word of the month: magnanimous

my youngest is potty training. which means i'm working extra hard on my positive reinforcement skills. that is, if i ever get to use them.

let's just say, i'm having better luck with the 5-year-old.

Sweet One is a fan of Fancy Nancy, an endearing book character who has taught my daughter more than one fancy word (plume is now her primary term for feather). and Fancy Nancy is teaching me a trick or two as well.

we've reached the stage of sibling spats. the youngest is old enough to interfere with the oldest's sense of personal space. they both have, shall we say, confident personalities. when Sweet One does the mature thing (especially for a kindergartner) and shares a favorite toy with her sister when it's appropriate, i try to heap praise. it works. however, it works ever so much better with a fancy bit of praise.

"how magnanimous!"

fancy and grown-up, two things a cute li'l princess can't resist. i can see the effect. she stands up a bit straighter. she's thinking about the word, not knowing it but understanding it at the same time.

now. if i could find a similarly fancy magic bullet to get the Li'l Miss to sit her cute tushy on a potty seat...



background image of Scuffed Tiles is via Flickr. the Fancy Nancy text above is an affiliate link to the books on Amazon.