Gunnar's Hero

...is his Kindergarten teacher. Anyone who has had the misfortune to give my kids Play-Doh as a gift, or mention what a great toy it is, knows that I DETEST the stuff. Early on in the child rearing process, I too, was sucked in. Kids have to have Play-Doh, it's a classic toy! Until it became ground into my carpets and tracked across my floors. My friends would tell me, just buy a dollar store shower curtain and put that on the floor and they can go to town. Not so, my kids do not contain their play well....so about a year ago, I declared, "THERE WILL BE NO PLAY DOH IN MY HOUSE!"

Enter, Parent Teacher Conferences. Gunnar loves school. He is learning to write. He recognizes most of the letters but is having a hard time writing them the correct size, you know, between the dotted lines.

Mrs. H tells me that G can work on this by increasing his fine motor skills.

Me - Oh really? How could I help him to do that?

Mrs. H - Play-Doh.

Mrs. H - Have him roll a certain number of balls for you, that will also help with counting. Or have him roll it into snakes, etc. The more he does it the better his writing will become.

Me - Oh, is that all I need to do? (Screaming inside)

So, as we rolled back into town from our trip to Zion, I dutifully gathered my troops and took them to the local Wally's World to pick out 3 colors each at .62 a pop. Not bad, but I'm still dreading what lies ahead.

The rules were laid out. No leaving the table! Only plastic Ikea knives are to be used for cutting....only on plastic placemats! No mixing colors!

I was pleasantly surprised. The kids played for hours, happily, peacefully. They did not mix colors. The did not even drop much of it on the floors. They were content....and careful. They do not want Play-Doh rights stripped again. Let's see if it REALLY helps the handwriting. Stay tuned.