Flemmies, Soank Ateckers, and Yestermornings

I absolutely love the things my kids say. Over the years I have tried to document funny words or phrases as they've spilled out of their mouths. When they are using their English they are as serious as a heart attack, completely sure of themselves.

When my 12 year-old was about 3, he wrapped a chubby little arm around each of our necks (me and my husband) and pulling us close announced, "I love my flemmy." Flemmy has been a part of our flemmy language for nearly ten years now. More than any other word he ever said, that one will stay with us.

Each of the kids has contributed to our family speak. My 3 year-old daughter routinely talks about things that happened "yestermorning." I love it! It is her way of talking about anything that is past tense. It's adorable. In her honor, I have taken to referring to past events as having occurred yesterevening as well. :)

None of the kids ever really runs out of a word to share. Accordingly, my current 3 year-old son will talk your ear off. He actively grows his vocabulary each day. When he spouts off a sentence, he will sometimes get half-way and turn to me searching for the word to describe what he's talking about. He'll pause, smile at me, and say, "Mama, I don't know that word." That is of course my cue to fill in his blank. He then uses his new word repeatedly to reinforce his learning.

Recently, he has become quite interested in fire. It all began one night when he noticed a tiny green light shining down from his ceiling. "Wha's dat dreen yight, Mama?" I can hear him saying it. :) I told him it was the smoke detector. He tried so hard to repeat those words, but they simply would not roll off his tongue. For at least two weeks now he has been talking about smoke, fire, choking, and staying safe. No less than twice a day he talks with us about the "soank atecker" and how it will keep him safe from the fire.

Two nights ago Daddy pushed the test button so he could hear how loud it is. Now he's more interested than ever. We daily reassure him (and his twin sister, since she has not-so-spontaneously developed a like interest) that the soank atecker won't choke him and that Mama and Daddy will run to get him if it makes a loud beep.

Someday this conversation will pass. He will absorb this knowledge like all the rest.
Someday he won't look to me to fill in the words for him.
Someday he won't need me to reassure him that I'll rescue him from the fire.
Someday all the kids will says words I will have to look up in my dictionary.

Until then, I'm so happy to talk about flemmies, soank ateckers, and yestermornings. I just smile, hug their little necks, and tell them how smart (and cute) they are. :)

The smoke detector just happened to go off while I was cooking dinner the day after I wrote this blog.  It was fun to capture the essence of the soank atecker.  :)

Proximity Alarms a.k.a. Twins

With any amount of observation it is easy to see plethora examples of yin and yang in our environments. My son's strong set of magnets for example. He can place one on top of the table, the other underneath, and move them around with no interference from the wood in between. I tend to think of my twins in similar terms.

So often they are joined at the hip. While they aren't identical, their existence seems to extend and revolve around one another. What he does, she does, and vice versa. How we have been able to get around having two of everything must truly be God's grace. That's not to say that things run smoothly all the time. On the contrary, our peaceful, productive days are often punctuated by explosions of three year-old fierce competition. Such was the case this morning.

More often than not now, the twins are able to work together toward common purposes or play goals. It's been a beautiful thing to behold - two lovely little toddlers stretching their creativity and minds. We have been hearing a steady stream of "Let's do it, Sissa!" and "Help me, Tarter!" (The twins are named Lisse and Karter, but you'd never know it.) Occasionally, we still have a day when their magnetism toward one another is more like a proximity alarm. Today, no matter what they've been engaged in, whether individually or cooperatively, the closer they came to one another, the louder the screams became.

It cracked me up to think of them both as proximity alarms. I thought these became disabled sometime after the separation anxiety stage of infanthood. Now if we can just get them to the stage where they are more like proximity sensors without the alarm. :)

Accountable Kids is a Big Hit

Over the summer I attended my first homeschool convention, HEAV (Homeschool Educators Association of Virginia). Little did I know that after seven years of homeschooling, I was in for a real treat - a time of refreshing and rejuvenation. Those three days were amazing and have helped me renovate and organize my homeschool life. I grew so many brain cells! One product I was blessed to stumble upon is Accountable Kids. I didn't realize until using this system exactly how much I needed it. There is no way I could have imagined how much it would positively impact our family life.

According to developers Traci and Scott Heaton and their website (www.accountablekids.com):

Accountable Kids is a unique parenting program designed to teach accountability and responsibility in the home. It is a back-to-basics system which includes essential parenting principles and concrete stepping stones that strengthen relationships and build a foundation for success; an ideal program for ADHD natural treatment therapy. Children learn to balance choices and consequences in a fun, productive manner. They experience the joy of being a vital, contributing member of the family and develop confidence and self-worth. The Accountable Kids program includes a book, Quick Start DVD, Progress Board, 50 Reminder Cards, 3 blank Reminder Cards, 10 Tickets, 10 Bonus Bucks, 3 Special Date Cards, 4 Best Behavior Cards, and 2 Privilege Passes, and 2 sticker sheets. The Accountable Kids program provides everything parents need to maximize efforts and bring structure and harmony into the home.


