I was going to Target for a few things: first, I wanted to get a small water cooler because we were going to wear a path on the carpet from children coming in and out of the house to fill up the water pitcher. Second, I wanted to see what I could do about cups and third, I wanted to get some small tables to go beside the chairs I'd gotten the day before.
In typical Target style, they had inexpensive yet stylish tables that went with the chairs. Why I didn't think to get them in the first place confounded me—I had known I wanted a place to put things like cups or drinks. I also found some small plastic cups in multiple colors for fifty-nine cents each. I got sixteen of them and then got a packet of paper cups for backup.
Target didn't have water coolers but Lowes did and was the next building over. Twelve dollars for a small tap-based cooler was just the price point I was looking for. I brought everything home and found a crew of children already in the back yard. I placed the little tables down and noticed the children had moved the folding table over to the edge of the trampoline alongside the shoe and possessions bins I'd got at Target the day before.
My husband came out with the cooler, filled with water and then topped off with ice. I had come outside with the plastic cups and some sheets of braille letters, numbers and symbols. I told the children they could each put stickers om a cup of their choosing and then they would know which cup was theirs. Everyone really liked the stickers that let them spell out their name in braille on their cup.
I did this with the cups because the day before we went through probably two cups per child as they would put their cup down and later when they were thirsty again, couldn't tell their cup from all the other cups and so got another cup. The personalized cups would turn the backyard into a zero-waste situation. This would make drink cleanup that much easier. I'd have to wash the cups at night, but we're not using single-use products, which is a win.
I went out for a walk with my neighbor and told the crew Blake was in charge and what he said went. Blake, who is home from college for at least a month, has been very strict with rules adherence and expects everyone to be respectful. He sent one child home on Friday for valid reasons. That child was in the yard today and said, "Aww, Blake? He sent me home yesterday for no reason!" I told him he'd better be on good behavior in that case so it didn't happen again."
In the meantime, my husband was at work. He's been meaning to put in a camera facing the back yard but hasn't gotten around to it yet. After lunch he had a prototype up, which he pointed out to everyone, explaining we could see everything that was happening and things were being recorded. This worked out well when my son came in later, declaring Blake had pushed him when he got out of the trampoline, again, "for no reason." My husband asked him if that was actually what happened and did he want the footage rewound to see what actually happened? My son backed down immediately and admitted Blake only pushed him because he was leaping onto him as he exited from bouncing and Blake pushed him away.
The camera works very well and has, I think, had an impact on behaviors. Here's a timelapse of the last five hours of the day, starting when the camera came online. You'll notice as it's getting dark that I come out and sweep off all the grass from the trampolines. The footage ends with my husband and daughter doing one last jump before bedtime with a camping light.
The Big Boy Update: My son makes friends easily, but sometimes tries too hard and overdoes it when he first meets someone. I think it's insecurity and anxiety that come across as boasting and an almost cocky attitude. So today when the doorbell and four older boys asked if my son wanted to come out to play in the front yard I told them he was upstairs and to go get him. I think my son is liking having "cool" older friends.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles; This morning I heard my daughter get up, come downstairs and go immediately out back to the trampoline. I looked out the window to find her curled up in the Child's Pose yoga position, warming up in the sunlight, before starting to jump.
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