Montessori Honeymoon is over

"The honeymoon is over." Said, Missy's teacher. "I had so hoped we could make a difference...... But she just won't do her work."

Missy has been a trial at home, too. She does not answer to anyone if they call her name. She does not do what she is asked and she feels she is completely independent of everyone and chooses to go with the whims of her own appeal.

So, we upped the ante.

Both the twins had not shown up for breakfast in 3 weeks. They dawdle and sit and waste time and react negatively to promptings, and then do a song and dance when it's time to leave and they have not eaten. It's a rock and hard place kind of a deal. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.  So, often I make a shake of all things healthy and tasty for them to drink up as they go out the door. It's full of nuts and seeds and fruit and protein and even greens, but  they started fighting that. And the last straw was James gagging and vomiting all over because he didn't want a shake, he wanted a regular breakfast while the bus waits at the gate. So for a few days I made NOTHING when I saw they wouldn't be on time. They could have a glass of milk on the way out the door.... but they were hungry and it's not healthy to skip breakfast, especially at their age. So, with the news from school and the culmination of Missy giving Vanessa such a hard time while I was sick in bed with a migraine I told them they would be climbing our mountain next time they did not eat breakfast with us.

Apparently they hate climbing the mountain behind our house.

Because both children ate breakfast this morning.

We had pancakes with peanut butter, applesauce and whip cream.

I won't hold my breath tomorrow. I know that it's only a motivator for one day, maybe two at the most. At some point we will be climbing that mountain and it's not going to be fun. And truth be told, I don't know how hard they will fight me, or if they will run away, or what will happen. And I don't know how that is going to help for school.... but the teacher has some ideas and the fact that we are collaborating has Missy on alert. Really, there's no answer to her heart trouble... she needs a new one by God's grace. Today in exchange for being balky she is smart-Alec and a Know-it-all.

We went swimming last evening. Even James swam and he got brave and went to the deep end with his paddle board and even jumped off the diving board. BUT the mean lifeguards (haha! Brianna and Christina) said he could not swim in the deep end until he took the swim test. He wouldn't try. One little step at a time....

My book has arrived. We start the Love Dare tomorrow.