IT WAS A BUST!!

Well, the fantastic "invisible ink" idea was a complete bust! We found the hottest lightbulb in our house and held the paper over it...and held it...and held it...and HELD IT...to no avail! NOTHING HAPPENED! Oh well, someone left a tip saying to use the iron, so we'll try soon. Poor Bear, she's getting pretty tired of these things not going so well!
We've been using a "plan" for encouraging Bear to not complain when things don't go the way she wants them to - it was getting to be a problem and I spent a lot of time saying, "DON'T COMPLAIN!!!" Instead of disciplining her when she complains, we reversed our thinking. Now, each time she is in a situation where she could complain and makes the decision not to, she gets a little star on a chart on the fridge. Then, when she earns 10 little stars, she gets a BIG star on a chart in her room. When she ears 10 big stars, she gets a reward. The first reward, which she has already earned, was a trip to the mall for Dippin' Dots. The second reward, which she is still working toward, is a date with Mama! (I came up with that one!)
The reason that I'm sharing this on my homeschooling blog is that we've started using this "plan" to encourage her to read out loud. Previously, whenever I asked her to read anything outside of "school time", you would have thought I'd just asked her to cut off her big toe. So now she can earn a little star on her chart by bringing a book to me that she wants to read out loud or by agreeing to read out loud at my suggestion. So we'll see how that goes!