Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - Homeschooling

Occupational Therapy For Dysgraphia Or Writing Problems

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April 2, 2015 | Sallie Borrink
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This past fall we made the decision to seek out occupational therapy (OT) for Caroline. She was struggling a great deal with the act of writing and we also suspected she had some midline issues. With her permission, I’m going to write about our experience with occupational therapy for dysgraphia or writing problems.

We strongly believe in letting Caroline develop at her own pace. This has been true since she was born. She was very early on some milestones and on the later end of others. We simply gave her time and knew she would do things when she was ready.

We took the same approach to writing. Eventually, though, it was clear that there were issues that weren’t going to clear up simply with more time. So shortly after she turned eight, our pediatrician referred us to an excellent office nearby at our request.

OT For Dysgraphia

Caroline was very nervous about going to OT. When I asked her why, she said she was worried people would make fun of her. Not being able to write well when other kids your age can is hard. Even though she had been with me many times at my PT appointments, she was still naturally concerned with something new and unknown.

We were blessed with a wonderful occupational therapist named Jen. It took a few visits, but Caroline warmed up to her and grew to like her and OT very much. Jen’s assessment was that there were issues going on, but they were very fixable with some work.

When I asked Caroline to describe what she did at OT, she said they did drawing, coloring, puzzles, pick up activities, and swinging. She enjoyed all of the activities, but especially being able to work one-on-one with Jen. She absolutely loved the swing!

Caroline had fourteen appointments in all. At first we went weekly, then every few weeks. We also did almost daily figure eight and alphabet work at home. This involved tracing large sideways figure eights on paper in order to create more connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. After doing three figure eights, she would write a letter of the alphabet and say it aloud. Then she would continue with this through the entire alphabet (three figure eights and a letter). At first it was very challenging, but over time it became natural (as it should be).

Truly Remarkable Results

We are thrilled with the results. It took a bit of work for it all to kick in, but once it did the progress was significant. My hope when we started was that by the end of the school year Caroline would be writing independently and regularly. We are just about there.

In the past, Caroline would do anything and everything to avoid writing. Now she is constantly writing on her own, asking me how to spell words, etc. The week she finished OT she decided on her own she wanted to write a letter to Jane O’Connor, the author of the Fancy Nancy/Nancy Clancy books. (Caroline says to tell you she highly recommends them and she even had a Fancy Nancy birthday party once!) I was so thrilled for her that writing was something she wanted to do now and it no longer overwhelmed her.

I’ve wondered if we should have sought out help sooner, but I honestly think we did it at the right time. The way everything fell in place in terms of getting the referral, getting an appointment right away, insurance paying for almost all of it (since we had maxed out our deductible with my issues), and the desire on Caroline’s part to fix what she knew was a problem indicates to me that we did it at the right time.

I’m so thankful. Issues with writing hold a child back in almost every area. I’m so glad for Caroline’s sake that she took on this challenge and overcame it.

Dysgraphia Resources

You can see all of the posts on my site that deal with the topic of dysgraphia here: Dysgraphia posts

If you would like to read further about dysgraphia, here is a selection of books tackling the subject from a variety of perspectives.

Best wishes as you help your child!

Category: Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - HomeschoolingTag: Dysgraphia22 Comments

The Difficult Days of Homeschooling a Gifted/2e Child

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March 11, 2015 | Sallie Borrink
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If you receive my newsletter, you already know that the past couple of weeks were tough. I mentioned in the last newsletter that I was calling the previous week my Homeschool Mom Professional Development Week to put a positive spin on it. But the truth of the matter is that I’ve been going through a period of when homeschooling is hard.

Two weeks ago I called the public elementary school and left a message for the principal to determine whether or not it would be a good fit for Caroline.

I knew deep down inside even when I called that it would not be possible, but I had to make the call. I had to talk to someone, explain our situation with a differently-wired learner who is 2e (both gifted and has a learning challenge), and hear for myself that it would never work.

The principal was very kind and supportive. He listened to me, asked intelligent questions, and made a few suggestions. He contacted the gifted and talented coordinators to see about having Caroline tested. They would not because she’s not enrolled. And, of course, we would never consider enrolling her without knowing she would receive the support she would need to thrive.

He called me back after we both received the “no” answer email from the gifted and talented coordinator. He said he didn’t want that to be our last contact and that he didn’t necessarily agree with the procedures established in the district. Honestly, the principal could not have been any kinder or more helpful. (But that is what I would have expected from the school district we live in.)

