Today we had Spill Class.  I don’t know why I didn’t start this one earlier.  

I’ve been thinking a lot about the skills my kids need to know to be successful as adults.  Things that somehow I picked up and yet don’t remember my parents actually “teaching” it to me.  Another side shock from Parenting that no one tells you about. 

So I put something on the calendar once a week for the next four weeks.  Today was Spill Class.  Next week is Phone Class, then Optimism Class and then Face Class.  These classes are more like tests than classes.  “I need to know you know what to do,” is what I tell them.  Because they’re old enough now that they spend a lot of their free time alone, so if they spill something I know they’re cleaning it up. 

And none of them really know the basics of phone etiquette and how to dial and how to answer.  (Although they won’t get a lot of practice until they’re teens and have their own phones because I hate it when kids answer the home phone and I have to ask, “Is your Mommy there?”)  So that’s why there’s a Phone Class. 

And Face Class will be reading expressions… something my Asperger’s kids may need a bit of extra lessons on.  Optimism Class is where I introduce them to the concept of faking the fun in hopes fun will happen. 

But today was Spill Class and it went off brilliantly.  First off, I wasn’t Mom while I did it.  I was Fun Heather.  I lined them up in a row and quizzed them on who knew what to do if something spilled.  A wrong answer got a buzzer sound.  Which cracked them up!  Conor eagerly and correctly answered the questions.  Then I spontaneously took Luke’s water bottle and poured some of it onto the kitchen floor.  “Conor,” I said, “What do you do?”  He quickly grabbed a rag and cleaned it up.  With Evan I poured it on the little area rug in the kitchen and taught all of them how to blot.  With Luke I squirted Conor and Luke blotted him.  A fun time was had by all, I’m reassured they know how to clean up a water spill and it was over in 5 minutes.  

Next month I’ll spill jelly.