Lessons learned from a toddler

Yesterday, I got to spend some special time with my littlest monster.  She is almost 2 and has suddenly started to show an interest in wanting to know what everything is called.  So I thought it is time to sit down and do some floor work with her.

What to teach?  Where to begin?  So we started off with red.  She loves red and has shown that she knows there is a difference in colour out there.  So I thought it was an appropriate place to start.

We started of by finding all red toys, blocks, cars and anything else that is red.  We made a big pile on our mat and started to play.  Using both Afrikaans and English talking about each toy as we played with it.  Later we drew red lines and red circles on scrap paper, till I was seeing lines and circles.  But she just loved it.  She couldn't stop.  For the first time in weeks, she wasn't driving me insane, but was actually absorbed in her task.  (Obviously, she was getting bored with her own company, while mom was else where occupied.)

She was so proud of herself and her accomplishments. Her vocabulary grew exponentially to the exposure. It was difficult to stop this onslaught of greed to learn more.  What I tried to contain to an hour went on for the rest of the day.  We just found more to learn all time.

It is so precious to see this.  For me the greatest blessing of being a stay at home mom is to be there to see them learn.  I missed most of this when my boys were this age, because I listened to people who believe that children should be send of to school at an early age.  Looking back now, I am so saddened by the loss of this time with the boys.

It is amazing to watch how these little things just suck up knowledge.  The more you give them, the more they'll take on!  They are more absorbent than a ton of sponges! 

The sad part of watching them grow is that you know that soon not much will be new for them. There will soon not be a new thing to wow them with.  But for now, we explore the world through the eyes of a two year old and love it.

To me it is a blessing to once again see the world from a child's perspective.  To remember to stop and smell the flowers, because they are there to smell.  To have fun squishing mud through my toes and fingers, because it feels funny and makes us laugh.  To be amazed by the colourful rainbows in bubbles. To be fascinated by the sounds of pouring different things through a funnel.

It reminds me to look at the crows and sparrows that fly high in the sky and not see them as pests, but wonderfully created animals in God's Kingdom.  To look at the mountain and to remember that God created it to show us that He is a consent in our lives just like the mountains.  We might move away, but He is always there.  To look at the ocean and all the mystery it represents and know that God is even more mysterious, but is as easy accessible to us today as what the ocean is.  To know that if only we go looking, we will learn to understand Him, and find marvelous qualities there.

If you have a young child nearby, take him/her for a day to show you the world through their eyes. Take them into the garden or a park.  Somewhere close to nature and be reminded that we should look at God with that same inquiring mind and be awed by Him.  And where better to go find Him than in His creation. 

Have a blessed weekend all.
From little old me.