If patience is a virtue...
...then there aren't many virtuous people in this house.
This month at church, the grade school kids are learning about the virtue of patience. To help them grasp this concept, the kids were given an airhead. You know this candy right? Anyway, they were given an airhead with a label attached to it that said...
Do Not Open Until May 31st!
Patience - "Waiting Until Later For What You Want Now."
Even though Pateriko isn't in grade school, he got an airhead too. Sadly, by the time we made it to the car, it had been opened and partly consumed. Litkia held onto hers and made faces at him for being so impatient and waved her unopened candy in his face several times. I suppose that is the job of a little sister.
So today, Litkia brings me her airhead and says "Take this mama". When I asked her why, she sheepishly showed me where she had opened it and taken the tiniest little nibble off the corner and then closed it back up. I guess she just couldn't trust herself to keep it in her room any more.
The only person who lives here that might be able to pass this test is Dirty Larry, but if the airhead was green, there'd be no question about it's early ingestion. Green candy is Dirty Larry's vice.
I'll just be honest with you. Had I been given an airhead and been told that I couldn't eat it until the 31st of May, that would only make me mad and I probably would have eaten it on the spot even if I didn't want it....which is why, as a good parent, I didn't bother getting one myself. I'm already a pretty sorry example for these little people. No need in making it even worse.
Beej
Posted at 7:29 pm by
Beej
 | Posted by robot @ 05/05/2008 08:26 PM PDT | |
| you know the ginormous SweetTarts? yeah, those rule. |
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| Posted by Two Dogs @ 05/06/2008 08:28 AM PDT | |
| If that candy was with me, there would be only one question and that would be, "What year and can I just throw it away now?" I wouldn't eat that crap if it was covered in gravy and had bacon laced dipping sauce on the side. |
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| Posted by jerry @ 05/06/2008 09:50 AM PDT | |
I could be wrong but i am pretty sure that giving a kid an airhead and telling them not to open till may 31st anagalous to waterboarding suspected terrorists.
What kinda church you go to? |
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| Posted by AbbyNormal @ 05/06/2008 01:36 PM PDT | |
| I wouldn't've had a problem with the airhead, even if it was green. Interesting little mind game, though. |
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| Posted by SUG @ 05/06/2008 10:22 PM PDT | |
| I think that is a good idea. Hard to do but a good idea . I have one in my house that would not even had made it out of the room. and one who woul dhave forgottenabout it unitl next year. sooo. me well I may have waited??? Interesting experiment though |
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| Posted by ollie dog @ 05/07/2008 02:17 AM PDT | |
| So, are they gonna go down the whole list of the Fruits of the Spirit? For "self-control", are they gonna give them archery sets and paint bulls-eyes on their siblings heads and buttocks? (see? i should really be teaching Sunday School) |
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| Posted by Herb @ 05/07/2008 05:43 AM PDT | |
| That isa good lesson, except I would adjust the time-span for the age group. |
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| Posted by Deirdre @ 05/07/2008 09:22 AM PDT | |
Oooh. I love airheads! But I'm strong. I would hold out!!... maybe. Surely.
Wait, do you get a prize for being patient? That would probably be the only way. And no, I wouldn't consider actually being able to eat the airhead as the *prize*. Or accept any gibberish about paitence being some sort of prize either!
Okay, I would have probably eaten it anyway. |
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| Posted by Herb @ 05/08/2008 06:40 AM PDT | |
| IMHO the right prize would be a whole box of airheads(I like them), but you don't get to know ahead of time what the prize is. |
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| Posted by keithoe @ 05/08/2008 10:04 AM PDT | |
| What a beautiful post! |
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| Posted by Two Dogs @ 05/09/2008 12:27 PM PDT | |
Negative reinforcement is always better. The ones that don't eat their Airheads get nothing else, they were expected not to eat the Airheads. The ones that ate them before the dropdead date, get severely beaten about their head while wearing a bucket on it.
Bet they wouldn't eat them the next time. Lesson taught, not learned. |
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| Posted by Herb @ 05/10/2008 07:02 AM PDT | |
| Well, actually, Two Dogs makes a valid point...I never tried that in a Sunday School classroom...Would it be a metal bucket? |
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| Posted by Two Dogs @ 05/10/2008 11:26 AM PDT | |
But of course, Herb, it has to make that clanging sound. Loudly. The stirker should be metal as well, preferably hollow, too.
While incredibly embarrassing for the child that is being "taught," the humor value for the other children is off the chain. I have yet to actually determine which emotion in the children is more educational, but you know that that all of the children are being taught at least equally.
The trick is "teaching." And quite obviously "Teaching" is an action. Don't we owe that to our children? |
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| Posted by Joe @ 05/14/2008 02:58 PM PDT | |
On a related note, we've been patiently waiting for a new post...
:) |
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