Teaching

Teaching. One of the most important "every-day-matters" I know of and yet often forget. While it's true that we teach by example, sometimes it just takes a few minutes and a few words to teach a child. Mark recently taught Sarah (5) and Sam (3) to put their PJ's away in the morning after they take them off. He told them where they belonged, in their top drawer, and that if they put them there, that's where they'd be at night when they went to get ready for bed. He helped them do it a few times, not getting angry when they got distracted and it took a few mintues. This was a simple teaching moment, but one I hadn't done. I just tolerated the PJ's shed on the bathroom floor every day. Often just scooped them up in to the laundry--dirty or not--adding to my laundry load. I was grateful Mark reminded me of such a simple matter. One other thing happened that reminded me that learning only happens with practice and it's not always pretty at first. I looked at Sarah's fingernails and noticed what a good job she'd done painting them. This was shocking because for so long there's been polish all over her skin and clumpy polish all over her nails. But, she's been practicing every time she did it and she's gotten better. It reminded me that learning takes time...and lots of practice. But, it works. So, if my kids forget to but their PJ's away, I call them back and have them practice. Teach, practice, learn. It matters and it's worth it.