O is for Obedience

I've been blogging through the alphabet for a while now. You can read the rest of my A to Z homeschool posts here. Thank you for stopping by.

O is for Obedience

Obedience has become a battle ground in our home. IntelliGent is under the mistaken impression that he is in charge and has the final say in every decision. I'm not sure when this idea became lodged in his mind, but the fallout has not been pleasant.

Until recant weeks, IntelliGent has been a fairly easy two-year-old. Sure, we've had our share of tyrannical moments, but over all he has been sweet and obedient. I'm beginning to wonder if he didn't lull me into a false sense of security.

IntelliGent has started to use the word "no" with alarming frequency. After realizing a straight "no" did not produce the desired result, he modified to "no, thank you" thus reducing my words to a request that could be ignored. While I appreciate his attempts to be polite, I still expect him to obey and tell him such. Eventually he acquiesces.

Last week, I was preparing lunch while IntelliGent played with his train track. While spreading peanut butter across a slice of bread, I was interrupted with an engine being thrust into my hand. The following conversation ensued.

"You have very nice engines." I handed the train back to him. 

"Chase my engine around the track, Mommy." The engine is shoved toward me again, narrowly missing the glob of peanut butter on the knife. 

"Right now I'm making lunch. Maybe we can play trains together after we eat." 

"You want to play engines now." 

"No, thank you." I hand the engine back to him. 

"I appreciate you are trying to be sweet, but you need to obey. Say 'yes, IntelliGent' then we will play engines."

He's still confused on how this obedience thing works, but at least I know he's listening. Now to convince him that he is not in charge.

N is for Nap

We've now made it half way through the alphabet. You can read the rest of my A to Z posts here.

N is for Nap

With IntelliGent's third birthday looming on the horizon, we are transitioning into a new phase. Last week, he made it very clear he no longer needed his nap time. Little does he understand, I still need him to take a nap. Those two hours of silence daily was my chance to be me - and not Mommy - for a few moments.

With this change, we are reevaluating our schedule and routine. I still insist he take a rest period every day. Some days, despite his insistence that he's not tired, IntelliGent takes a nap. But most days, he just sits in bed and reads quietly for a while. He's discovered the joys of afternoon playtime after being released from bed after rest time.

As with IntelliGent's education, this transition has come sooner than I would have liked. And like his education, we are learning how to do this one day at a time.