The 'What Women (w/ kids) Really Want' post has now been taken 'off line'. Let me know if you want a copy.

I have been teaching Salamander how to vacuum clean a room this morning. Is that something that needs to be taught, you ask?

Oh yes, it does.. While Salamander has seen me use the vacuum cleaner many times before, the 'see once, do it yourself next' principle does not apply here.

The idea of taking a very systemic approach, to work on one small area first while having the 'paths/laps' slightly overlap does not come naturally, it needs to be verbally explained and explicitly demonstrated in great detail. If I actually had carpet in this house, the tracks left by the vacuum cleaner would have been a great guide. But I don't have carpet (Potatey's allergies), so instead we used the seams in the wooden floor as our guide.

I have to say Salamander caught on very quickly (see, it's not that kids with Salamander's particular challenges can't learn.. they CAN.. as long as the right teaching modality is used). And he was motivated to complete the job - he wanted to have the house and general play areas look nice for when his friend comes over for a play date later today...