i distinctly remember, around the age of 16 or so, visiting my neighbors house to say hello. my neighbor had a little girl about the age of 2, and, they were making cookies. the little girl was fully engaged in the process, and, when the recipe called for the eggs, instead of the egg making the bowl, it accidentally slipped from her hands and splatted on the floor. to a mildly OCD bent personality, i had to cover my mouth to protect the gasp from escaping. but what happened next has stayed with me for the past 11 years. instead of getting upset or frustrated, the mother handed the little girl another egg and proceeded to allow her to repeat that delightful experience of watching an egg splat on the floor, not ruining the tile or messying an already dirty floor, but encouraging the creativity in the mess. it was a learning experience that encouraged as opposed to stifled.
i cannot take credit for finding the following video (like i said, erin, blog worthy. thanks for passing this on.), however, i find it quite thought provoking, especially as a new mommy. watching it has inspired me to think differently about these early months with asher, but also to project that thought to the future and how i will encourage that.
ps. it is about 20 minutes long, so, i suggest watching during nap time.
Friday, February 22, 2008
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2 comments:
i love this video. I remember watching it when the babes were about 4 months old and it was so inspiring! I love the story about the patient mama too--even with a case of slight OCD I see you teaching patiently, loving the journey of seeing your kids create and (though we all have our off days) seeing the process as what is important, not the level of perfection. Such a great reminder for us all. Love you Abs, Jen
Amen Brother! I LOVED the video Abbe, thanks for sharing it! When I taught middle school I had an 8th grader who came back from lunch each day totally stoned from his ADHD meds and he was just a bump on a log for the rest of the afternoon. His mom insisted that he take his medication at lunch so that she wouldn't have to deal with him after school. I was so disgusted by this and still am (I just saw him again today as a cart boy at Walmart now in his 20s). It's just sad what our society does to active kids, making them take drugs to settle down. I'm convinced that if I weren't around a lot of 3 year old boys, that I'd think Thad were ADHD but it's just normal boys being boys! We can't squelch that - it's what makes them FUN! I pride myself in allowing my kids to experiment and be creative. It's easy to get distracted by the water sloshing on the bathroom floor but how else would Thad learn how big a splash his water bomb can make if he didn't try it now and then. It helps to have a super duper creative hubby too. Praise the Lord for our wonderful families! And for great friends who help remind us of all of our blessings. Thank you! I miss you!
Sarah :)
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