So, for the time being, I have trained Camryn how to take care of Kendall while I'm teaching. The afternoons are relaxed because Kendall is napping and Camryn goes to afternoon pre-K. The morning session when they are both home is where things get sketchy. I have a whole system where I set them up in the playroom, give them a fresh, heaping snack and drink, put on their favorite TV show and then just cross my fingers. I always wait to hit play on the DVR and serve the snack right before I state the objectives for class. Camryn knows that as soon as Kendall takes her last bite of goldfish or pretzel, the binky must go directly in her mouth. So I always put the binky some place accessible to Camryn and remind her about it.
The first few weeks of school were tough. I would have students in my virtual classroom reading a passage aloud, while I'm across the house screaming and begging the kids to please just behave a few minutes longer. Then I would sprint back to my computer, out of breath, get on the microphone and try to remember what I meant to point out about the passage that had just been read. It was just a tad stressful.
Suddenly though, Camryn transitioned into my helper. I don't know if the routine finally sunk in or she just grew up suddenly. For the past few weeks, I have been able to teach a full one hour session with almost no interruptions. It's almost comfortable, too. Camryn engages Kendall....she shows her books, teaches her new words, teaches her how to play make-believe, etc. Granted, when I come out of my office, the playroom looks like a bomb went off, but that is the least of my worries! But wait....it gets better.
Camryn now has this innate need to clean the playroom every day. She also carries Kendall around the house like she is her baby. And the funny thing is, Kendall lets her! Last week, I was in a class and the lesson did not have a lot of direct instruction. The students had a lot of independent tasks to complete, so I didn't have to be fully devoted to my computer screen. I was able to take frequent breaks if necessary. Kendall wasn't feeling great and hadn't slept well, so she was very fussy. I guess she decided she wanted Mommy so she came over to my office door and started screaming, "MOMMY!" I was about to open the door and console her when I hear Camryn rushing over to her, picking her up, dragging her back to the playroom. I heard her say, "It's okay..shhhh....calm down. Calm down. It's okay. Do you want to play Barbies? Yea? Come here Kendall, you can be the fairy." Suddenly, I no longer heard her crying. Camryn just successfully got her mind off of me and was able to keep her occupied the entire rest of my session. It was just so cute and really so amazing. My crazy, four year old, middle-child has suddenly become very mature!
Now, I know what you're thinking....the kid needs rewards, right? We are all about rewarding positive behavior around here, so I pay her. Every day, she gets one dollar. And it's so cute because if we forget to pay, she reminds us. She still struggles with the -er sound too, so she'll say, "Mom, you forgot to give me my doll-uh." Now I know what you're really thinking.....child labor laws...$1.00 / hr? Kendall is quite a challenging toddler, too! Shame on us!
Camryn really does have some special and admirable, selfless qualities though. These are things that cannot be taught. She always looks out for Kendall no matter what. She puts her needs before her own and just does it so naturally. For instance, we were at an event a couple weeks ago where they had bounce houses for kids. There was one for bigger kids (Camrryn and Brielle sized) and a smaller one for younger kids. Kendall was probably too young to be in there, but she's a third child and refuses to be left out of any activity. Kendall was too young / strong to climb the ladder that led to the slide. Camryn stayed in that kiddy bounce house the entire time so she could lift Kendall up the slide. Friends were all commenting how cute it was how she looks out for her. Finally, at one point, we convinced Cam to go play in the big one. So she did. Meanwhile, one of our friend's five year old boy was in the smaller one and tried to fill in for Cam while she was gone. It was so funny because he could not lift Kendall up the slide. He tried so hard, but just couldn't get the strength. Camryn has a freakish amount of strength.
It's no wonder we have been in this development just under three months and Camryn gets invited over for playdates constantly. She is one likable little girl.
