Saturday, July 15, 2006
I think I've got the solution for us!!!
Rory is perfect for the stereotype of a little guy with tons of energy but very little ability to focus and concentrate on his school work and get it done. Every morning is spent at the table with him and my house work was really suffering.
He dawdles. He drops his pencil. He squirms. He drops his pencil. He stares out the window. He can't find the next word in the sentence he's reading. He drops his pencil. He picks it up and sticks it his pants. He guesses what the next word might be. It's not even close to being right. He drops his pencil. And my patience gets worn rather thin.
I've tried rewarding him with stickers (if he gets enough, he gets a new bike) but that just wasn't doing the trick. I've threatened him with all kinds of 'creative' punishments....to no avail. I've explained, begged, threatened, pleaded and explained some more. And then I got it.
Since it's my housework time that's being eaten up... I now keep track of how long it takes him to do a page of work. And then we get up and do that amount of time in housework. And then we do the next page. If he does a page on his own and I get to work during that time, he's off the hook.
It's been working great because I win either way! Either I get help with some housework or he gets his work done on his own and I get to do the housework during that time. It's made a world of a difference as I don't get upset that he's 'wasting' my whole morning every day. And it's not a punishment...it's simply, if I help him with his work than he helps me with mine.
And he gets to have a break from sitting at the table and be involved in contributing to our household in a practical way that can only be good.
He dawdles. He drops his pencil. He squirms. He drops his pencil. He stares out the window. He can't find the next word in the sentence he's reading. He drops his pencil. He picks it up and sticks it his pants. He guesses what the next word might be. It's not even close to being right. He drops his pencil. And my patience gets worn rather thin.
I've tried rewarding him with stickers (if he gets enough, he gets a new bike) but that just wasn't doing the trick. I've threatened him with all kinds of 'creative' punishments....to no avail. I've explained, begged, threatened, pleaded and explained some more. And then I got it.
Since it's my housework time that's being eaten up... I now keep track of how long it takes him to do a page of work. And then we get up and do that amount of time in housework. And then we do the next page. If he does a page on his own and I get to work during that time, he's off the hook.
It's been working great because I win either way! Either I get help with some housework or he gets his work done on his own and I get to do the housework during that time. It's made a world of a difference as I don't get upset that he's 'wasting' my whole morning every day. And it's not a punishment...it's simply, if I help him with his work than he helps me with mine.
And he gets to have a break from sitting at the table and be involved in contributing to our household in a practical way that can only be good.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Are your kids' toys keeping cool this summer?
Paxton's are. I never know what I'll find when I open the fridge these days. Today it's the combine staying cool.
Camp
We're back from a great weekend of camp! It's always a treat to spend some time at Westbank Bible Camp every year. Here's a picture of our group taking a bit of a hike to find some crystal rocks they call rosetta stones. We had gorgeous weather all weekend and silly me...I didn't wear sunscreen often enough and burnt my shoulders. But we had a great time with an afternoon devoted to a pedicure and pool time for the ladies, paintball for the men (and ladies if they wished), horseback riding, swimming, late night water volleyball and hot tub, zip line, a banquet and campfires. The staff were awesome and the boys had a great time too. I can't wait for next year :-)
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tomorrow is our 10 year anniversary. And we're doing one of my favorite things in summer - heading off to family camp for the weekend. The boys got new sleeping bags yesterday and last night they wanted to try them out so they slept on the floor in their room. So cute this morning when I took a peek.
So we're all ready to go with new haircuts all around. Yesterday I took Rory in to town for his first professional cut. He enjoyed it so much due to the very nice gal doing his hair. (I'll try to upload a picture later). It was so cute when they put some purple gel in it. And I got mine done. This morning Ladger and Paxton got my best efforts.
Ladger and Rory are off to town this morning in the combine - it's being taken to town to get some warranty work done on it and I have to go in half an hour to pick him up - so no school this morning and I actually have a few minutes here to write while I'm looking up some recipes for fresh strawberries. I'm bringing dessert over to Ladger's parents' place for dinner.
So we're all ready to go with new haircuts all around. Yesterday I took Rory in to town for his first professional cut. He enjoyed it so much due to the very nice gal doing his hair. (I'll try to upload a picture later). It was so cute when they put some purple gel in it. And I got mine done. This morning Ladger and Paxton got my best efforts.
Ladger and Rory are off to town this morning in the combine - it's being taken to town to get some warranty work done on it and I have to go in half an hour to pick him up - so no school this morning and I actually have a few minutes here to write while I'm looking up some recipes for fresh strawberries. I'm bringing dessert over to Ladger's parents' place for dinner.
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