Work at home

Yesterday I tried to get my little guy...

You know what? I'm tired of saying "my son" or "my little guy". He has earned a nickname from one of my buddies...on account of the pictures I post of him. So from here on out he is... Zorro.

So let's start over...

Yesterday I tried to get Zorro to do his "homework" with me. Hoping to keep him up to date with other kids, I am trying to make sure we learn our alphabets and numbers, counting, phonics, prewriting and all those other important three R skills. I had my worksheet out which required him drawing straight lines, and was trying to get him interested in doing the work.

He tells me, "No, mom. You can do it yourself. By yourself."

Uhh, nice try kid.

So we muddle through it. We tried counting next. Kids at this age don't hold anything back. When they don't want to do something, you know it. Falling back in his chair. Deep sighs. Emotions written across his face and covering his whole body. Body language, indeed!

Time to break out the weapons.

Now I'm sure someone will tell me what I did was wrong. But frankly, I don't care. In this case, the ends do justify the means.

I put out 4 yogurt lids*. On each lid I put a certain number of...the secret weapon..mini M&Ms. Let me tell you, one glance at the M&Ms and his interest was hooked! Rules of the game... Which lid has the most M&Ms? Count them and tell me how many M&Ms there are. If you get them correct, you eat the M&Ms.

Ahh, the sweet taste of success!

And no, I didn't have any M&Ms myself. I am stronger than chocolate. Most of the time.


*Yogurt lids. Were you wondering about that? Why does she have plastic yogurt lids? I'll tell you why whether you were curious or not. First, I save the whole container, not just the lids. They make great little containers for toddler snacks. You can fit stars, goldfish, pretzels... all those good things, and they don't get crushed like they would in a plastic bag. And, you could use the containers for paint with the little ones or use them as "cookie" cutters with Playdough. The lids also make great paint holders if you are using thick paints like fingerpaints. Lots of possible uses. Especially if you ask a pack ratter. FYI, I've also saved snack-sized applesauce cups for paints too. Cheap and disposable.