Kindness Chart Printable

I was going through old files and found this chart from 2011. I must have been feeling particularly frustrated with the niceness levels around the house when this was made. (It was also January, we were likely full of winter doldrums, too.) The chart has symbols for kids and mom, each with four sections to be filled in whenever someone is showing great behavior. Rewards can be issued when all four sections are filled in. Included is a list of positive behaviors that will earn a mark on the chart:

• Use kind words

• Be respectful

• Be a good listener

• Be supportive and encouraging (still struggling with that amongst the siblings!)

• Be a helper

• Keep your hands to yourself

• Show appreciation: say please and thank you!

I honestly cannot remember if we actually used it. The act of making the chart alone was probably enough to chill me out of whatever crazy state I was in at the time. It seems like a good one to share!

Download Kindness Chart here.

Baking Monday – Monkey Cookies!

Clark spotted this recipe in one of his animal magazines and wanted to make some monkey cookies. They turned out super cute!



Clark is my baking buddy. He's the one most likely to ask to make something and offer to help when I'm in the kitchen. He helped mix the dough and shaped four of the monkeys by himself before declaring he "needed a break."



So I got to finish the rest of them. It was kind of fun sculpting cookies instead of using a cutter for a change. The recipe is pretty good ... it uses a lot of butter, so these ended up with more of a firm shortbread texture than a soft sugar cookie. I used Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Frosting to decorate. Mini peanut butter cups filled in for M&M noses.



Clark also had zero interest in decorating the cookies, but much interest in eating them.



He wanted a photo of one of his cookies and requested: "Don't post it on Facebook, but you can put it on Hotcakes." Done! (Also? That was day two of turtle pajamas. We take our summer vacationing very seriously around here.)



Monkey cookies! Yay!

More Photo Booth Props!

I've added to my Photo Booth prop collection! The first batch were for one of Dora's parties and are a bit girly-themed. So before we went on family vacation last year, I made another set for a little more variety. We had a super fun photo session with all the littles ... I was snapping photos for about an hour!



See? The bow works well in the hair or as a neck tie!

They were used again for the second grade class party this week. Super fun!

Would you like them, too? Here you go! Assembly instructions can be found in the original post.

Download bunny ears here

Download bowtie / toothy grin / alien antennae here

Download alien eyes / mask here

Download top hat here

Personal use only, please! 

Where I've Been!

I've still been baking, but the weekly recipes and photo shoots were getting to be more of a chore than a pleasure. And while school life always gets busy this time of year, there were a few extra events throwing our schedule off track, such as ...

The honor of traveling to Michigan State University last month for the Odyssey of the Mind World finals! Our middle school team won their regional competition ... then WON states (holy cow, that was so cool) ... which made them eligible to compete against 65 other teams from all over the world. Dora and Theo are both on the team and Mr. Hotcakes is the coach, so we all hopped the bus to MSU! It was an amazing experience, both in what they learned and how much fun they had. I really can't say enough good things about the program, it's incredibly hard work, but also incredibly rewarding.

Clark has had a many ups and downs lately. While he did great on our trip to Michigan (for the most part) the last three weeks of school were incredibly challenging. He also celebrated his First Communion (praise the Lord! I was worried all year about whether he'd go through with it.) and bridged to a Bear scout. He continues to be a big thinker and makes me laugh every day. Always trying to understand what's going on in that little walnut of his. 

(And look! Cookies!)

I've also been working quite a bit (yay). Did you know that my updated work can be found here? The spotgirl.net website is long overdue for a change, that's also on my long list of projects. I've been having a lot of fun working by hand and have been using Instagram and Tumblr to post those works in progress. I don't have any of my own materials that I'm currently marketing and am hoping this playtime helps point me in the direction of what to do next. 

Thanks for tuning in. More soon! 

Valentines 2015 (and a Parenting Oops)

This is the note that went in Clark's lunch box this morning. One problem ... the party was TODAY. After my walk this morning, I came home to an email from his (wonderful) teacher:

Hi! I just wanted to check in and see how Clark’s morning went… Something seems to be on his mind. When we talked about the party today, he appeared sad, almost teary. I approached him and he wasn’t willing to talk about what was bothering him. Just wanted to let you know. 