The entire experience reinforced to me that there is no way a traditional classroom setting will work for us.

But I already knew that.

I’m a certified, experienced teacher. I’ve been in the classroom and that was before things went nuts with excessive testing and grade expectations that are totally out of alignment with well-established facts about child development. It was my own experience as a teacher that made it clear to me that a traditional classroom setting would not work for my child in kindergarten. Or first grade. Or second grade.

But I’ve wavered a bit in third grade because because I’m tired.

Homeschooling is hard for everyone, but it’s a double dose when you have a differently-wired child.

I’ve wavered because homeschooling a differently-wired child means constantly re-evaluating what you are doing.

Wondering if you are failing your child.
Feeling like you aren’t doing enough for your child.
Wondering how you are going to meet her needs for another nine years.
Going it alone because it all falls on you – testing, outside professional help such as an occupational therapist, etc.
Feeling like you don’t fit in anywhere as a family.
Making accommodations for your child and family that most people don’t understand the need for.
Wondering if I can really give her what she needs within the constraints I have to work with whether they are my own health, finances, etc.

I shared in a private bloggers forum that I felt trapped. I think that is the hardest part. I felt like I have no choices. It’s one thing to choose to homeschool because you feel it is the best option for your family and child, knowing you can make a change in the future if you need to do so. It’s another thing when you realize that it is the ONLY option for your child. That has become increasingly clear to me over the past year or two.

Thankfully some really great moms with children similar to Caroline responded with encouraging words, making it clear that we are all struggling with the same kinds of challenges. They shared their own relief with homeschooling because it was so much better for them and their child compared to when their child was in a traditional classroom. It was so much easier than trying to work within a system that is not designed for outside-of-the-box children. By contrast, we’ve always homeschooled so I’ve never experienced the “relief” of finding something better.

Something about making the call to the school and talking it out with other moms ended up freeing me. It reminded me again that God gave us this child. We prayed specifically for a little girl for nine years. God gave her the parents she needed. She has a daddy who is fun and playful, something really important for an imaginative only child. He gave her a mother who is a relentless researcher who will find the answers for her child.

I shudder to think what her life would be like if she had parents who were unable or unwilling to invest the time in her that she needs.

Sometimes I really struggle with what to write here. It’s a challenge to know how much to say publicly about our homeschooling life. I asked Caroline the other day if I could write about her OT experience because I thought it would help other children and their parents. She said it was fine as long as she was able to read it first. Even at eight and a half she’s already aware of what goes on here and how it reflects on her. I’ve always protected her privacy online from the time she was born (probably to a fault). Continuing to do so makes it challenging to write authentically at times.

I also struggle with how honest to be because we make a lot of choices that I know some people will be quick to judge and condemn us for. Frankly, I’m not interested in opening myself and my family up to criticism from internet trolls and people who just generally enjoy dictating the correct way to do homeschooling (and life in general) to others. And yet I know how important it is to talk about these issues because we’re not the only ones dealing with them. Even though those of us with differently-wired children are a minority in the homeschooling world, the challenges we face are real. We need to support each other.

So we’ve definitely turned a corner in our homeschooling. We re-adjusted our homeschooling (again!). David, Caroline, and I have talked through some of the issues we’ve been facing and I think it has made a difference. Even though I still have no idea how we are going to get through the next nine years, I think I know how we are going to get through the next four months and that is good enough for now. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow and so I’ll choose to enjoy today and trust that tomorrow will work itself out. He’s brought us this far and He certainly won’t stop carrying us now.

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Category: Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - Homeschooling, Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - Parenting For ChristiansTag: Twice-Exceptional (2e)21 Comments

100 Reasons To Homeschool Your Gifted Daughter

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December 3, 2014 | Sallie Borrink
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Have you thought about homeschooling your gifted daughter? Here are 100 reasons I thought of to homeschool your gifted daughter.

