I am the root of all evil

...or at least the evil that dwells within my child.

J has no interest in doing anything that can be labeled as 'learning' or 'homework'. This, unfortunately, does not translate well into the world of speech therapy. Most times it's like pulling teeth to get him to do any of his exercises at home, and he's even on to me when I try to turn it into fun and games.

Today at therapy was more of the same... attitude, arms crossed over his chest, chin down, staring at the floor. Then the therapist told him, "Ok, Jonas, if you're not going to do your work, Mommy's going to have to leave." So I waved goodbye to him, and stepped out of the room. She has one of those neat one-way mirrors into the room, so I could stand on the other side and watch him without him knowing.

Lo and behold! The moment I left the room he became Mr. Cooperation. I sat and watched in amazement as he performed every one of his tasks without even a hint of a whine or fuss.

Looks like I've now found myself a 30 minute chunk of weekly knitting time.

Because he was so good for therapy today, we stopped at the craft store on the way home and we picked up some little wooden tree ornaments and some paints and glitter and we came home and made little Christmas goodies for the grandparents. He had a great time dictating what shapes I should draw on the ornaments with the glue before he sprinkled on the glitter, but after I did a few of them, I encouraged him to do it himself. The results are some truly gaudy treasures that I'm sure everyone will take pride in for years to come.