I was crafting, intently crafting, when our 4-year-old woke up from nap. Of course, he was hungry. Usually, this means that mommy drops everything and quickly crafts a three-course mea... I mean, a simple as can be, hurry up and eat it, sammie.
That day, I decided I would put his culinary skills to the test.
"Make your pb & j," I told him, fingers still hooked to my glue gun and beautiful ornament masterpiece-in-progress.
He was floored. Mind you, with very little instruction, both he and our 3-year-old daughter can effectively do a good number of household chores.
However... Spreading gooey substances was not a task I had chosen to instill in them...
Until that day.
He asked what he was supposed to do and I coached him from the chair, focusing mainly on my glue gun. I knew he was capable.
After about 5 minutes of listening to his squealing delight, I checked his progress and was amazed to see half a jar of peanut butter on one slice.
"Momma, can you open this," he asked, handing me the jelly jar.
I just HAD to giggle. Really, son...there's not a drop of jelly on that sandwhich yet? I suppose I had thought he had placed teensy amounts of jelly under his layer of peanut butter grout.
Nope.
I watched him spread jelly and squeal some more as he learned a bit more independence.
It was a beautiful moment to observe.
He can make a "peanut buttah jelly time..."
As a mom of 4 under 5, with baby #5 growing in my womb, THIS IS HUGE!!! GIGANTIC, really.
Dare I say, E.P.I.C.
So, my encouragement to all mom's of littles who feel like you are ALWAYS doing it all... Teach them something new today. Expect them to grasp the concept of the task. Keep those precious babes near you all day and talk them through each thing you do! If she's a 1 year-old who can walk, chances are, she'll be carrying laundry with you in 3 short months. At 2, she'll be sorting the laundry. At 3, she'll be throwing it in the machine, taking it out of the dryer, AND folding towels.
And you've read what happens at 4! Be excited, mommas, be excited.
Need resources or further encouragement on training those littles... Or bigs, even ... To be diligent helpers, let me know. I'll e-mail you my faves!
That is great. Do it more as the kids need to learn how to do things from a young age. Just last week Noah cooked his own eggs (cracked them, beat them, pour into skillet, and stirred the eggs in skillet). I was there of course, but he did so good watching the stove and making sure he didn't get burnt. :)
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