1. Time to develop a better one-on-one relationship with your complicated, gifted daughter

2. Girls are often discouraged from displaying their intelligence in school settings

3. Being a second teacher to the other kids in the class isn’t fair to your gifted daughter

4. Asynchronous development means your daughter will often feel out of place in the classroom

5. Developing a personalized curriculum that suits her learning style

6. The opportunity to explore beginning her own business that suits her giftedness

7. Time

8. Skipping a grade in traditional school is often problematic socially

9. Your gifted daughter will learn more about managing her own life by less structured time

10. Giving your gifted daughter options she will never have in a traditional school setting

11. No one will invest in your precocious child’s interpersonal needs the way you will

12. Mean girls

13. Meeting the needs of your gifted daughter may be seen as unfair special privileges by some schools

14. Teachers are stretched too thin to truly meet your gifted daughter’s academic needs

15. Traditional classroom settings are not conducive to gifted girls who love to ask “why” questions all the time

16. The freedom to allow your gifted daughter to indulge in hours and hours of reading what interests her

17. Drill and kill

18. You get the best hours of the day with your gifted daughter instead of scraps leftover from school, transport, and homework

19. You can teach your introverted gifted daughter how to succeed in an extroverted world

20. Teachers will assume your “smart” child will do just fine and doesn’t need any special help

21. Creative play requires lots of time

22. Your emotionally intense gifted daughter can better control her environmental triggers at home

23. Spending time with your gifted daughter is fun

24. The track record of many parents of gifted daughters pulling their children out of school and succeeding with homeschooling

25. Asynchrony and how our gifted daughters are such complex creatures

26. Teachers are stretched too thin to truly meet your gifted daughter’s social needs

27. Learning together over a picnic lunch

28. Because in all likelihood your gifted daughter will love homeschooling

29. Gifted girls like to ask questions and the traditional classroom doesn’t have time for questions

30. Time to learn practical skills at home

31. Extroverted gifted girls can benefit from time to develop their strength

32. Gifted girls spend a lot of downtime in a traditional classroom, waiting for the other students to finish

33. Online classes in topics she finds fascinating that aren’t offered locally

34. No evening homework battles, tears, and lost sleep

35. Your daughter will not be “tracked” away from traditionally male studies, but can study whatever she chooses

36. The lunchroom

37. Less pressure for everything commercial

38. Delaying pressure to be boy crazy

39. You can help your gifted daughter understand and overcome her perfectionism

40. Your gifted daughter’s excitabilities will not cause social issues for her

41. You can be an example of how learning can be exciting

42. Your gifted daughter’s school may “meet her needs” by giving her more busy work rather than challenging work that pushes her to learn in individually appropriate ways

43. Starting learning at the time that works for your family

44. The freedom to make her own clothing choices without peer pressure

45. Imparting your family’s beliefs and values in a natural way throughout the day

46. The school bus

47. The ability to work at a job during the day and earn money

48. At home she has the freedom to be herself and not labeled because she is different

49. Highly sensitive gifted girls are more apt to flourish at home where their sensitive souls can be carefully nurtured

50. Your gifted daughter who is reading by age 3 or 4 will be profoundly bored in kindergarten

51. Excessive standardized testing that doesn’t recognize your gifted daughter’s unique gifts and skills

52. Craft foam, chenille stems and endless crafts all afternoon

53. Gifted girls rarely fit into a one-size-fits-all classroom

54. A twice-exceptional gifted daughter is going to find a traditional classroom very frustrating as it will be too easy and too difficult at the same time

55. You are the best advocate your gifted daughter will ever have because you love her more than anyone else

56. Cliques

57. Your gifted daughter may find a busy traditional classroom setting overwhelming and/or overstimulating

58. Flexible recess times when they are needed, for as long as they are needed

59. Avoiding the pressure toward too early sexualization of girls

60. Rather than spending every waking hour in school and on homework, your daughter can meet her academic requirements and pursue her individual passions

61. Being trapped in a building all day on a rigid schedule isn’t anyone’s idea of fun

62. Your gifted daughter’s value is far more than a test score

63. Gifted daughters can create ways to integrate topics such as Minecraft and history timelines

64. Pull-out options in a traditional school are not going to truly meet a gifted daughter’s academic needs

65. You will empower your gifted daughter to take control of her own learning and education

66. Traditional classrooms are oriented toward the middle of the learning curve and those at the top are generally neglected

67. More time for dress up, stuffed animals, and dolls

68. The power of quiet contemplation

69. Your highly distractible gifted daughter will flounder in a traditional classroom setting

70. At home your daughter doesn’t have to hide that she loves playing Minecraft

71. No pressure to perform in front of others

72. Locker rooms

73. Excessively stressful academic competition that destroys the love of learning

74. Your gifted daughter will hate and resent the meaningless homework she brings home from school

75. Gifted girls face their own mental health risks starting early in life

76. Teaching to the test in the traditional classroom will rarely (if ever) meet the academic needs of a gifted daughter

77. Cafeteria food

78. Some classroom teachers resent the presence of a gifted girl in the classroom as it creates more work and paperwork for them

