Sunshine Days

SUNSHINE DAYS

"It's MY TURN to have the blue cup today!" ... "NO FAIR!  I get to sit in the front seat this time!"  ...  "But we don't want to watch the Barney video AGAIN!" ...  Every day, indeed every hour, brings up some new situation to resolve among our children.  Kids have the most amazing sense of fairness and they have the uncanny ability to keep score on the most trivial issues.  To help you save your sanity and referee the skirmishes over such problems as only one red lollipop, or an odd number of potato chips, I offer the wonderful solution of "Sunshine Days."

Each child rotates the honor of being designated the "Sunshine Person" of the day.  All special privileges or sundry daily choices defer to the child whose Sunshine Day it is.  Several years ago, we were in the habit of singing a special rendition of the old song "You Are My Sunshine" at the top of our lungs every morning to keep track of whose day it was.  Now we simply put a child's initials on each day of a wall calendar to keep track.  Our three kids do a simple rotation through the week.  I know of other families who have assigned a specific day of the week to each child.

This system works, and it's not just for little kids.  Sunshine Days can enable parents to focus special attention on one child at a time, a benefit that older kids particularly enjoy.  Our kids relish the opportunity to play a favorite game with Mom or Dad on their Sunshine Day.  The biggest Sunshine Day privilege is to be the only child to accompany Mom or Dad on a trip out to do errands.

This simple tradition has been a great joy to us for the 5-plus years we've been doing it.  I'm sure it will become a cherished memory of childhood.  I think our kids are learning to share in ways that encourage them to work out the details on their own. They have learned that different treats happen to different people on different days, and if they're patient, their own Sunshine Day will come.

Dear Ones:  This is a re-publication of an article I originally wrote in 2001.  Now, several children and 10 years later, we are still employing the practice of Sunshine Days.  One very helpful aspect of this tool has been the way we use it to sort out preferences for watching videos in our home.   Television is not an option since we don't get much reception out here and we don't want a satellite dish.  We have long held a standard of Movie Time being at 4:00 pm daily, after school and chores and a 15 minute pick-up are completed.    The Sunshine Day person gets to pick from our collection of DVD's.    Everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the single family movie selection or opt out to pursue other diversions such as reading, games or crafts.  Play clay has been a favorite in our house for years.

Play Clay
1 cup flour
1/3 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. oil
Food coloring
Extracts such as peppermint, clove or lemon may be added for fragrance.

Combine ingredients in saucepan.

 Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and forms a ball.

Turn out onto counter, cool slightly and knead smooth. 
Store in a plastic bag when not being used.