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Teaching Priorities

My kids are developing a new form of time management.
They are trying to see how long they can take
 to do absolutely everything I want them to.

Mr. Survival and I aren't so patient right now.
Not as much as we want to be.
Not as much as we should be.

We were are desperate.

I decided to teach them a lesson for Family Night.


I made up the labels of the things we needed to do after school.


I attached each label to two different groups of ingredients.
The front line has more fun things and less chores.
The front line could do chores in any order they wanted,
until school got out in June.


If they chose to do things their own way,
they didn't get these ingredients.
Vanilla.
Salt, baking soda, baking powder.

They tasted it.
They rejected it laughing.
I rubbed my hands together in glee.


Sugar first.
Of course.


Browny's ticket was on the chocolate chips.
Fitting.


Browny + egg = I'm winning
Right?


Mmmm.


They put in the flour last.
Without mixing anything else first.


The end result of my kids' cookie making


My beautiful batter, 
done in a fraction of the time, 
IN THE MOST EFFICIENT ORDER.


Me versus them.


Me on top.
Them on the bottom.
I totally won.

Totally.

Unfortunately,
O siblings in parenthood
there are times

when we really must be prepared
for both results.
My kids chose their cookies.


For the freedom to do what they please,
my kids chose their rising agent deprived, 
clumpy, over developed gluten riddled cookies.

Yuck.

Comments

  1. LaurieMay 11, 2011 at 6:26 AM

    Wow, are you creative! My kids would look at me like "what?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chubby McGeeMay 11, 2011 at 8:20 AM

    This is GENIUS! I love it. What an amazingly creative way to teach a lesson. You are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NataliaMay 11, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    Oh boy can I relate! :) I have a lack of patience all the time. When I give choices I have to be prepared for him to accept either choice and be happy with it. My choices go something like this: You can do your chores and then watch 30 minutes of TV or you can chose to not do your chores and get NO TV! Unfortunately/fortunately my son loves TV :( so the chores get done. But they don't get done fast...that's for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tami@NutmegNotebookMay 11, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    How did you come up with this idea? Brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LeslieGoldmanMay 11, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Hey - can your kids stop by and whip up a batch for me tonight? Around 8pm? kthanxbye

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 11, 2011 at 4:26 PM

    LMAO!! What a great lesson!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Shawnie CannonMay 14, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    This is wonderful creativity. I doubt your kids will forget this one. It seems like we need to come up with new ideas to motivate and teach. Bravo! This is great.

    ReplyDelete
  8. MrsFatassMay 16, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    I think you are a genius. And you know the thing about geniuses? They also have genius kids.
    I love all of you just to bits.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ValerieMay 16, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    That is such an AWESOME idea! I love it. Of course they'd choose their cookies. They can't admit they didn't do it best. :)

    ReplyDelete

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