79. Getting lost in a novel all day

80. You will be able to adjust the curriculum for your 2e daughter with dysgraphia to accommodate her learning difference

81. Favorite toys – all day

82. Traditional classroom teachers have no training in gifted education and do not have time to educate themselves to serve your child

83. Repeating field trips that interest your gifted daughter as often as you would like

84. Gifted daughters can pursue their academic passions when they are ready

85. Traditional education is not set up to promote individual talent

86. The best use of your gifted daughter’s life energy and skills is not to spend literally days worth of school time listening to other children read aloud from watered down and politically correct textbooks

87. No more morning rush to get your gifted daughter to school on time

88. Your introverted gifted daughter will get much needed time alone to decompress and think her own thoughts

89. Minecraft marathons

90. Adapting to the unique sleep needs gifted daughters often have

91. Time to explore crafts and hobbies that interest her

92. Being able to spend time with a wide variety of people and ages each day instead of one group of children all the same age

93. Common Core

94. The freedom to be as geeky as she wants without fearing what others will think

95. No gym class embarrassment for your gifted daughter who is not athletically inclined at all

96. No worries about sick days

97. Spontaneous trips out for ice cream sundaes

98. Because other gifted daughters love it and share their enthusiasm for it with others

99. Because you can

100. Because you want to

101. Because you know in your heart of hearts it is the best thing for your gifted daughter

Category: Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - HomeschoolingTag: Asynchronous Development in Gifted/2e Children, Dysgraphia, Highly Sensitive Children & Adults, Minecraft, Perfectionism, Play, Sleep, Stuffed Animals, Twaddle, Twice-Exceptional (2e)2 Comments

Gifted Children Who Don’t Fit In At Grade Level

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October 22, 2014 | Sallie Borrink
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We’ve homeschooled Caroline from the beginning. Although we’ve wavered a bit here and there due to the challenges of life (my chronic illness, my strong introversion, etc.), we’ve remained committed to homeschooling, believing it is the best option for her for a number of reasons.

The “Right” Age to Start Kindergarten?

Because we homeschool, there have been certain issues we haven’t had to deal with such as when children don’t fit grade level parameters. For example, Caroline has a late September birthday which means she would have made the cutoff for kindergarten, but she would have been one of the youngest kids in her class. An additional five or six months of development can be huge when a child is five or six.

We’ve seen that first-hand with friends who have a daughter who is four months older than Caroline. When the girls were younger, I could definitely see my friend’s daughter was further along developmentally. Caroline was reading before kindergarten, but I’m not sure she would have been ready in other ways. Because we homeschool, we never had to make a decision about when to start kindergarten based on outside expectations. We simply started her when she was five and did what was developmentally appropriate for her.

Asynchronous Development In Gifted Children

Like many gifted kids, Caroline is asynchronous in her development. She is miles ahead of her age cohort in some areas and what would be termed “below grade level” in other areas (such as her struggle with dysgraphia which naturally impacts other areas). This really doesn’t concern me because I’ve seen firsthand that when the light goes on in a certain area, the mastery is rapid. This has been true of walking, potty training, reading, etc. When she’s ready, she’s ready. It’s like flipping a switch.

Even in our homeschool co-op, the classes are multi-grades in the early elementary classes so she’s been in classes that were K-2 as youngest through oldest over the course of three years. At church, her different activities were mixed grade so they worked as well.

Single Grade Sunday School Expectations

And then came grade specific Sunday School at the new church. Yikes.

There is a reason they call it Sunday School, I guess. This class was school. Reading, discussion, and writing. Lots of sitting and listening.

So not how Caroline learns best.

And the areas they emphasized were some of the areas where Caroline does not currently excel (such as the writing).

So this was our first experience of bumping up (hard) against the assumption that a third grader must be able to do A, B and C because this is what third graders do. Suffice it to say it was not a pleasant experience.

