When our older youngsters moved into lovely bedrooms upstairs they were given the responsibility of looking after their own space.
They have their own Auntie, Auntie Gloria, who keeps an eye on things, looks after the laundry, with the kids' help, and is someone on had to go to if there is a problem.
But as with any family, not everything goes to plan. Wet towels left around, laundry not collected, untidy lockers all the usual things every parent of pre-teens and teenagers will be familiar with.
So to keep everyone on their toes and tidy, Mama has put in place the Best Room Awards - with a trophy and reward each month for the winning boys' and winning girls' room.
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| Mama meets upstairs kids |
Central to this is are the daily dairies filled in by each room captain and also by Auntie Gloria.
The room captains, elected by the children sharing a room, write a short report each morning naming any child who has slipped up and the reason why.
Mama, Uncle Ronald and Auntie Gloria meet each morning to discuss the diaries and decide on any action needed, with Mama and Uncle Ronald talking to those children who need a bit of extra encouragement and their room captain later in the day.
It's a scheme that's working. For the initial month, while the kids were getting used to it, there were no winning rooms but every child (22 in all ) with a completely clean sheet for the month, was taken out for pizza and chips, hosted by Marina bar, on Saturday.
And when they got back home there was ice-cream for all the family to enjoy (right) thanks to the very kind Andreas from the Italian bakery.
And when they got back home there was ice-cream for all the family to enjoy (right) thanks to the very kind Andreas from the Italian bakery.
Now the room awards are in the second month, with competition hotting up to be the Rooms of the Month.
Good luck and tidy living kids!
Please can you help?
We must build our secondary school to ensure the children living in our care at the Happy House Children's Home and for others in the local community, to ensure that they receive the very best education right through to school leaving,
We must have it finished, furnished, resourced and staffed by January, 2016, ready for its first students.
Every penny donated will help to make this happen.
£20 will buy materials for our joiner, Charo, to make a desk, £15 will buy the materials for a chair
If you would like to make a difference to children's lives for many years to come, please donate at:
http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/childrenofwatamu/brightfuture
