First, the last second attempt to comply with the request once she realizes that she has incurred the timeout consequence:
"No, wait! I'm doing it! See! No, no.... I'm doooooing it!" she wails as she is shooed of to her bedroom.
Then, the screaming and door slamming (oooh, extra two minutes for that)."I WAS doing it. You... YOU are MAKING this bad!" she bellows at the top of her well-exercised lungs. [Sigh] Just think--when the weather gets warmer and the windows are opened, we'll be able to share these moments with the entire neighborhood.
Finally, Genevieve and I had our moderated talk. She-Who-Referees-Family-Disputes presided. It went remarkably well considering how difficult it is for a 5-year old to listen plainly to the impact of her tantrums. Genevieve wants us to treat each other more nicely. I am willing to do that, but she needs to be able to listen and respond to my requests.
I was detailed about the difficulties of her behavior during pickup at her pre-school, and she agreed to cooperate fully with departure if I would give her two minutes after my arrival. We agreed on that, but haven't decided on what happens if she is not cooperative. The natural consequence of being late for the bus (daddy has to stand out in the cold and extend his homeward commute by another half hour, the rest of the family eating dinner a half-hour later) imposes penalties on many other people than Genevieve, and she's just as happy playing in the snow at the bus stop and having my attention for more time.
So, we need something else, and haven't figured it out yet. We'll start finding out how this chat went beginning this Wednesday.
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