Everyone Learns At Different Speeds

In trying to process with her what happened, I reminded Caroline of a time a couple of years ago at homeschool co-op when she was taking a class about America. The students made three dimensional Washington Monuments. Caroline was one of the youngest children in the class. She whipped hers together in no time because she is fantastic at that kind of three-dimensional building thing. Her teacher was impressed and even spoke with us about it. She also asked Caroline to help some of the other kids who were really struggling, a number of who were older than Caroline. I reminded Caroline of this and the fact that no one is good at everything and everyone learns at different speeds. I reminded her that a few of those older kids might have even been a bit embarrassed that a younger student was helping them. I think our conversation helped her think through the church situation even though it was still very painful and disappointing.

I don’t have any big words of advice or some great summary of how to handle situations like this. I’m simply sharing it as an example of how homeschooling choices seem so natural and make so much sense to us in the world of our homeschool and yet we are reminded at times of how counter-cultural some of those most basic choices really are when compared to traditional schooling.

Category: Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - HomeschoolingTag: Asynchronous Development in Gifted/2e Children, Dysgraphia, Twice-Exceptional (2e)3 Comments

Relationship Homeschooling and Your Differently-Wired Child

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October 21, 2014 | Sallie Borrink
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When I started blogging in 2005, a woman named Karen with a blog named from the prairie left a comment on my blog which was then called Two Talent Living. I’m not certain how we initially connected, but I’m guessing it was through a website neither one of us would recommend now! LOL!

Over the past nine years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this online friendship as we’ve shared our blogging experiences, followed stories together, and encouraged each other that we weren’t going crazy thinking a certain way about different topics. It is amazing to me that someone I’ve never had the opportunity to meet in real life and have only corresponded with and spoken with on the phone could have been used in such profound ways to bless me and encourage me in the faith.

The Joy of Relationship Homeschooling

Karen (now blogging at that mom) released her first book The Joy of Relationship Homeschooling: when the one anothers come home last spring and it is well worth your time if you are a parent whether you homeschool or not. While Karen writes a great deal about homeschooling in the book, it is at its heart a book about the parent-child relationship with a strong emphasis on the Scriptures.

I was fortunate to be in an ongoing dialogue with Karen during the years she was formulating the ideas for her book and then writing it. Why? Because I truly believe it saved me a lot of heartache in my own parenting journey. Karen often spoke about the fact that our children are not our adversaries and it was a message I needed to hear. Too often parenting experts (especially in certain Christian circles) present children as adversaries who need to be dominated and defeated. This is just so wrong.

Our Children Are Not Our Adversaries

Caroline is not my adversary. She is my child, my sister in Christ, and I hope (as Brenda often says) that I’m raising my own best friend of the future. The mix of my own strong introversion and Caroline’s spiritedness would make it easy for me to slip into feeling like Caroline is my adversary. But that is not the case. Nor is it the case for anyone who has a differently-wired child. These children require a lot of parenting skill, energy and time. There is no doubt about it. But they are not our adversaries or someone to be conquered.

Karen’s emphasis in the book on the one another verses in the Bible I think will also help parents reflect on their parenting approach and perhaps keep them from making big mistakes with their own children.

Be forewarned. Karen is a strong proponent of homeschooling in the book. And the book is full of Scripture. If either of those ideas bother you, the book may not be for you. But if you are looking for encouragement to love your children in practical ways instead of a list of rules, I truly think you will enjoy this book.

Karen also shared about her motherhood journey with her son with Asperger’s in this guest post.

Category: Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - Homeschooling, Homeschooling - Creative Children, Homeschooling - Right Brained LearnersBe The First To Comment

5 Tips For Homeschooling A Gifted Child

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October 20, 2014 | Sallie Borrink
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Today’s guest post about homeschooling a gifted child is from Andrea Townsley of The Townsley Times.

It can be a challenge to stay one step ahead of the gifted child. Things can get more complicated when they are spirited, sensitive or don’t deal well with transitions. Homeschooling these children can be a huge blessing as we can tailor their education to accommodate their pace, skill level and learning needs. But it is not without its challenges, for them and for us as parents. Here are five tips for homeschooling a gifted child.

Get Creative With Curricula For A Gifted Child

A lot of parents get hung up on which curriculum to use and when a child is gifted, it can be even harder to figure out what’s best for their needs. There are so many options to choose from, but you do not need to choose a one-size-fits-all curriculum that comes in a nice tidy box. You can mix and match from curricula for each subject to ensure you are working at the child’s level for individual topics, but you can go a step further and supplement with hands-on activities at home, participating in local study groups or co-ops, checking out any and all cultural sites in your area or taking some classes at a nearby community college. (There are usually non-credit options if your child is not ready for credit-based courses.)

