Five Things I Teach My Preschooler
1. Reduce: I try to teach Jackson the difference between needing and wanting …… this is especially hard when it comes to the toy store! We talk about how there are people who have only a couple of toys and others who have whole rooms of toys. At this point it’s quite hard to know if he really understands, but he is very good about just looking at the items for sale, and never throws a fit about not bringing something new, home with us. We are also going through some of his things (mostly clothes) and donating them to local charities. So far he seems to be okay with donating some of his belongings.
2. Save the Trees and the Water: Paper, drawing, art. It all creates a lot of recycling! We do a lot of cutting and pasting and drawing, but we talk about where paper comes from, and how to use it wisely. We use old drawings and paintings for our collage along with magazines taken from others recycling piles. With our water play outside, we have select days and times and the hose is only ever on drip mode. Every now and again we have an all out crazy hose/water minute during our water day. We talk about how the water is here to make sure our plants grow and that we have water to drink, oh and bathe in of course, though he’s not too keen on that one! Again, not something I am sure he fully grasps yet, but it’s worth starting now.
3. Be Creative: Jackson has such a hard time with drawing, as he wants his drawings to look just like the real thing he has in his mind. Through collage, tracing and other forms, I am getting him more into drawing and creating again, without him being hard on himself. Also we are having lots of fun with dress-up and puppets these days! I think he may be more of a drama kid, than the drawing kind!
4. Eating for Health and Pleasure: What we eat makes us grow and is what we are made up of, so this one is fairly easy to teach. I talk to him about processed foods in the stores, and about making our own similar items, such as cookies and granola bars, out of whole food ingredients. I talk to him about the value of making your own food. We are also talking a lot about growing our own food.
5. Sharing and Giving: I don’t just mean sharing with our friends, but sharing with the world, and teaching what we know. I am teaching Jackson to sew, and we do projects together for charities and for our family. We talk about how giving and making special things for people makes us feel and how it makes others feel. I thought having just boys meant I couldn’t pass on my craftiness, but Jack seems to really enjoy sewing, as long as it’s with “the machine”!
Of course there are tons of other things I try to teach Jackson, but these are a few that came to mind when I sat down to write!
