Imaginary Fun ► Real Results
CrabbieMasters is Imaginary Fun with Real Results.
The CrabbieMasters Beat the Crabbies book series introduces you to ‘The Crabbies’ and models the fun that my preschool kids and I have had for years as we figured out what to do to beat them. The key to having CrabbieMasters work for you is to have fun and be playful with your children to ‘Beat the Crabbies.’
From decades of doing this, one thing I’ve found is that once kids are introduced to the idea, they feel empowered. They truly love to ‘Beat the Crabbies’ and that this all works to create a great emotional balancing effect. It’s a fun and effective motivator on many fronts.
The real results simply happen as we all work together to find ways to beat the Crabbies in our daily life.
Imaginary Fun
There are four Crabbies that we call the ‘Primary Crabbies.’ They’re related to physical well-being. We call them the primary Crabbies because if any of them sneak in, they open the door for all the rest of the Crabbies!
- Too-Tired
- Hungry
- Junk-Food
- Achy
There are another four Crabbies that we call the ‘Secondary Crabbies.’ They’re related to emotional well-being, and individual and social development. They are much easier to manage when we have the primary Crabbies under control.
- Can’t-Do
- Get-Along
- Hurry-Up
- King
Every fall when I start with a new group of preschoolers, I introduce them to all the Crabbies and talk about what it means to a CrabbieMaster. This includes hanging pictures of them all on one of my walls so that they’re always there as visual reminders for any of us to think of them. An amazing fact is that in the 30 years I have been talking about the Crabbies, I have never had a child not want to be a CrabbieMaster! (Crabbies images at cm.team/downloadables)
After the quick introductions to who the Crabbies are, and how we can all beat them, I simply use them as part of our everyday activities
“Oh, wow everyone, we need to get the room cleaned up so I can make lunch. Can you help me beat Hurry-Up so he doesn’t get me?”
“Jessie, your mom said you had a hard time sleeping last night. When it’s time to Power-Up (code for nap), can you lie down really still and close your eyes? If you can beat Too-Tired you will have more fun when you get up.
Real Results
- At first, you will be the mentor as you help your child make the right choices, thereby creating positive habits associated with beating the primary Crabbies (getting enough sleep, eating on time and eating healthy foods, washing their hands and getting exercise). As the mentor, it helps to sometimes be the one who the Crabbies ‘got to’ or are starting to ‘get to’ and then to do the thing that beats them.
- As your child beats the primary Crabbies and has their physical needs met, you will see their confidence As they become more confident, they will try more things and will start to be more competent. As they become more competent, they will enjoy more overall success.
- As children experience more success, the result is that they reach out to those around them and become more helpful, encouraging and empathetic of peers and siblings, resulting in more positive interactions.
- Over time, these positive interactions accumulate and result in more positive relationships, cooperation, and
- All of this happens in sort of a snowball effect. Ultimately, you will see initiative and leadership skills, problem-solving skills, and have an overall sense that your child is WISE!
Make it a great day!
Becky Undlin
M.Ed. in Family Education
Licensed Parent Educator
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