Paint. Everywhere.
Bright bold colors splattered and smeared on walls, on clothes, in hair, in my hair, across the table, up their arms, on the bottom of their feet…
It doesn’t matter how prepared I am. The wipes are in arms reach. Yet, it gets everywhere. Paint, markers, kinetic sand, play dough, and glitter…oh the glitter!
The control freak inside of me swells up, wanting so bad to just take over.
But something important is happening here and I need to let it happen.
My kids are learning. My kids are exploring. My kids are experiencing the gifts God has given them and the talents He has entrusted to them.
Preschool may not be for the faint-hearted – it will definitely require patience, especially if you are participating in a co-op with other families – but it is so valuable! And you CAN do it! Not only is preschool a great way to introduce the foundation of school to your young children, it is an opportunity that yields reward for you too mama!
You get to learn alongside your children. You get to see and watch them experience the wonder of learning and growth. You get the blessing of having fun making messes as you sit shoulder to shoulder with them.
This time we get to spend with our babies – who are not babies at all anymore, but we can’t seem to stop calling them so – this time is invaluable and irreplaceable…so why not make it intentional?!
Sit with them and imaginatively play tea party, let them scribble their little hearts out, let them sit on your lap while together you create a play-dough castle. It doesn’t have to include book work, but kids love that too! Let them trace letters, sound out words, and sing silly songs.
Don’t leave them to themselves while you work around the house frantically trying to get your list checked off…have them follow you and fold laundry with you. Teach them how to manage responsibilities.
Parenting and preschooling are not convenient, but they are a significant and worthy endeavor. You can do it and you can enjoy it! You are brave, you are strong, you are capable.
Your hair can be washed, walls can be painted, and clothes can be treated. Besides that though, the mess is just worth it. Embrace it. Live it up. Let your light shine as a parent/teacher to your precious children. They love you!
I would like to share with you a few fun things I do with my little ones on a daily basis (unless we are off to the park or running errands):
We do art. Painting. Coloring. Gluing.
We build. Magna-Tiles. Blocks. Legos.
We create. Play dough.
We read. Board Books. The Bible. Fun Books.
We play. Rescue Bots. Tea party. Pillow Forts.
We clean. We eat. We sing. We explore. We observe. We do silly. We love.
Although I am the one teaching my children throughout the day, Daddy has a very significant role as “teacher” to our children as well. We take turns teaching. We take advantage of each other’s strengths. For example, my husband loves to explore and experiment so he tests things out with the kids like making DIY Slime. He also enjoys the physical play time so he takes them to the park often.
As we both set out to teach our children and pursue homeschooling, we encourage each other through it. We are just getting started! I love that I have another teacher walking beside me in this. It is a growing part of our marriage that is refreshing to me as I see and experience it mature.
Do you do preschool with your little ones? What fun things do you do with them?
Here is a vlog with clips of how we do preschool:
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