OH NO!!! Of course he was upset. He worked so hard on on his valentines, and I did not send them to school, because I assumed the party would be on Friday. As I was quickly writing back that I'd run them over, this message popped up:

Hi again! With prompting and some time, Clark was able to share what was on his mind. He is concerned that he doesn’t have his Valentine cards at school and students will be passing them out later today. With assistance and time he did an EXCELLENT job of sharing his thoughts. I observed him working through his frustration without having an outburst or shutting down. We talked about a few solutions to the problem (asking you to bring them in, passing them out tomorrow). He is still thinking about what solution he is most comfortable with. Just wanted to keep you updated! 

Really, could she be more amazing? She was so committed from the beginning of the year to making a good connection with Clark and figuring out all his quirks. We still have bumps in the road, but she has done such a great job of getting the best out of him and helping him navigate through the day. I was able to catch them right before leaving for lunch. He was SO pleased and relieved to see me. He was able to quickly sign his name to the back of each one and bring them back to the classroom. WHEW!!!



Very happy we had the extra time to finish the painting on Wednesday night. They were going to go in red envelopes addressed to each student tonight, but the card itself will do just fine! He wanted to make the same valentines as last year, agreeing to a few modifications after I pestered him about changing them up just a little bit. Last year's experience was quite a challenge for him. Happily, he remembers the positive outcome, so of course he wanted to do them exactly the same.

"Mom. They were SO good last year. Everyone loved them."

(Not So) Spooky Halloween Pudding Cups

Elementary school in the fall means ... it's party time! The parent who planned this year's fall party sent out a suggestion to make these cute desserts for the second grade. 

I make little paper faces as a template. After dropping one into a cup, I stacked another cup inside to keep it straight, then traced with a Sharpie. This worked really well, especially when making them for a crowd!

While the dessert gets lots of oohs and aahs, guess what? Kids don't really like vanilla pudding (and I agree!) I tried to make it as yummy as possible by adding a top layer of chocolate pudding under the crushed Oreo cookies. But I'd say that 75% of the kids scooped off the top layer and the rest went in the trash. Which is kind of what I expected, so no worries.



Dora came up with suggestions for making faces on a chocolate version, like using stickers or googley eyes. My grade on these treats would be C for taste (unless vanilla pudding is totally your thing) but A for cuteness!

Baking Monday – Crunchy Nutty Muffins!

Clark saw this recipe in a Highlights magazine months ago and wanted to try them. Of the three kids, he's the one who most often helps out in the kitchen and enjoys baking with me. It took us awhile to get to making them … yay for summer vacation!

Walnuts are not my favorite, but I did enjoy these very much. They are buttery and moist, and I like the crunchiness (as promised in the title!) Plus cinnamon sugar makes everything yummy. Clark measured, poured, and mixed the ingredients and also filled the muffin cups!

I didn't get a great picture of him with the muffins, because he was excited to eat! He and a friend shared the first two and both gave them a thumbs up. 

Kid Cookies!

Theo has two moods in the summer: Best Thing Ever or Worst Day Ever. If he is not currently doing a perceived Best Thing activity, he melts to the ground in Worst Day mode. He was having a Worst Day moment when I pulled out all the cookie decorating stuff. I had lots of icing leftover from an order so I baked one batch of random shapes just for them to decorate, and goodness … what a great job they did! 

I loved Dora's fireworks ...



… and Theo's (unintentional) 80's glam rock tribute.

Besides having a tray of beautiful cookies to share with friends, I also got an hour of sibling harmony. Dora and Theo had a great time decorating, and I even heard Theo say, "This is so much fun!" So happy that cookie decorating turned out to be a Best Thing.

I asked them to set aside three for me!

Upcycled Notebook Paper

Every year the kids bring several composition books home from school, and they are rarely all used up. It would kill me to recycle all that good paper. If a quarter or less of the book is used up, I'll trim out the old pages and keep the book to send to school next year. If less than that is blank, I'll trim out the good pages and put them in our scrap drawer. 

I ALWAYS keep a little notepad on my desk, because even though I love my electronic calendars and list makers, sometimes information needs to be more easily accessible to be helpful. Using this handy tutorial, I made up a bunch of little notepads using our surplus of lined paper. All the supplies happened to be on hand: paper, cardboard, paint sticks, binder clips, and Mod Podge. Of course, a paper cutter makes this job extra easy, but a craft knife and a metal ruler would work well, too. These pads are 4.25 x 3.5", a good size for writing short lists and easy to trim four squares out of a sheet of composition notebook paper. The glue dried and was ready to use in about an hour! Wheee! I love repurposing!

