Little incentives

Honor came home from school today with a ink stamp on her hand. "See what I got in Egyptian Culture because I was quiet and listened!" Why is a little smear of ink such a great incentive to little kids?? I dunno, but why question what works? I remember that the kids' day care and Montessori school in the US had done the same. They had a pack of washable markers with tips shaped into various stamp/shapes. For winter there would be a snowflake, snowman, etc. For Halloween, a pumpkin, leaf, ghost, etc. The markers were simple Crayola brand markers you could buy most anywhere with a good bit of art supplies. Stamps were earned for good behavior. NOT getting a stamp made for a sad day indeed. We implemented the same reward system at home. Eventually, the supply of stamp markers we brought with us from the US dried up and we found other incentives, but it was fun seeing Honor's excitement about earning her stamp today.