First fight

My kids had their first physical fight with each other yesterday (if you could call it that). It was at the bus stop and I'm sure they were fighting over who got to be the first in line which is a daily battle among all the kids at the bus stop. I did not witness the battle but of course Monkey was crying (as he does). Reports of punches, pulling hair and hurt feelings were thrown about. This incident was disappointing to me only in that we'd avoided them to date and I thought somehow we were immune to it. Of course the kids have had their issues, but no physical outbursts have been brought to my attention. I told them that I was disappointed and that when they got home I'd deal with it (because the bus was climbing up the hill as we were resolving the issue). So, here was my resolution. The minute they walked in the door I gave them paper and pencil to write five things they like about their sibling. They took this task on willingly and Princess even colored a picture of them together with a pretty sky, grass and smiles. So here are the lists:

Princess wrote:

1) He's funny and makes me laugh

2) He's nice

3) He's verey pashent

4) He's fun to play with

5) He's my friend

Monkey

1) Shares

2) I love her

3) She is Prity

4) Pes Bilder (peace builder is a program at our school)

5) She helps me

I made them read it out loud to each other and then hug. It was much more sincere than the sorry I heard at the bus stop. All is well in sibling rivalry....for now. I'll save these of course because they are sooo sweet.