Learning the Joys of Delayed Gratification

RoboBoy's birthday was back in July. He scored around $40 in cash and wanted to get a video game. So I took him to Game Stop. We scoured the shelves but he couldn't find any games that he really wanted. So we decided to ask at the front counter for any recommendations for 11 year olds. They informed us that Scribblenauts Unlimited was ready for pre-order and would be released in November. 

RoboBoy LOVED Scribblenauts and had been reading up about all the new features available in Unlimited. It only took a few minutes of debating for him to decide to plop down his $5 pre-order payment with the understanding that he would not be getting his game for another 4 months, AND that he would need to save his money to cover his game when it did come out.

Fast forward 4 months. Yesterday, Scribblenauts Unlimited hit the stores so daddy took RoboBoy to pick up his game. He still had all his money saved along with the pre-order receipt! I know some adults who couldn't have accomplished that! One of my friends said, "I AM an adult who couldn't have done that!" It was so good to see RoboBoy enjoying the fruits of delayed gratification. 

I'm quite certain that this situation is what prompted MyHero to make the proclamation that he did to the kids this morning before I woke up. Apparently he told the kids that they needed to get their schoolwork done before he got home tonight. How do 11 through 14 year olds interpret a mandate like this?? What they heard was, "You can play all day, as long as you get your schoolwork done before I get home." Maybe he did actually say that to them. Like I said, I was still in bed.

So I got up this morning to find all three kids playing! One on the 3DS and two on the computers. Oy!! I guess RoboBoy still has a lot to learn about delayed gratification as do his siblings. I really don't think this is what they had in mind when they coined the phrase eclectic homeschooling! At least RoboBoy is learning with the puzzle games on Scribblenauts Unlimited! It's helping him to build his vocabulary and discover how to use adjectives. He is also developing his creative thinking, although I think he already does this pretty well!

I have decided not to stress myself over making my kids do school today. If they don't do it, then they will suffer the consequences. Perhaps this little experiment will teach them all that it is better to delay gratification until after you have fulfilled your responsibilities. One can always hope!