We humans have a strong tendency to hold a grudge. When my kids start acting crazy, I have a hard time getting in a better mood and moving on.  However, experts say this is very important, especially for self-esteem.  The authors of Parenting with Love and Logic Magic, The Early Years, stress the importance of moving on after a time-out.  The kid has paid the price and they shouldn't have to continue to pay the price all day just because Mom is in a foul mood now.

I had to really become super-human yesterday to put this into practice.  I caught Munchkin Girl pinning Little Buddy's head to the couch while I was making lunch for them.  She had a mischievous grin on her face, and she knew full-well what she was doing.  I'd already warned her that if she did it again she was headed for a time-out, but after she was finished with her punishment, I found that my blood was still boiling.

I knew we needed to re-direct our energy or I would never be able to move one in a nice way.  I pulled out her all-time favorite project: Christmas sprinkles.  We've used these in the past many times to work on letters, but I thought I would try something new since this was a unique situation.

First I traced my hand for her to show her what to do.  Since she's done this sort of thing before, she knew just what to do.  She used the glue to trace what I'd done, then she asked for the sprinkles.  I always use this foil tin to catch the mess.  My daughter was thrilled and I was thrilled to see her lovely smile instead of her evil grin.  She absolutely loves this game and it was the perfect way to move on after a time-out.

After she finished my hand, she traced her own hand and did the glue and sprinkles.  Squeezing glue is always good for fine motor strength.

Then we moved to her foot and my foot.

Then she begged to do it with her doll, and I thought "Why not?"  She held her down while I traced around her.  I even added the doll's name and this turned out to be the most favorite finished product of the afternoon!

If you enjoyed this post, you will love our book!  I teamed up with former Kindergarten teacher, Susan Case, and we released The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble, and Motivated to Learn in July, 2012.  If you have ever tried to cook dinner while your kid clings to your leg and cries, this is the book for you!  We give you a Mom's point of view and a teacher's point of view, so that you can do activities that not only keep the kids busy, but also keep them motivated to learn and develop their natural curiosity.  Kids behave better when they are given challenging projects to work on, which will in turn give you more free time to do the things you really need to do, like washing dishes, paying bills, and relaxing so that you can be a better Mom!

Snails are the latest obsession at our household.   The pet snails often go for a ride in the baby stroller, so it's only fitting that we create a craft for the pet snails. In fact, I can hear her right now, talking to "Rosita", who is the one snail that has survived our crazy household.  Rosita is getting a lecture about why she needs to stay in the stroller and not jump out.  I'm sure Rosita is listening intently.

Anyway, back to our snail craft.  First we painted paper plates.  My kids love to paint so much that Little Buddy often shakes with excitement when I just get the paints out of the closet.  After we got finished with the plates, we had to let them dry.  Then I cut a snail head from the outside of the plate.  the kids helped glue the eyes and for the antennae we used small pipe cleaners:

Then we used scissors to cut the paper plate around and around to make the snail shell.  Munchkin Girl helped with this a little, but I had to finish it for her.  Little Buddy, of course, was off playing golf inside the house by this point.

Then, once we got everything cut out, we just had to staple the head and tail on and voila!  Our own little snails!

If you need more easy crafts like these, please consider buying my book!  I co-wrote it with former Kindergarten Teacher and best-selling author, Susan Case.  We worked together to give both a Mom and a Teacher perspective and we give hundreds of ideas on ways to keep your kids busy, but in a productive way, so that they're actually learning while you cook dinner in peace! Here is what a reader wrote after she purchased our book:

I'm about halfway through your book, and it's a true gem in my quest to figure out how to yell less and enjoy my boys more. I'm glad I found your blog. ~ Prickly Mom

You can purchase a copy on Amazon or B&N.  The Kindle version is $3.99 and the Paperback is $9.99.  Thanks so much for your support!

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