Let THEM Do It

Before Areyna was born I worked at a preschool as a music teacher for 3 years. I learned so many practical things during that time, but even if I got nothing else out of that job, I learned that children are capable of way more than we give them credit for.

That is why we have tried to teach our children at an early age to put their own clothes on, to sit on the potty by themselves, to clean up after themselves (after playing or dinner) and to "help" me in the kitchen.

Besides the fact that they LOVE to help, this has helped them be more independent in every day tasks, which in turns helps ME out.

Here in our new house we have positioned things on their level so that they can do just about everything on their own.

Their plates, cups, bowls and utensils are on the bottom shelf so they can reach them if they are setting the table. If they are still thirsty during a meal they have a stool to stand on to go get a refill of their own water. They have stools in the bathroom so they can brush their own teeth (with some supervision with their back teeth=), we placed a basket in the hall closet so they know where to put their shoes when they get home, as well as another basket on the bottom shelf where their jackets/coats go.

These are just a few ways we've tried to help them help themselves.

Today after lunch I had just cleaned up my own dishes and the kids were following my lead and scraping their plates in the trash before placing them in the sink. I had gone out of the kitchen to grab something and when I came back in this is what I saw...
Areyna washing her own dishes without even having to be told! She has watched me do it so many times and knew exactly what to do. Oh how lovely it is to see the fruits of our labor sometimes=)