Teaching through Daily Routines

Last night I was busy sorting laundry and starting to fold when Elliot came into his bedroom by me with a blanket. He said 'I do I make it Mama?'. He wanted to know how to fold the large fleece blanket. So, I showed him how to 'match' the corners, using his language, and how to smooth out the wrinkles and lay it down and continue matching the corners. He was very pleased with the end result and carried the blanket out to the living room. I continued on with my laundry and thought about how interesting it was that he had suddenly shown interest in folding. Within a minute he was at my side again dragging my 'God' blanket (what he calls my blanket with the Lord's Prayer written on it) and is asking how he can match that blanket, the one that also has fringes. So, again we go through the steps to fold this blanket and his enthusiasm is growing! He is proud of himself and I only intervene if he asks for my guidance. He proudly held up the folded blanket, smiles, and struts out of the room while clutching it to his little body with his arms wrapped all the way around it and takes the blanket out to the living room. I found later that he had stacked them as neatly as you can expect a 5yo too, on my footstool.

When Elliot returned to the bedroom a few minutes later I was about to start hanging up his shirts on his little white hangers. Elliot asked me to show him how to hang his shirts. I was quite happy with his interest in these tasks that I am blessed with, yet seem mundane. Elliot however, is an eager listener and is very engaged in watching me do a demonstration. Showing him which way to face the hanger, how to prepare the shirt for hanging (tag on the bottom, picture on the top) and how to straighten the shirt once it is hung. I start with his basic white undershirts. Once he successfully hangs those correctly and lays them aside neatly I tell him that 'Now you get to do a shirt with a picture on it', and I present him with his white 'Planes' Disney shirt. He then progresses to colored shirts and the 'more difficult' long sleeved shirts. Then, we have a tricky one, it is a long sleeved striped shirt. There is no picture on it. So, how do we find the front and the back? He remembers! 'Look for the tag!' he exclaims. So, we carefully look for the tag and he hangs the shirt correctly. After this, we have a sweater, and finally, the most difficult one, a sweater with a hood and a zipper. 'Elliot', I say, 'This sweater is going to be the most difficult shirt to hang tonight, are you ready?'. I present him with the zippered and hooded sweater for him to figure out. He lays it out on the floor correctly and I ask him what will he need to do next 'Zipper it!' he exclaimed. So, he zippers it with a little assistance from me and then he gets his hanger ready. I show him that he can unzip it a little bit so that it is easier to slide the hanger in, and then zip it up the rest of the way, and he is pleased with the thought of extra zipping. He hangs the sweater all by himself and is really pleased. I send him to Emily for assistance in hanging it on the high closet rod, and he has a difficult time because he wants to do it himself. He relents and becomes satisfied with taking two tops at a time to Emily to be hung.

 

A job well done Elliot. Two new tasks learned.



Later that night I found my children snuggled up reading a book together. I love all of the moments, but some I hold a bit closer to my heart.

 

 

As I go about my daily tasks I try to be mindful of the little ears in my house. Little ears are listening all the time, even when they seem so engrossed in an activity. Emily and Elliot have both been eager to help with chores from a young age and I try to encourage them to enjoy these activities that don't seem as fun as we age. Elliot has a mop that I bought at the dollar store and then used a saw to cut down the handle to child size, he loves to get that out and sweep the kitchen! He has an apron that I gifted him Easter 2014, and asks for help putting it on so that he can wash the dishes. He may not do the chores to my personal standards, but he is learning about being a part of a family and doing his part to help. Emily, being 12 now, is quite used to having chores that seemed so fun not too many years ago, but she gets them done and has pride in her work. I teacher her how my Dad always taught me to 'Do it right the first time and you won't have to do it a second time.'. And as I have picked out dishes that are not quite clean over the years for her to redo, she has learned to be more thorough in her dish washing and other chores.

 

I am grateful that I have a home to clean and simple chores to do every day. I hope that I will be able to make that more evident to my children and more conscious of how I approach these tasks.

 

 

God bless,

Tara

 

Proverbs 22:6