Object Lesson

I'd like to give our days some sense of rhythm, so I had decided to try using the Kids of Integrity resource from Focus on the Family. I thought 15 minutes of a story/activity on a virture after breakfast every morning would be a great way to start the day. Last night I selected what I wanted to use, randomly choosing respect. Yea, Monday morning of my first week without work and I was feeling very organized.

I told the kids at breakfast that we will get dressed and then I have something fun planned. Before we all finished breakfast, Lanelle had got down and peed on the carpet. Grrr! I put her in the tub while I cleaned that up and Kellen wanted to get in too. Fine, they have a bath and I'll quickly do the dishes first. When I go to get them out I was horrified! They had dumped the whole bottle of my Euclan wool wash (I had washed my sweater last night in the bathroom and fogotten to put it away). It is not cheap! And they have been warned and punished many times about not wasting soap in the tub. It has happened more times than it should. They are not dumb, I know they know better! As, Lanelle later told Dad, "Mommy, got very, very, very angry at us."

Out of the tub, dressed, and assembled downstairs (in record time) we began. I skipped the object lesson. I figured they had made their own. We read and talked about the verses I had chosen - I focussed on the points of listening to your parents. On to the poster about what is respectful and what is not. Lanelle answered the first question of "what is not respectful?" with "wasting Mommy's stuff." She later added that peeing on the carpet is not respectful. Kellen really seemed to get the part about respectful listening. I had calmed down by the end of our "discussion."

I hope they don't create too many of their own object lessons. I think I am still looking forward to these little times together.