Parenting. I haz won you.

The problems, in no particular order:

- 5 year old is struggling to learn to read, and needs lots and lots of practice / assistance
- I am heinously busy with work at the moment, and can't spend as much time as she ideally needs
- Nearly-9 year old and 5 year old haven't been getting along at all well
- Nearly-9 is nagging incessantly for a tablet as her big birthday present

The opportunities, again in no particular order:

- Nearly-9 is a fantastic reader
- Nearly-9 is also a very good and patient natural teacher, and is always positively inclined to those she teaches
- Because I think a tablet is an over-expensive gift for a child, I have indicated to Nearly-9 that if she wants one, she'll need to defray at least 50% of the cost herself. She's got around $80 squirreled away from Christmas and other money from relatives, but she's still pulling up short of her target.

The solution (this almost writes itself, doesn't it?)

Hey Nearly-9, do you want to do Miss 5's reader with her? The fee is $2.50, but you have to spend at least 10 minutes and be patient.

She: Yes! Yes I DOOOOOOOO!

The outcome

- One 5 year old encouraged and supported with her reading, with a session with me AND a session with big sister
- One Nearly-9 reinforced as a skilled teacher and complimented on her skills
- Two sister getting along very nicely through the magic of education
- More work done for me
- Money earned by Nearly-9 to put towards her goal and also reinforce that if you want pricey things, you need to be prepared to work for them

Look, it isn't often I come up with something as utterly diabolically brilliant as this. Let me enjoy it for a bit :-)