Apologies and Anatomy

Our white board at the end of lunch today

(I can see that this will one day make me laugh.  I'm hoping that, a few years from now, it will also encourage my children to see how far they've come.)

Last night I read a really good article about bullying.  I lamented to a friend that parents just don't care enough to get involved in their kids' lives to head off bullying.

And then, this afternoon my daughter told me that her brother called her "Poo-Face," as he often does when they're playing at the park (news to me), and told her and the older brother that he hates them.  Great.  My child is a bully.  Apparently you really can't get away from it, even in your own home.  But, the difference is that I care enough about both the bullied child and the bullying child to correct this right away.

This, of course, lead to a lengthy conversation.  The youngest cried guilty tears, certain he was going to be punished.  I did not punish him as he expected, instead telling him that I would rather talk about what he had done, trying to change his behaviour, than punish him and let him do it again.

The consequence of his actions was that he had to write (and then read) sincere letters of apology to his brother and sister.

I guided him in his composition.  I figured it was a great way to reinforce the anatomy lesson from earlier in the day.

I now present an apology from my youngest:

Sister I'm sorry

for calling you a name

and saying I hate you.

The thuruth (sic) is your

face is made of epithelial tissue

and I love you.