Ask Micki: Ideas for rewards?

© D. Sharon Pruitt

Question: Hi. I was wondering if you have any ideas for rewards? I'd like to give some incentives to my young students, and I would also like to give some kind of rewards to their parents.

My students are mostly between about 6-9 years old.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Micki,
Helen

Answer: Hi, there, Helen.  How great that you want to provide rewards and incentives to your tutees and the parents - very nice!

Tutee rewards can provide a great incentive for young tutees to keep up with their work and pay attention during sessions.  They get excited about earning rewards, and it can give your tutees an exciting goal to strive for through the week or month.  

On a business level, rewards for parents are also a good idea.  By providing incentives for parents, you will likely be ensuring that you have happy, repeat customers who are willing to recommend you to friends and family. 

That said, there will definitely be a pretty big difference in the types of incentives you provide.  Here are a few ideas:

Kids

1. Pencils, pens, and erasers are always a hit with kids.  Always.  Just make sure they are fun.  No one wants a plain ole' boring #2 yellow pencil.  Pick up some scented erasers, colorful pencils, or crazy pens to give to your tutees.  The more fun they are the better!

2. Stickers - Most kids cannot have enough of them! (Check out my blog posting all about these popular little rewards)  Crazy shapes, scented, sparkly - pretty much any kind of stickers will be a hit!

3. Games and books are also a good choice for rewards.  Now, obviously, since these rewards will be a bit more expensive, they will be higher level rewards.  However, if your students are willing to "save up points" or wait a little longer for a reward, games and books can be great incentives. 

Parents/Guardians

1. Offer a free session for a certain number of paid sessions.  You have probably seen those reward cards at coffee houses and other retail establishments.  Why not take the idea into the realm of tutoring?  For example, you can print out a punch card that reads, "For every 11 paid tutoring sessions, the 12th tutoring session is free!"

2. Discounts for time packages are always a hit with parents and guardians.  Instead of charging, for example, $45/hour, offer parents/guardians a $35/hour rate if they agree to have you tutor for at least 30 hours.  They will be happy at the $300 savings, and you will be happy with the repeat business!  Just make sure to get something in writing so that you can all keep track of the hours tutored, and so that you all have a copy of the agreement. 

3. Offer discounts for referrals.  If, for example, your tutee's parent refers a friend to your tutoring service, give your tutee's parent 20% off of future tutoring sessions.  Something like that is always appreciated. 

Stick with these basic ideas, or build off of them and come up with some customized ideas of your own.  I guarantee your tutees and their parents/guardians will be thrilled!

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Photo Credit: © D. Sharon Pruitt
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/dspruitt

Field Notes: Reward System Success!

I just wanted to check in here and let all of my fellow tutors know about something that I have been using with a lot of success over the past few months.  Rewards!

See, I tutor little kids, mostly in reading and music, and I had a few tutees who were just not very excited about learning.  When I say not excited, what I really mean is, dragging their feet, "why-do-I-have-to-do-this?!, bummed out kids. 

I tried making the tutoring more entertaining by adding fun worksheets, keeping the mood light, etc.  But, hey, there's only so much you can do, right?  Then I read a post here about rewards and prizes.  I was immediately enthusiastic about the whole idea, and rushed out to my local office store to pick out some little prizes.

I also printed out the little reward sheets to keep track of tutoring sessions, and homework, worksheets, etc. completed by my students.

Well, you wouldn't believe it, but the turn around from even my most difficult little tutees was incredible.  Suddenly, they were all excited about learning, and every single one of my young tutees asks me to see the reward sheet so that they can see how close they are to "getting a prize.'

For the cost of some novelty erasers, pens, pencils, and stickers, I have a group of very excited, young tutees who show up to every session ready (and enthusiastic) to learn!

Stacy, M. from SC