Our day started horribly. The big boys were awake way too early and their first argument of the day woke both me and J. Breakfast included a huge meltdown with a “I don’t want this for breakfast! I wanted that!” kind of fit. Before I knew it, I was losing my cool and raising my voice. Although it felt like I had been awake for hours and hours, the clock only read 8:00.
What to do? I knew I had two choices: suffer miserably through this day feeling discouraged or make a conscious choice to turn it around. I’m glad I picked option B.
With my happiest, more cheerful voice, I declared we were having an art day. I rolled the paper down the length of the kitchen with a dramatic flair. The boys stood in awe (and silence!). We pulled out our crayons and they had at it.
And just like that, their attitudes changed. They sat there with concentration written all over their little faces, figuring out just the right ninja or action figure to draw. M made an impressive world map, with each country colored something different (seen in my PL post here). Even J got in on the action! Before I knew it, the roll was empty and lines of paper filled every inch of our kitchen floor. I had a kitchen full of happy artwork and happy children. And the day was good.
P.S. In case you’re curious, the paper is the Melissa & Doug Easel Paper Roll
What a perfect way to change the atmosphere! I need to remember tricks like this! walk-in-joy.blogspot.com