Steps of the Program


Step One: Children learn to take care of personal responsibilities without constant direction. They learn work ethics, time management, and responsibility. Children earn Tickets by completing basic chores. Tickets can then be used for activities or privileges. Tickets provide parents the ability to discipline without losing control or physical contact. Basic values are encouraged and reinforced with the Best Behavior Card.

Step Two: The Privilege Pass is introduced to eliminate specific negative behaviors. This process empowers children to predict consequences, follow rules, and redirect themselves towards positive behaviors. A Special Date Card is added to allow children to work for future rewards and enhance parent/child relationships.

Step Three: Completing basic chores provides basic privileges, but not the extras. Children earn Bonus Bucks for completing extra chores. This gives them the ability to make decisions about purchases. They experience the advantages of saving and learn to manage resources for the future.

Step four: The Family Forum presents an opportunity to discuss goals, problems, challenges, and accomplishments. It provides an opportunity to monitor progress and encourage positive behaviors. Quiet Time is introduced to refresh and recharge children and parents. It encourages the use of imagination, self-discipline, and self-entertainment.

My Personal Experience with Accountable Kids

When preparing the peg boards for our 3 year-old twins, I enlisted the help of my 12 year-old son. We decided to go the natural route and he took them into the backyard to burn their names into the wood using the sun and a magnifying glass. They turned out quite nicely.

I sat down to watch the video with high hopes and found that it did not disappoint. The Heatons presented the program in such a simple way that setting it up in our home was a cinch. I was able to set up their boards and chores after watching the first 12 minutes of the video. Armed with the information presented in the DVD, I had my husband mount their peg boards in the diningroom, low enough for the kids to reach them and placed all their chore cards on the basic chores and extra chores pegs. After watching the entire video, I headed to bed with a clear idea of what the next day would bring. I drifted off to sleep with the possibilities alive in my head.

The next morning, I sprung out of bed and bounced into their room with a fresh perspective, ready to help them get dressed, make beds, etc. We hardly made it downstairs before Karter saw his board and said, "Mama, you put these cards on here for me while I was sleeping?" He was already excitedly pulling them from the pegs to inspect the photos on each card. I had them both pull cards from their start peg and flip them onto the finish peg for getting dressed and making their beds. We then moved on to breakfast and our morning chores. Before we knew it, all their morning chores were completed and we flipped the rest of the cards over onto the finish peg. I explained to them that they had earned a "ticket" for completing all their morning chores. You would have thought I had given them a surprise ice cream when I handed them their tickets. After explaining to them that they get to "spend" their tickets on fun things like watching a 30 minute kid show, they were ecstatic and settled in to spend their first ticket on an episode of Dora the Explorer.

Admittedly, I had become one of those parents who was too ready to plop their toddler in front of a television so that I could get something done. I was thankful for the distraction so that I could perform my she-Tazmanian Devil whirlwind around the house doing all the chores that I have now set out to teach my children to do along side me.

Throughout the first day, they spent tickets on two shows, blowing bubbles in the front yard, and making chalk drawings on the driveway. We were able to accomplish all the chores on their "go" peg and then some. I felt productive and peaceful and didn't have to mediate arguments as usual. The day flew by! I was amazed at how positively the day had progressed. This type of day has been the norm each time we actively use Accountable Kids. There have been days we haven't used the program and I have overwhelmingly found that our days are more hectic, less productive, and much more stressful, mostly because the kids have too much time on their hands, which leads to more conflict between them. Following the cards I've set up for each of them keeps us flowing through the day with a steady stream of productivity, fun, interaction, and calm down time that we all share. I think they sleep better too because they are more active throughout the day.

The program has been so effective with our younger kids that we have also decided to use it with our 12 year-old son. He doesn't even have his board yet and he is already excited about the possibilities, particularly his earning potential by doing extra chores and earning bonus bucks. We have already laid out with him the benefits he can realize by being more responsible within the family. He has already benefited from the concept of the best behavior card. During a recent visit to our home, his best friend left crumbs on the table after eating a sandwich. My son instructed his friend to clean up the crumbs and showed him an easy way to accomplish this. I stood back and soaked it all up. I took a "Best Behavior Card" and handed it to him, explaining how proud I was of his behavior. Once I outlined for him how we will use this card, he was even more excited to use the program.

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest mark, I give Accountable Kids a high five in terms of easy of use, flexibility within and across families, and effectiveness in establishing routines and discipline. I look forward to the positive difference this will continue to make within my family as we use the program to enhance our communication and increase the harmony within our home. I'm so thankful to have found Accountable Kids.