Ship Full o' Pirates

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I should know better.  I do know better, I just got lazy.

I know you have been reading all about my no-poo adventure, and eagerly await each new installment.  (tongue firmly in cheek)

If you are curious about what I am referring to, click here and here and here, and that’ll get you up to speed on the many adventures of no-poo.

Well, we threw out all of our open bottles of  industrial solvents shampoo and gave away all of the un-open bottles of  “the stuff.”

So it came time for all of the kids to have a shower and I had some teaching to do.  For the three youngest, I am teaching our new method of hair cleaning  by doing it for them.  I am just telling them and showing them what I am doing as I do it.  After a couple of times like this, I am sure Cannonball Jack and The Squid will be able to manage on their own, and I will continue to do for The Princess.

For the olders I just gave a little lecture, using the baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and plastic mixing vessels as props.

My normal mode of lecturing includes repeating myself at least once, and then having the instructions repeated back to me.  But this time I really thought I had explained it so many times to so many different people and that the Pirates had heard it explained so many times, both directly to them, and overheard others being instructed, that I skipped that last part of the lecture.  The part where they have to prove they understand by telling me what I told them.

I am here to tell ya, I messed up.  I forgot that trick that boys do.  That trick where once you have said the words “baking soda” and “vinegar” in the same sentence they stop listening and start imagining.  Imagining things like volcanoes that erupt from their heads.

So, all the rest of my carefully laid out instructions and demonstrations with the afore-mentioned props were….. um, well…. mostly ignored.

Two out of three Pirates, given the opportunity to turn their scalps into erupting volcanoes, will jump at the chance.  I’m not gonna come out and name the guilty parties, but Calico Zak would like you to know that he was not involved in the volcano making.

So, my tip, should you still care to take instruction from a mom whose children perform science experiments on their own heads, is this;  Make sure you are understood.

Often, when we have lots of children, we feel like we have explained, and explained, and explained so much that everybody, including the baby and the dog, surely must understand.  Take the time to make sure they understand, by having them tell it back to you.

Now it’s your turn.  Share your helpful hints and practical tips for raising a large family.  Write your Help for Growing Families post and link here with my Mister Linky.  For more details click here.

Feel free to link more than one post each week if you have plenty of relevant posts.

And don’t forget to leave a comment!

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