Last Year / This Year

Last year: Spent class field trip slowly walking behind group, complaining loudly, low energy.

This year: Happy to see me, checked in occasionally, but spent most of the time with his class, listening to the guide, asking questions.

Last year: Had to leave the talent show early because he was so unhappy and disruptive.

This year: Sat next to me for the whole show. Recognized songs from the radio. Complimented the performers.  

Last year: School party was too loud, too chaotic. Spent a slow thirty minutes eating ice cream and left without playing a single game.

This year: In and out of the obstacle course over and over again. Played every game. Asked a friend to play frisbee on the playground.

Last year: Refused to participate in his first badge ceremony.

This year: Happily walked up, shook hands, proudly received his first belt loop and activity patch!

Last year: Teacher sending emails every day, listing one problem after another.

This year: Teacher sending emails, listing problems and then … coming up with a list of solutions. Strategies. Help. Encouragement. Compassion. Support. 

Last year: Had to be practically held in place to keep from bolting during the Flag Day ceremony because he was so uncomfortable.

This year: Proudly wore scout uniform to school. Got up on stage with his fellow cubs to lead the pledge. Stood up on the risers with his class … and even sang some of the song!

Life with this quirky kid has not been easy, but what a difference a year makes. He is sharp as a tack and makes me laugh every day. His heart is full of love for his pet and his family (in that order). He reads everything he can and asks a zillion questions (to which he absolutely expects an answer). We are navigating this bumpy road together and are right now doing pretty well. 

Baking Monday – Baby Shower Cookies

I didn't use my new icing trick for this order, because I wanted them to be smooth and glossy, and wasn't too worried about bleeding on these. I did end up with a little bit of spotting, which looks more intense in the photo than they did IRL. I liked the simple design - these were fun to do.

The big kids finished state tests last week, and Dora made some chocolate chip cookies for her math class to celebrate. With the leftover dough from the baby cookies, I cut out some numbers that she decorated with school colors. There weren't enough for the entire class, so we put them in small packages for the fifth and sixth grade math teachers. She did such a nice job ... I love the variety of patterns!

Portraits

I'm usually the one behind the camera, but happily got caught inside the frame a few times this month. (I almost said caught on film - that's not accurate at all!) 

Heading out to the Mother Daughter Dance with Dora. This was our sixth year attending. The crowd at the dance is mostly younger kids, but she hasn't outgrown wanting to go yet! Always a great time.



Making waffles with Clark on a rare Saturday morning with no plans, what a treat!



At the park with Theo. When he's an adult, will he look back at pictures from year ten and wonder why he was always making this face?

… and here I am back behind the camera, caught one morning before school: Penny neglects her alarm clock duties, distracted by a warm bed.

Lunch Notes, The Clark Years

I've posted about lunch notes before … how I was really good about sending them with Dora every day in K/1, kind of lost steam a bit with Theo … then took a break for a few years until Clark started Kindergarten. Even last year, notes were sporadic. But this year has brought a need for routine, and lunch notes are a part of that. Last year, Clark was petrified of buying anything in the lunch line, so I used to send a bottle of water every day (taking up valuable real estate in the lunch box!) This year, we worked on encouraging him to buy milk with lunch. The routine took some work … I met him in the cafeteria every day for a few weeks until he was confident enough to do it on his own. I don't know why the habit caused so much stress for both Clark and myself. I happened to catch the therapist outside the lunch room one day and was expressing my … embarrassment? frustration? anxiety? … that we had to go through this every day, to which she replied,

"You're giving your child what he needs. What's wrong with that?"

That has become my mantra over the last few months, dealing with Clark and his quirks. Whenever I get flustered and think, "How come (this kid) can do (that), but it's so hard for my kid?" I think of her words.

Anyhow … back on topic. Once he finally got the hang of buying milk on his own, lunch notes started out as a daily reminder, and turned into something he really looked forward to every day. If I happened to forget, I would see the Charlie Brown walk heading towards me at pick-up time. I've started snapping a picture of morning lunch notes as a little archive of this year in first grade.

