Siblings

In our home things are on a daily roller coaster of ups and downs, we've recently had to work with both of them on what “Stop” means and then end up social distancing within the house or in the yard. We looked to following video that does a great job of breaking down how to work with kids before there is conflict, in a calm and non-emotional way. It features Julietta from Sproutable, a fantastic resource you should definitely check out.

We have recently experienced some really big feelings in the house and had to reintroduce and role play how to interact with each other when there is a disagreement, low blood sugar moment, or an "accidental" swat at one of the sisters. In the role play we each play a part and pretend to be hurt, say “Stop” and roll model taking our hands away from the sister who is feeling hurt. It’s silly and fun in the role play model, but in the true emotional experience it’s usually much less fun. We keep practicing and there continue to be many times where instead one sister will have to be taken away and brought to another room or outside to breathe and calm themselves.

Generally it’s a low blood sugar experience, so Marshall or I (or sometimes the other sister) will make a desirable snack that we can share with the sister who is struggling to calm themselves. After 10-15 minutes things generally calm down and we go about our business again. Later at night during dinner we circle back around, and we'll debrief what happened and how we can help each other the next time. It happens frequently these days so we have lots of time to practice.

We will keep posting about our unique experiences as a family during these times. Feel free to reach out with your own thoughts or ideas. We can get through this together!

Megan and the Montessori 123 Team