For the younger crowd, some great options include printables for tracing and coloring, basic science experiments, an interactive calendar and weather center, watching history or science videos on YouTube or Netflix and, of course, plenty of arts and crafts.

Mixing things up can help the spirited crowd stay interested and focused on the material without getting bored and acting out.

Move At Your Gifted Child’s Pace

Gifted children don’t move at the same pace as their peers. They tend to learn more quickly – we already know this. But also consider the fact that they can get frustrated more easily because they are necessarily using more challenging material. Thankfully, they develop coping mechanisms that allow them to learn through the frustration. They retain the material better perhaps because of this frustration (as opposed to in spite of it), whereas other children might shut down in the same situation.

That said, it’s important to recognize the limits of the gifted child. Watch your child carefully to learn the signs that show when he or she is hitting a proverbial wall, and keep things moving along. To aid in transitioning more easily, find a natural stopping point and then change subjects or take a break. You can come back to the topic later or another day.

Do What’s Right For Your Gifted Child and Nevermind the Naysayers

Perhaps you have started formal schooling with a young child, a time at which most parents insist that learning through play is the only type of appropriate education. Only you know your child’s limits and only you know what your child is capable of. The gifted and talented tend to amaze even themselves, so if you believe your child is ready for more advanced types of instruction, go ahead and give it a shot. What other people have to say about it doesn’t really matter. How you react to these people can affect your attitude during teaching hours, so it’s really important to let it go.

Remember Your Sense Of Humor

As with all things in life, being able to laugh at your own mistakes and not take things too seriously can really help when the going gets tough. Showing this to our children is especially important when they are qualitatively different from the general population. These kids have some quirks, and homeschooling will inevitably bring them out. You must show them how to embrace their differences and, in order to do so, you have to embrace it also. Cut your kid some slack, and yourself, too.

Give It To God

When problems crop up, prayer is always helpful. Pray for guidance and discernment, patience, and assistance in understanding your child. It is difficult to be a parent, but raising a child who is gifted, spirited, sensitive or in some way differently wired is as much of a challenge as it is a joy. Trusting in God to provide for your family’s needs can help get you through each day.

Andrea Townsley of The Townsley Times is a Christian homeschooling mom of two, one of whom is a gifted, spirited and highly-sensitive three-year old.

5 Tips for Homeschooling a Gifted Child

Category: Gifted & Twice-Exceptional (2e) - Homeschooling1 Comment

Why Won’t My Child Play With Busy Bags?

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October 6, 2014 | Sallie Borrink
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I know some of you will think I am exaggerating, but when Caroline was just over two weeks old I told David she looked bored. And she did. I went out that day and bought a Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym. She LOVED it.

From the time she was tiny, she always wanted to be held and carried around. Not swaddled. She hated that. Not held on our lap. Not put in a seat where she could look around. Carried around upright. She wanted to be on the move and see everything.

We rocked her to sleep every night for a long, long, long time. Her spirited mind was too busy to allow her to self-soothe and she needed the assistance to fall sleep.

When she was around two, we would put her down for a nap with books to look at. After a while, we would go in her room and find her asleep sitting up. She would not lay down. She would go until her battery literally ran out.

From the earliest weeks Caroline craved variety and wasn’t much interested in stopping. I didn’t fully understand it at the time although it became obvious that she was not wired like other babies I read about.

I have to laugh when I see all of these busy bag ideas on Pinterest. Don’t get me wrong. They are super cute. Like a good mom I created a few things like that for Caroline and it was a total waste of my time. I would spend an hour creating something and she would be done with it in literally thirty seconds with almost zero interest in picking it up again. After all the hours and hours one would invest in making lots of busy bags, do you know how much total time we would have gotten out of them? I would guess about three minutes tops.

Caroline would have done it once and maybe done it a second time.

After that… pffft.

Been there, done that, and time to move on (with corresponding look of boredom or almost disdain that her mother would even suggest doing something again).

She’s now eight and completely into Minecraft. And I’m pretty sure I know why.

It is never-ending variety. It’s always changing. There’s always something new to do or make or discover. It feeds her craving.

If you have a little one who craves variety and leaves you feeling like you can never come up with enough new things for her to do without breaking the bank and/or driving yourself nuts in the process… I hear you.

I totally get it.