I like children and chocolate, but sometimes, it has to be said that the two together are not a great combination!
Every Tuesday morning, we attend the local playgroup, and today was no different. Today was our last playgroup before the Easter break, and they decided to do things a little differently to mark the occasion. After half an hour of playtime, we were taken upstairs to a larger room with a big screen where they played a DVD of the animated story of Easter.
Little Miss Troublemaker
To say that the children weren’t interested is an understatement, all they wanted to do was play with the toys. There was a small stage which Little Bean and her friend Little Miss decided they would stand on, prompting the other small children to follow suit – cue dirty looks and tutting from other mothers as they retrieved their children from the stage.
Anyone for E numbers?
When the DVD had finished, we were told to go back downstairs for our refreshments, which were usually tea and biscuits. This week, however, the children had biscuits, chocolate cakes with sweets on top and hot cross buns. Personally, I try to avoid giving Little Bean brown chocolate at all costs because it sends her into hyper-mode, and she literally bounces off the ceiling. But when there are 20 or so children eating it, I can hardly stop Little Bean and just have to go with the flow. Hopefully, she would wear it off during music time.
Easter Egg Hunt
For music time this week, we were taken back upstairs so the children could do an Easter egg hunt and songs with the parachute. I should perhaps point out that Little Bean and Little Miss are amongst the eldest children who attend playgroup, and so can cover a room very quickly, especially when chocolate is involved.
Within minutes Little Bean had returned to me with a basket overflowing with chocolate so I took some of the chocolate out and dropped them into some of the smaller children’s baskets.
I then told Little Bean that she couldn’t have any of the chocolates until we got home later, but I quickly felt like the meanest Mummy ever when I saw all the other children tucking into their chocolate, so I relented and told her she could eat just one.
Cue the music
Thankfully music time started just as the sugar rush kicked in and Little Bean got very over-excited doing some of the songs. I noted as I looked around the room that some of the mothers were giving Little Bean and her friend Little Miss disapproving looks – just wait until their precious darlings hit the terrible twos, I want a front-row seat!!!!
A long afternoon
After playgroup, I needed to pop to the shop and drop some boxes off at a friends house which would mean a half-hour delay on getting home and me with bleeding ears as Little Bean DID NOT stop talking from the minute we left playgroup to the minute we arrived home and even then she was only quiet when she had food in her mouth as she ate her dinner.
I kept telling myself to ignore it. Soon, she would be in bed, and I would have some very much needed ‘me’ time, but no, WRONG DIDDLY, WRONG WRONG! I fear she may have sneaked a few extra chocolates in when I wasn’t looking because she isn’t looking like she’s planning on visiting the land of sleep anytime before her 3rd birthday!! It’s going to be a long afternoon . . . . . . .
. . . . . it was a very long afternoon! Little Bean didn’t sleep at all. Her singing and shouting woke up Beanie Boy an hour before he was due to wake up so I had a cranky baby to boot. The afternoon followed pretty much the same pattern as yesterday afternoon and my patience decided to take the afternoon off.
Introducing a reward chart
In an attempt to give Little Bean something to aim for, I introduced a Reward Chart, and it started off very promising. She wanted to earn a sticker straight away, so I asked her to tidy her playroom, and I kid you not, I have never seen it so tidy!!
When she put the sticker on her chart, she was over the moon, so I felt that the reward chart was definitely going to help. Tea time would be the next hurdle for her to earn a sticker, so we sat down to eat, but after just a couple of mouthfuls, she declared she didn’t want it. I remained calm and told her that was fine, but if she didn’t eat her tea, there would be no sticker and no pudding.
She began crying but still refused to eat her tea so I drew a sad face on her chart when her sticker should go which she didn’t like one bit. As I went about my business in the kitchen I became aware of something going on behind me and turned to see Little Bean stood on a kitchen chair rubbing the sad face from her reward chart!! (Its a dry-wipe reward chart with magnetic stickers). The little monkey never ceases to amaze me!!!
If you are looking for a reward chart you can download some free charts online at Twinkl which have been designed by teachers.