Teaching Appreciation

As a parent of young children it's easy to think that they are too young to be able to do something yet.  It's also easy to think I'll teach them later when they are older.  Another trap I can fall into is just plain knowing it is easier to do some tasks by myself.  I can cook faster when I'm alone in the kitchen.  I can put away the boys' toys more efficiently if I wait until nap time.  But what am I teaching them?  They won't learn to pick up after themselves if I'm always doing it.  They won't take ownership of their toys and care for them properly if they aren't taught responsibility.  I certainly don't want them to grow up thinking it's the mom/wife's job to do all the cooking!  I am very blessed to have a husband who shares in the cooking and cleaning, and I want to teach these skills to my boys.  They won't learn if I don't slow down and show them how.

This year I decided JZ and JM could help with thank you notes.  They received quite a few toys for Christmas from many generous family members.  I have a tendency to procrastinate when it comes to sending out thank you notes.  This is not a habit I want to pass on to my children, so I figured the best way to teach them the proper way to respond to receiving a gift was to let them be a part of it and to do it sooner than later.  In the middle of the chaos that is our house at the moment with all of the unpacking from our 10 day Christmas vacation, I pulled out some supplies to make cards. 

I kept it simple and did my best not to over think an easy project like I often tend to do.  I knew if I worked too hard to come up with original ideas I would think, "I'll do that tomorrow," for several days which could turn into weeks, and so on...

I pulled out the new Do-A-Dot markers the boys' received in their stockings and let them decorate one side of a 6 x 5 piece of cardstock. 

I wrote a personal note on the other side.

 JZ signed his name.  On a few of them he also wrote JM's name.

 I wrote the words "Thank You" with glue, and the boys sprinkled glitter all over.

After the cards were completed JZ and JM had a blast squirting mounds of glue onto the paper then smothering it with glitter.

 

 

JM, of course, had to stand up since that's how his big brother did it.

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