This morning the children and I had a conference. We planned to bake a special project for our unit on lighthouses this afternoon. And lunch came. And then the afternoon came. Time to get everything together for our project. Time for the children to dig in their heels and become ornery.
OK, I admit it, I got fed up. And announced, “Fine, I’ll bake the cake myself without your help.” And stormed into the kitchen. And then turned right back around. And told that children, “No, forget it. No cake. I’m not having fun. This was supposed to be a fun project. Mama’s not having fun, so we are not going to do it.”
I picked up the crying baby and went back into the kitchen. To clean up. Less than 2 minutes later, David and Mary arrived. And announced that they would bake the cake. David would be the chef and Mary would be his assistant.
Mama did have to referee the “who does the next step” arguments. And pour the batter into the pans.
And clean up the flour.
But it was very peaceful, my idea of a fun time.
And when they were done with that…
They insisted on emptying the dishwasher (and actually put everything away!).
Mary says: “Work is fun, Mom!”
Mama got to do the fun part:
Does it look a little bit like a lighthouse on a rocky cliff?
I’ll post a tutorial next week.
They did a wonderful job. I love how they turned their attitude around and really pulled together to get the project done. Your sweet daughter even unloaded the dishwasher. Bravo!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's great... and I'm thrilled to know I'm not the only mom stomping around sometimes, declaring "that's it!" :)
ReplyDeleteWhenever I despair that they will grow up into little savages, they go and do something ultra-civilized and responsible:-)
ReplyDeleteI love them anytime, no matter what they are doing, but sometimes God has to send me these little reminders that buck me up and say, "Yes, you're on the right track. And, yes, they are totally worth it."