We women love Pinterest! I know I do anyway. I love all the beautiful, creative ideas that I've pinned. I find though, that I need to be deliberate about not expecting the sweet moments of our lives to fit into cute little compartments as well.
That being said...
This morning I got some much needed time alone with Cassidy. As soon as I plopped down in the sandbox, the teacher(y) wheels started turning. I wrote my name in the sand in attempt to entice her to write or spell; she smoothed it out with her shovel. Then I found myself considering what items to bring out to best optimize our learning experience...cookie cutters, molds, so many possibilities!
Well, she had her own idea. Who knew?!! There's a brain in there with ideas, plans, and interests that don't fit into any of my educational "boards."
She wanted to make a garden, so that's just what we did! We made rows with a toy rake, gathered up acorns and pebbles to use for seed, and got to plantin' tomatoes, watermelons, and squash right there in the sandbox.
The teacher in me that won't ever shut up talked to her about what a plant needs to grow, discussed roots and showed her examples, and talked about straight lines and so on.
Yet, as I sat there with my little girl playing with the sun on my back, breathing the cool breeze with my toes in the sand...the other stuff ceased to matter.
I am increasingly reminded that the more I starve the big teacher ego thing inside me, the more my children learn.
The more I set aside artificial expectations and standards, the more I get to know who they really are, and more importantly, they get to "be" who they really are in the process.
This leaves me wondering, am I here to teach them or are they here to teach me?
Additionally, I am reminded that often the best plan is no plan at all.
