Along with the paper collection of our home study, appointments, and inspections, we are also preparing for our adoption with Ethiopia by preparing our biological children for the soon coming changes in the family. The joining of a new family member is an exciting adventure as it brings a new personality to learn about, new temperaments to adjust to, and new likes and dislikes in that special child! With all these little people living under one roof, there are times when mom is not so available to everyone at every moment.
For me, meal time hits the top of the list of the times where I wish I could race into the nearest phone booth, spin around, and become Super Woman! Well, I do have a pantry closet I could spin in and put an apron on! That'll have to do.
It probably doesn't help that I'm not very confident in the kitchen, not a great cook, and therefore not good at the timing of having all the meal ready at once. I try to adjust for this weakness by using one of my strengths and that is....planning! I have a weekly menu schedule and this helps me to get prepared and plan out the meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday.
Back to the little people and their needs, our family is practicing team building skills to promote cooperation and appreciation for each member of team Vogtman! This lunch activity gave us an easy opportunity to work on our skills. Here is what we did:
Sandwich Building Assembly Line
1. We put many options of sandwiches making foods on the table. Things like: sliced chicken, deli ham, jelly, peanut butter, veggies, tortilla wraps, and sliced bread....
2. We started with an empty plate in front of one child. He/she requested their sandwich type.
3. The plate was passed to the next child who started to create the sandwich at step 1, the bread type. Then the plate was passed to the next child who added another ingredient. This continued around the table until the sandwich was created as politely requested.
4. Then the next child requested his/her sandwich and we continued the assembly line.
This simple task created many opportunities to talk about the following:
* listening to other's request and respecting them even if that's not what you would have preferred
* taking turns
*practicing patience
*gratitude for services other provide for us
And there you have it! Teamwork building over a pleasant lunch time with the children! It's a win-win for the kids and for mom!
Just to add a funny story from a once hectic lunchtime. I was spinning around the kitchen in my supermom apron, and kids were requesting things left and right. "Can I have some ketchup?" "Can I have a drink please?" "Is there any jelly left?" "What time is it?" "I have to go pee" "Are we out of napkins?"....you get the idea, it was toooo much. I was dashing and dodging around when it hit me that this was not going to be a way of normalcy in our kitchen. I told the kids, in a near frustrating voice (as I was very frustrated, but trying to hold it in), "Mommy is not an octopus. I only have two arms to help four kids so you'll have to...." and just then my 4 year old interjected and sweetly said with those big brown eyes shinning, "Well, if you were an octopus then we'd never learn our patience!" PERFECTLY stated! We still use that saying when things start to get overwhelming with demands:
"If I were an octopus you'd never learn patience."
Thanks for checking in! Come again!
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