Walldren's World

Being a parent to two children under 4 and caring a great deal about how our kids turn out with respect to manners and courtesy, I am so glad my lovely wife devised a daily rewards system ritual for the kids. The Process The kids need to behave a certain way consistently throughout the day and perform specific chores in order to get stickers. These stickers go into a chart or grid and at the end of the day we review and provide feedback on how the day went. If they fill up their charts, then they get to pick anything they want from the "Treasure Box". The Template Each child gets his or her own chart. The tasks or behaviors are "SMART" (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound). Don't worry, we aren't trying to micromanage our children like the " anal retentive chef ". Here's a link to a PDF of our two kids' reward charts  if you're interested in trying this yourselves. The Review Process We tre...

Yesterday I was greeted home by my 3.5 year old son who was excited to say that he had been making me Teddy Bears at the Beach. I had no idea what he was talking about, but his enthusiasm was palpable. I entered the kitchen to find the following creation waiting for me at my seat at the table: I have to admit, I have an incredibly creative wife that would do this craft with our kids. Whether or not she found it on Pinterest  (or insert "mommy blog" name here), it was a fun thing to come home to and the kids and I both enjoyed the treat. I recommend it.

This weekend my lovely wife said something that made my mind immediately think of Frank Herbert’s classic novel, Dune. I did not know that if you sprinkle cinnamon in a sandbox that it will keep ants away . While this is all fascinating and practical, I immediately thought the following: if you sprinkle cinnamon in a sandbox, you create a spice blow in miniature on Arakkis . What better way to engage your toddler with early science fiction / fantasy geekery? Soon after, Lego harvesters can show up to capture the spice mass and sell it to the spacing guild. Before you know it, a byzantine world of interstellar politics will erupt in your sandbox! Native Fremen will clash with the elite warriors of House Harkonnen . From the ashes of a fallen royal house, Muad’Dib will arise and conquer the galaxy in a bloody war. In addition to the fun of adding cinnamon to your sandbox, studious use of water toys and Bermuda grass can terraform your once barren Arakkis into a green world. Gener...