My week home with the kids (perhaps I should stop calling it 'vacation') is drawing to a close. It gave me the healthy reminder I get every so often of the organizational skills, strategic thinking and just plain tiring physical labor it takes to care full-time for two young kids.

Of course, I made it more difficult for myself (as I always do) by having too many 'goals' (work, home, and personal -- ha!) for my 'time off.' And this part of August is a weird twilight time that carries some conflicting emotions for both parents and kids -- you want to take advantage of the last free week before school, yet you want to get ready for school. Kind of a buzz kill if you're not careful.

Amid all that, I did hit on one winning strategy I'd love to share. It's called the "cooperation flower."

It's a variation on the oft-heard idea of giving points or stickers for good behavior. I've tried those before, but this seemed to work better. Each child started with a blank piece of paper. Every time I noticed a child exhibiting especially grown-up or cooperative behavior -- cleaning up a spill without being asked, giving up a chair for an older relative, not getting upset over a change in plans -- I would draw a flower on the paper. Something about having the flower drawn sparked their imaginations (and, perhaps, competitive spirits). They got to choose what color it would be, and each flower was a little different from the last.

Soon they started helping each other and drawing flowers on each others' charts. By the end of the week, they each had a whole garden.