Guest Post: What Did You Learn from Week 1?

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A Mommy of 3 (4 and under) offered to write a post about their first week using ABC Jesus Loves Me. Love the wisdom that Lizz has to share! Follow more of Lizz’s life as she teaches her children about God’s world!

Well, our first week of using ABC Jesus Loves Me is officially finished. We didn’t accomplish everything on our activity list and it was a good week!

Yes, you read that sentence correctly. We did not accomplish everything on our list. In fact, I didn’t even remember to request any of the books from the library. As I glance over the list of things we were scheduled to do for Week 1, it looks like we failed miserably, except of course that we didn’t.

You see, we did just fine on day one. The concepts were introduced and we were all excited to learn together. Later, I realized I’d forgotten to share a Bible story. Um yeah, that would, of course, be the most important part of the day. Oops.

Day two started off a bit rough and it just never quite got going the way I had hoped. I gave my son a sticker puzzle to do from a Puzzle Buzz from Highlights for Children and called it a day. He loved it! My daughter wanted to practice tracing numbers and do nothing else. I decided to let her have at it and she traced and wrote the words for numbers 1-8. Then she colored the corresponding pictures and placed stickers on the different pages. I had to ask her to stop so we could all do something together! Neither of those things were a part of my plan, but they learned all the same and had fun doing it.

Day three ended up being a little of this and a little of that. We never did really introduce the number ‘2’, but we did have a lot of fun playing “Put the Fire Out.”

It was a good week because despite things not always going according to my plan, we had a great time together and learned a little more about God’s world. I also learned a few things that I hope to remember all year. In no particular order, this is what I learned…

Make your plans in pencil.

Being flexible is key to working with preschoolers. There is no reason to rush them from activity to activity when they are content to work on one skill for longer than you anticipated. It is likely they are trying to master something and don’t want to stop until they feel a sense of accomplishment. Think of how you feel when you are trying something new and almost “get it” just as you have to go do something else. Sometimes there is no option but to ask your child to get ready to do something else, but when you can wait, go ahead and wait. Sit back and enjoy watching the joy of a child at work.

Well, I had actually planned to have a neat little list for you about what I learned our first week of structured learning at home, but I think my “make your plans in pencil” thought sums up everything. In other words, go with the flow and go easy on your kids and yourself. Learning can and should be fun. We’re given a tremendous and awesome responsibility to train up our children. Let’s not waste it by fretting when we don’t check everything off of our lists.

Good weeks aren’t marked by checking everything off of a list, but by the time spent with our children enjoying the wonder of God’s world whether through a book, a structured activity, or a morning spent at the park.

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How did Week 1 go for you? Please share with us what you learned.