By the way … not only does Clark now buy milk every day (and chocolate on Friday!) he will actually buy his lunch once a month! One small step for most kids, one giant leap for Clark.

Valentines 2014

Valentine's Day came and went without much fanfare over here this year. The kids had the day off of school, so it should have been filled with fun activities, but both older kids had OOTM meetings (at alternating times of the day) which kept us close to home instead. Clark helped me bake an apple pie for Jeff followed by an afternoon of board games. We hadn't planned ahead for dinner, and our search for a non-counter service restaurant without a wait landed us at Ground Round for our family meal. Fancy, no, but enjoyable, yes. As for the creative stuff … this was the first year that Dora did not have to make a class full of cards, but she painted a handful while we had the supplies out that we then sent to our family.



It's a challenge to get a 10-year-old boy excited about making valentines for his classmates, so I approved this theme, with the only requirements being that everyone is smiling and all the weapons be shaped like hearts. He did good. (And yes, he and Dora have both recently read the trilogy … not so sure I would have allowed it, but Dad gave them the okay.)



Clark's valentines … have a story. We've been doing this brand of valentine since Dora was a preschooler: pick a picture/character/theme, print it on white paper and color them in. We usually decide on watercolor because it's quickest. This year, Clark wanted cards that looked like Penny. I usually stretch card making over a few days (more opportunities to catch child in a cooperative mood) but a home project had me busy last week, and we ended up with only two evenings to finish cards before the class party. At card making time, he was not at his best, and getting really frustrated because the paint was not going where he wanted it to go. I was giving him a little pep talk and pointed out that many famous paintings are free-form, and pulled out a book on Paul Klee to show him some examples. This got him totally energized, and he zipped through the rest of his cards saying, "It's abstract! Good art doesn't have to be in the lines!" Yes! A win for Mom!!!

The next day at school pick-up time, his classroom aide flagged me down to tell me a story. Come time to exchange cards, she spotted Clark in the corner with his head down (a familiar pose Jeff and I refer to as "the Charlie Brown") and she asked him what was wrong. He responded "I've made the worst mistake of my life." (Oh, the drama!!) He went on to lament that he was worried that his cards were no good. She convinced him to show her the valentines and suggested they take them around to some other teachers to see what they thought. They visited the two kindergarten teachers, who of course, gushed over his work. He skipped back to the classroom, happily handed out his cards, and reportedly got several complements from his classmates.

Two thoughts: First, I am so thankful for his classroom teachers this year. They SO get him and know how to get the best effort out of him. Second, I praised Clark up and down for telling someone about his problem and reinforced that as a good way to help himself out when he's feeling frustrated. A happy end to the day!

The Winter That Kicked My Butt

This spring, I'm going to eat lunch outside. Read on the back porch, take the dog for long walks, get Clark off training wheels, and bribe the kids with ice cream so they'll go geocaching with me. But all these plans are fantasy for now, as we're currently getting more snow on top of the snow that we've had for weeks. (Twenty-one inches in the backyard … Clark measured.)

And yes, we've had our fair share of fun. But really, this winter can just end already. It's not the snow days – I actually prefer those days, because we get a free pass from all the running around – it's the parade of cold, grey days ... weeks and weeks of them. The bitter, biting, minus zero days. Walking the dog at 7 am and feeling my nose hairs freeze. All things that make me just want to curl up under a blanket and eat cupcakes. The low motivation does not play well with the fact our household also happens to be crazy busy right now. 

Jeff's regular job has ramped up, so the last two months have him working nights and weekends (!!!), which I know is the norm for lots of families, but it's new for us. Plus he's teaching a class for the first time this semester, so if he's not doing work-work, he's doing class work. If he's not doing either of those works, he's coaching two Odyssey of the Mind teams. Oh! I forgot to mention that it's OOTM season which means my dining room is full of balsa wood, paint, cardboard and duct tape from January until March. No dining room table means I can't even break out a good puzzle to make the blahs go away.



Early dismissal today rather than a snow day, since our district is dangerously close to adding days to the school year because of all the snow. Which means that during the worst bit of weather today, I had to go pick up the kids from school (x2). The car couldn't get up our hill, so I backed right back into the driveway and did the back and forth on foot instead (x2).

Counting my blessings but at the same time counting down the days.