How to Make a Sun...

May I begin this entry by saying that MOST successful experiences, as the ones listed on this blog, do not begin with motherly genius or anything of the type. MOST successful experiences begin through the genius or curiosity of the child... once inspired. Provide an inspiring environment... But that genius or inspiration must be responded to correctly. For example, we have little pillows in the girls room with handles on them. Mariah's handle ripped off, exposing the inner batting. Callie has been hounding me to fix it. Well, it's taken me a while... and finally she said, "mom, can we sew this in Storm Academy?" I responded with "sure, YOU can". She was thrilled. SHE wanted to learn. Not ME wanted her to learn. BIG difference. Learning is best by responding to desire and inspiration, like a mentor... not by sitting them down and telling them to "like this now". Yes, this is hard to do. One's life has to be organized and relaxed to respond to inspiration when it comes. So, organize life right?! Right. Constant process... but that is right. Then, interests evolve. You see, we got out the thread and Callie fixed the pillow, meanwhile, Mariah was demanding to sew. So, I got my yarn needles out (which are not lethal) and some yarn, some scraps of drapery fabric and gave her the basics, which SHE asked for. (Imagine how the story would change if I had a major agenda of my own and had no time to respond) Then, Callie, finishing her pillow, wanted to sew with yarn too. I said, "okay, draw a picture of something simple, like a sun, and you can sew it". So, she drew a sun, and I helped her put dots on it and she sewed it. EVER NOTICE that when a CHILD does the work, they feel pride in it. You can say "THIS IS GREAT" a hundred times, but unless THEY were responsible for it, they don't feel pride in their work. We all work that way, it shouldn't be hard to understand. Anyway, then it evolved into Mariah coloring balloons in different sizes to match the people in our family. Her favorite project.