1. February 2013 Updates: Work and Play all day!

2. Dolls houses are boring – but rocket ships are awesome! The girls’ pretend play got a boost with this new wooden rocket shaped space station play set.

3. The space station has a working lift that goes up and down when you turn the knobs – very cool!

4. Since I introduced the chores chart last month Alma has been highly motivated to help around the house (and get money – she quickly go that part!) Not only was she positive to help when I suggested a task, she also used the amazing sentence “Can I help you, mum?” which Barak hasn’t mastered yet...

5. Hahgoot on the other hand not only ignored me or refused to help when I asked her, she was not even motivated by the money... So, not surprisingly, very quickly Alma was earning more. Hahgoot got annoyed and declared “Not fair!” and we explained it was actually very fair... Hahgoot has problems understanding cause and effect sometimes and needs the “hard way” to show her the laws of the world... Better we start early!

6. Left: a typical day – Alma working hard, Hahgoot playing, completely ignoring everyone. Alma is not only motivated – she also finishes her tasks, which is another thing Hahgoot hasn’t mastered yet. Right: working together on a task helped getting Hahgoot more involved, but still Alma works twice faster...

7. Friday pay day! Barak gives the girls 20C per task – Alma can earn easily 3$ or 4$ Like many fathers, Barak is now officially the ATM...

8. Hahgoot has the Hello Kitty money box my mum bought her years ago, and I got Alma a Japanese doll money box to keep her growing treasure. When Alma collected money for a few weeks she insisted to buy something with it so we took 3$ to the shop and looked for a snack in that price. She decided on Israeli cookies she could share with the rest of the family. Already a philanthropist!

9. The girls enjoyed making collages and colouring in together. Good practice for communication skills and sharing, and also good for Alma to pick up some skills by observing Hahgoot’s neat work. Hahgoot learned to tolerate other people’s opinions and being a bit more spontaneous about her work (being a control freak, it’s not easy...)

10. Deena wrote in one of her letters to Hahgoot that she likes Red Velvet Cupcakes. Hahgoot never heard of those and asked to try them, so I bought a packet and the girls made them together.

11. They were fascinated by the dark red colour of the mix! Hahgoot said they look good for Halloween... With the sour cream icing they were nice, but I think a bit too sweet for me. No complaints from the girls!

12. In our next presentation: More physical and creative fun together!