Practice Makes Progress

I have a perfectionist on my hands. Buggy has an overwhelming need to be the best at everything he does, the very first time he does it. He's driven, he's got an incredible amount of self-control, and he's very disciplined. These are all awesome qualities and serve him well.......some days. Other days, (like today) these qualities only serve to drive him and me ca-razy. 

Our art project today was to sketch a tree---while only looking at the tree and not at your paper; and without lifting your pencil. As I gave the directions, I watched Buggy's face turn from concern to anxiety to outright panic. I tried to encourage him that this was just for fun, and that it would be interesting to see how their trees turned out when they were done! Surprise! Doesn't that sound like fun?! No. Apparently not to Buggy. After 10 minutes on the front porch, the poor boy was reduced to tears. I did the only thing I could in that moment. I allowed him to throw away his imperfect first attempt and go back to the porch with a new set of rules---he COULD look at his paper, and he COULD lift his pencil. He came back from the second attempt with what he had deemed the absolutel best tree he could draw. Today's art lesson? There is no right or wrong in art. Do what makes you happy!

Here's my budding artists, sketching the trees from our front porch.

Later in the afternoon, Buggy was in tears again because his Lego Spinner (Don't ask, I have no idea) was not as good as Punky's. You know that old saying, "Practice makes perfect..." It's a lie. Very, very rarely is anyone perfect at anything. So, now we remind the kids, "Practice makes progress." It's much more honest, and easier on Buggy's ego. 

Tonight I finally loaded our Spanish curriculum onto the computer. I love it! I'm already on the 2nd core lesson! The boys.....well, we'll make progress. With lots of practice. Honestly, this is a great way to learn a language. It's totally different than how I "learned" Spanish in high school. Punky and Buggy both completed the first core lesson with a score of about 80%. Not bad!

Okay, that's all for today. Sugar Biscuit has already been awake half a dozen times tonight and I haven't even been to bed yet. Her nose started running and she's complaining of a sore throat. Throw in the fact that she has food allergies and there are no medicines we can safely give her, and it may be a long night.