenge and a reminder to help out the community. You can even do a “family punch card” and work together for a common reward.
Cooking
Encourage your kids to get more involved in the kitchen and give them a punch for each new recipe they bake, lunch they make for their siblings, or meal they cook for the family.
Taking an Extra Class or Course
One of the big benefits of homeschooling is that we can help our kids explore their interests. Use online resources like SchoolhouseTeachers.com, Outschool, or Udemy to help your kids find courses and classes that interest them, and incorporate the punch cards for their extra efforts.
Setting goals with your reward punch cards
I’d recommend that you be as specific as possible when you begin your reward punch card system.
Choose one of the ideas above, or come up with your own, and make one your focus! Write down on the back of the card how your child can earn their punches.
When they finish a card, set a new goal with a new focus for the next one!
How to use these free printable reward punch cards
Grab my free printable reward punch cards at the bottom of this post. There are 5 different designs to choose from – let your child pick the one they like best!
I recommend either printing them out on cardstock, or laminating them for durability.
Have your child write their name on it, and once you’ve decided on your goal/focus, write it on the back and determine what the reward will be!
Use thoughtfully and selectively
Like I mentioned in the beginning, I don’t recommend rewarding kids for every little thing they do. It would be crazy to try to implement all 16 of these ideas at once!
Decide strategically when you will use the reward punch cards. For example, I might use them all year long to encourage perfect spelling tests, but I might only randomly use them for music practice, or just long enough for a good habit to be formed. This part will be totally up to you!
What kinds of rewards should I give my kids?
This is the fun part! And it’s obviously going to vary per family, and per goal. When my kids were working on completing their All About Reading charts, it took us half of the year, and it was tough for them…so the reward was a little bigger.
For smaller goals that they might get through quicker, I have a little bag that I keep small prizes in that I sometimes let them pick from. But it’s more fun to let my kids pick their prize – as long as it is reasonable, I try to say yes as much as possible! (It’s a good exercise to see what they think is “reasonable” for certain tasks, I will say!).
Plus, when they pick a reward they are excited about, they will be that much more motivated to achieve all 1o punches.
In case you do need a few ideas for prizes, though, here are some good ones you might use:
- Extra screen time
- Ice cream outing or special treat
- Small puzzle or game
- Letting them choose an item from the checkout line at the store (why are those always sooo appealing to kids?)
- A day off of their chores
- Movie night
- Getting to stay up an extra hour at bedtime
- Special outing with Mom or Dad
Free Printable Reward Punch Cards – Grab Yours!
Subscribe below and I’ll send a copy of my punch card printables right to your inbox. I’ll also send a lot of other homeschool-related offers and goodies you won’t want to miss out on!
I hope you and your kids enjoy these!
I would love to hear some of the ways you are using reward punch cards in your homeschool! Drop a note in the comments below.
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Love these ideas
I will use these cards for my students to reward their work. Thank you for your ideas.
Good evening how can I download a copy of the Reward cards.
Please advise.
Thank you
Allison