Our two oldest kids are in elementary school, and I thought it would be fun to share a few things that school has taught our family the past five years. Maybe you can relate to some of my remarks, and if so, I encourage you to just take some time to reflect and savor the positive experience of education for children and how that in turn, has positive impact on your family, community and beyond.
Art is impactful. When we sent our oldest son Finley to preschool, he had hardly any experience with arts and crafts. He would much rather have read books and thrown a ball around. Every day in school, students made an art project, and he loved it! Art has made him more confident, more creative, more aware of details, and more generous. I love that our fridge is full of artwork from all the kids. On of my favorites was the Mother’s Day portrait he drew of me, with my arms below my belly button. I hope that’s not how he really sees me! Fast forward a few years and my older kids are becoming better artists than me and enjoy doing artistic activities like Art for Kids Hub on youTube very often. If you are looking for some great books about art that contain key life messages for all ages, check out Peter H. Reynolds and his books The Dot and Ish. They are incredible!
It’s a team effort. I have a lot of respect for parents who have multiple children in school. There are so many details that we need to remember such as bringing snacks, bringing special day toys, bringing craft project supplies, signing forms, arranging transportation, remembering schedules of activities during and after school, and practicing skills at home. Trust me, we had our days of forgetting details! Bless our educators who need to organize and deliver multiple times that amount while also making sure all children are getting along and staying safe. Whatever each child’s home and school situation may be, it takes a caring and focused team to help them learn and grow. Thank you to our educators and volunteers in the schools for all they do!
Relationships matter most. It’s not just what you do, but who you do it with that makes the best impact in our lives. When we ask our kids what they like best about their days at school, it usually involves doing “such and such” with “so and so.” They usually name a different person each time, and that tells us they get along pretty well with everyone. (Hooray!) We were told at the beginning of our childrens’s 4K program that the main goal of the preschool was to help develop social skills in our children. That was so exciting to my husband and me because that fits right into our value system of loving people and loving God.
School has taught my family and me much more than what I have listed here. My main intention with this post is to inspire you to take time to savor the opportunities our children have to become brighter each and every day through the diverse support systems available. Make the best of what you have and see the goodness multiply!
Take a moment today to just play with your child and one of their toys. For inspiration, my daughter Jordy and I created this video where we breathe along with Barbie Doll. We bought this Barbie a couple years ago, and I immediately took it to work with me so the healthcare workers could listen to someone else besides me for a change. If nothing else, people got a chuckle out of it.
Join us now, and see how you feel afterwards. How can you use one of the toys in your house to help you enjoy some quality time with your kids and also do something that uplifts your mind, body and spirit?
