What Works For Me 46/365 And the World did not end…

Last night I had had enough.  Homework wasn’t done, chores were not done and the sole focus was “finishing the next battle” on the computer.  I sat down at the computer, put passwords on accounts and parental controls that limit access to certain hours.  Then I sat back to watch the evening unfold. Apparently we ruined Mr 11’s life big time, and he was never talking to us again and never doing any chores and everything was hopeless.  he ranted and raced and we ignored him.

Then after dinner he thought he might make a mobile about Federation (as in Federation of Australia 1901) because he is learning about that in History this year.  So we worked together to find images and text and cartoons on that theme.  I printed them out and kept working on my learning stories (I’m averaging 3 a night to keep up with February) and he sat beside me, happily cutting out and planning how we would laminate them and put the mobile together.  I did almost wonder if it was the same child.

Tonight we laminated, cut out some more and stuck things together.  Neither of them got on a computer and we had such a peaceful, relaxed evening.  Not sure if I should ever give them their new passwords…