I've been bringing Neila around my classroom since she was only a few months old. In the early days it was pretty easy. She would happily sit in the bouncer for 15-20 minute stretches with 5 minute breaks here and there and, when she got a little older, she would wrap up nicely into the pocket sling and "help" me with my work. As a two-year-old, however, she is the neediest and most independent she's ever been. It's so unpredictable! I've been trying to put together a survival kit -- a sort of Mary Poppins bag of tricks -- that will keep her entertained in mindful activities (versus passive, staring-at-a-screen activities) while I work. Of course, I can (and have, sshhh!) just used a cartoon for thirty minutes to keep her "busy", but I end up feeling more guilty than I would have, had I not finished my work at all; proving, by the way, that Mom Guilt trumps Work Guilt. So, what would all the magical things in my Mary Poppins bag be?
1. Dora; the best friend.
An amazing little person who has taught Neila the phrases, "That's right" and "Let's think". I would not include Swiper the fox who has taught the phrases "You're too late! You'll never find it now! Hahahaha". Not cool Swiper; I totally don't appreciate your condescending tone when I'm looking for my keys/shoes/bag/phone/InsertVeryImportantItemNameHere. I've found, in searching for Mary Poppins bag supplies, that it can be difficult to put a cartoon character in a bag. It is also stupidly ridiculous (for us) to pay the consumerism machine for branded junk (Did I mention "for us"? Not judging.). Solution: paper dolls that look like Dora. We started printing (and sketching when we're without a printer) pictures of the characters Neila loves the most. We choose to color it (or not), we cut it out ("we" means "me" here), and we carry on with awesome make-believe ("we" means "her" here; after all, the point is for me to be able to get work done).
Effort: minimal; Time Commitment: 5 minutes; Time Return: 12 minutes
2. Tree fort; the cool hang-out.
Tree forts are awesome, always have been, always will be. You feel awesome in a tree fort because you're up in your tower looking down on everyone thinking (come on, knowing) how much cooler you are because you are at a different elevation then The Others. For Real tree forts (in the spectrum of "fake", "kinda real", "legit", and "for real") also have some super secret element as well; I call this the you-can't-see-me-being-awesome-in-here factor. Fitting these two elements (elevation + secrecy) into a portable tree fort is difficult to do. Solution: chair+blanket. Yes, going under a chair (could be a small table) does put your eye-height elevation lower than everyone else, which could feel not as awesome as higher; however, there is a really high you-can't-see-me-being-awesome-in-here factor. I toss a blanket/jacket/scarf/poster paper over a chair and she crawls right in. Bonus points if you are able to line up several chairs (I drape a rug over them) to make a secret tunnel.
Effort: moderate; Time Commitment: 3 minutes; Time Return: 18 minutes
3. Work; the distractor.
I always have very essential work to do: Sticking hundreds of stickers all over papers, testing the buckets of markers on the chart-paper-covered floor to make sure the ink isn't dried out, ripping up magazines and old paperwork and scattering it everywhere, picking up scattered torn paper and putting it in the bin, moving tiny things from one container to another. The list goes on and on. Luckily for me, these can all be done by a two-year-old. I emphasize how important each of these tasks are and ask her very nicely if she could please help me out.
Effort: non-existant; Time Commitment: 30 seconds; Time Return: 10-30 minutes
**Word of warning -- any of these essential jobs may be abandoned by said two-year-old at any time, thus, leaving only you to complete the task. Big risk, but a potentially big payout.
I'll continue to develop my bag of tricks for Neila's work-time entertainment. Probably the real trick is figuring out how to get through the final weeks of each semester while not having to put in twelve hour days...
