Hi everyone,
I know a lot of us have had success with the marble system.. I just wanted to share an extension/variation of that with you, that my son's teacher just put in place.
Recognising that he needs frequent breaks to stay focused in the classroom, she has designed a task box filled with activities on index cards. She is rewarding my son for good behaviour, i.e. able to finish his work while remaining on task, or staying on the carpet for carpet time, with the privelege to pick a card out of the box and follow out the task outlined on the card. The tasks are very small and simple, for example, "go deliver a message to the principal".. or "go to the office and check to see if there is any mail for our class".. or "go to the coat area and do ten jumping jacks". My son sees it as a fun game and an incentive to really be aware of his actions as much as he can.
This combination of being positively rewarded with a special card that he gets to pick out all on his own, and using the task card as a break to unleash some of his excess energy, is really really helping. If anyone is having difficulties in school, I really suggest giving this a try. This is the only thing thus far that has really worked for us in the classroom. I'm so happy!