Thursday, September 18, 2008

The price of silence

Today was a key day in Matthew's phonics program. I needed his full attention and I needed the little ones occupied. This school year there is a no TV policy during the school day so no electronic babysitter is available after the young ones tire of "doing school" with us at the table. Finding ways to have them play without distracting the kids who are schooling has been a challenge. This time they were playing quietly together, so I was thankful and taught the lesson without stopping to check on them. After we finished I discovered the price of their silence. Two kids covered head to toe in marker (washable, thankfully), the puzzles tub emptied onto the floor, and all the train stuff dumped all over the room. In short, chaos was created in minutes and the result was two gleeful children. Off to the bath they went and afterward we picked up their mess. Everything worked out and the really important stuff stayed the focus, but I would have preferred to have found two children playing quietly with a toy instead of joyous chaos. There's always hope for tomorrow.

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