Making Lemonade

Yesterday all the kids were in sour moods. We had all just come off of a long weekend and I was pushing them hard to get school work done. We finished our Bible study homework, but not without some tears. I did preschool with Lydia using a curriculum I'd never used with her before. She just kept saying, "I don't like this preschool. I like the other preschool."

As I was taking a break to put another load in the washer, I heard the kids pecking at each other like a bunch of angry roosters. I finally (after several attempts) was able to get their attention. I told them they must all go outside--immediately. I'm sure they all thought that I would assign some arduous outside chore for their misbehavior, because they all proceeded to go outside with their heads hanging low.

"Line up over their by the pergola," I said. "We're going to play Simon Says," I announced. Upon hearing this, the kids' countenances began to brighten. We then began the game. I went through several "Simon Says" commands before I said, "Put your hands on your eyes." Lydia did it and everyone started laughing. Lydia, the quick thinker and even quicker talker, said, "I was just covering my eyes from the sun," (even though she was standing in the shade). We all got a good laugh from that comment.
We proceeded on with the game, quacking like chickens, marching like soldiers and doing jumping jacks. I then said, "Make a sound like a siren." Grace bit. The lone siren. We all roared.

We finished up the game by Simon saying, "March inside like a penguin, make lunch and bring it outside to eat." We then ate our lunch at the picnic table and enjoyed what I'm sure will be one of the last pleasantly warm days of the Fall.

I once went to a homeschooling conference where the speaker said, "Sometimes when you're having a bad day, you just need to bring everything to a halt and do the Hokey Pokey with your kids." I took that woman's advice yesterday and turned sour lemon day into a lemonade day.