It's been a while since my last post! Sorry it took so long, I took a few weeks off to spend some much needed time doing a few small home things.. Not repairs, but things like painting, gardening, organizing.. basically a honeydo list. =) We also got our oldest daughter in Tball, so I have been busy with that as well.
I'm working on a bunch of projects with the kids.. most of which I have left the camera behind for. With Easter and our sweet nephews coming this weekend, I have come up with lots of fun stuff to do with the little guys. I'm also stocking up on ribbon, and other stuff to start the tutorial for my bows and funky ribbon shoes. Be sure to look for those coming soon!....
Lesson of the week!
My latest streak of genius came with my children last week. For some reason they were all in bad moods, and were constantly saying fairly harsh things to each other. After thinking about it for a while, I came up with a lesson for them. I must say, that even with my little guy... I could see the wheels turning as we did this.
I've added a few things to my craft drawers. I added foam stickers, some medals that I found at the dollar store, silly string, and a few other things that I have already forgotten about! =D After looking through all of my stuff trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do to help my children.. a can of silly string fell off my counter top and hit my foot. Voila! A creative way to teach was born.
We bought a small Disney princess dry erase table for the kids to do their crafts at,and enjoy a snack. I sat all 3 of our children around this table, and we began. I began with questioning them about the things that they had said to one another. I started with my eldest, and wrote them all on the sheet of paper, leaving a few spaces between sentences. After I had questioned each children and recorded their phrases of the day, I asked them to cut out each of their sentences.
From there, I got each of them a solo cup and a can of silly string. I wrote their names on each of the cups, and then questioned them as to who they said their phrases to. For example: Kyrie said " Your stupid." to Nataleigh, so that strip of paper went into the cup that was labeled, "Nataleigh". After placing a strip of paper in the cup...I explained the purpose of the silly string. The silly string represents the other person's feelings. Nataleigh was then allowed to spray the silly string in the cup and cover the strip of paper. We went back and fourth like that for nearly 30 minutes. And as soon as each strip was done.. we left them there to dry. Because no one had bothered to even say that they were sorry, so the awful things that they had said to each other were now buried.
About 2 hours later after the string had gotten hard, I brought them to the table again and asked them to get the strips of paper out of the silly string. Which at this point, was impossible. The paper had absorbed the moisture from the silly string and was falling apart,and the silly string was breaking apart in pieces. The lesson was.. " You can't take back nasty and hurtful things that you say to people. When you are careless with your words, they become a part of that person's feelings forever."
After giving hugs to each other, and a little prayer.. all was well in the neighborhood again. And sure, they're kids.. they forget about stuff like that. They aren't going to remember every single thing we teach them all of the time, so that's why it is our job to keep teaching them! Ignoring this kind of behavior, teaches them that being mean is alright. Being a bully is okay. With as many children being bullied and the tragic ends that some of these kids are seeing, it is your job to teach your kids how to act.
I really believe that some, not all, but some issues that children are facing now could be resolved with a stronger home base. Providing them with morals and rules, setting boundaries are just some of the things that we can do to prevent them from making the same mistakes we made. I know that some parent's will not agree with me, and that's fine. I would like you to remember that you child, doesn't want you to be their friend. Your old, out of touch, and really not as cool as you think you are. I am not nears as cool as I think I am.. but the thing is... Your not supposed to be their friend. You are their parent. You are who they learn from, and if they don't learn from you, then they will learn from someone else. Who do you want your children to learn from? What do you want your children to learn from? The kid that has no rules and no boundaries, no consequences for his/her actions...or From having their cell phone, game boy, car keys, etc. taken away from you after breaking curfew.. or in the case of a little guy..taking away a favorite toy, and sitting in time out for saying mean things to someone else?
You are the most important and most powerful influence in your child's life. Make sure the impact that you are leaving counts. Even if that means rocking their world after they have done something that makes you want to pull your hair out. If you don't fill in the holes that life tends to create with love, support, guidance, and discipline... they fill find someone else to help them fill those holes. Love, treasure, and hold on to them, but remember that along the road, we have to guide them.
Blessings and Love,
Audrie xoxoxo
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