Today the kids did a zoom meeting for cousins and they played a game that one family couldn't access. I'm so disappointed in them for letting what a few wanted, exclude others. I don't eat sugary treats but I let them. Maybe they've learned that it's OK to do something one person can't enjoy. Or maybe they are kids.
Next week they are responsible to make sure the game is something everyone can play, or else they have to step out and not play.
Today I walked 3 miles then went to a Sisters in Fitness class at church. P won an auction for an amazingly nice basketball hoop so we went to pick that up. It was quite a work out to take it apart and get it in the van, then put it back together at home. P and I work together well. We have a good style of taking turns with the tools and being helpful to one another.
In the afternoon we met up with the M family. They brought a weed wacker and we brought a rake to the church. We cleaned out the gaga ball pit and played for an hour. It was a lot of fun to work with them and hang out.
We finished the Book of Mormon Timeline and have plotted out the time scale for the Science Timeline.
3000BC to 0AD
1000AD-1800AD
1848AD to 2000 AD
The corner mark is 1848 when 0 degrees Kelvin was discovered.
I'm really looking forward to plotting different discoveries, maths and inventions on a time scale. I love time lines.
Today we watched the Inauguration of President Biden. I was moved by the singing, signed pledge of allegiance and poem. I'm glad we watched it. I pray President Biden will be boring. I hope he will be good and inspiring.
The first time I encountered Love and Logic it was 2001. I was at a teacher inservice before the school year started. At the time I was newly graduated, newly married, kind of grown up and trying to be a band director. The idea of giving children choices to get them to do what you wanted them to do seemed pretty good.
20 years later, I have 5 children ages 16-5 and have had the privilege of attending more Love and Logic trainings via my son's school.
These are my notes from today:
Enforceable statements When you _____ I will ______
Mistakes are learning opportunities
Resist temptation to nag
Use few words and consistent loving actions
Delay consequences so you can respond with compassion
Let children solve their own problems
Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like – fay
Daily notice something and voice it about your children. See them.
“What % of your attention do I have?”
Give choices before the child becomes resistant. When they have chocies, they learn that their choices have consequences!
Choices
Will you wear it or carry it?
Will you be home by 10:30 or 11?
Are you going to turn your phone off or ignore your friends during dinner?
Treat yourself with love and logic. Give yourself choices.
Come up with questions to ask Penny in typical tense situations.
Lead with choices. Choices after their resistance reinforce the resistance.
A child’s job is to get everything out of you.
When the child is resistant, you go a different direction: Need more information.
Prep the children. This is where we’re going. This is what I’m expecting of you.
When they argue, make them problem solve and talk it out.
The epiphany I had today is that Love and Logic is not about how to get kids to do what you want. It's how to develop the habit in themselves, to make choices. To live a life where you respond instead of react. I need to have love and logic for myself, and let them have love and logic for themselves because it is our relationships with ourselves that are most important to develop.
CVS has a member program I joined in December and saved some money. This month I was able to save a lot of money again. The program costs $5 monthly, but gives a monthly $10 card + other savings like a $4 off $20 coupon. We don't use a lot of pharmacy items so I will probably drop this coverage soon. But for a few months I'll try to use the benefit to stock up on toiletries and stuff. Tonight we were able to save $30 buying re-chargeable batteries for the boys RC cars. Yay! Really we saved $14 and got an extra set of batteries we didn't need out of a Buy 2 get one free promo.
Savings are tricky. If you're buying things you don't need, to save money that is not an actual benefit.
