Helping is something almost all younger kids love to do. The problem for me is, I don’t always love the help ;-). It’s selfish, I know-but true. I am not one of those naturally patient mommas, I would much rather just do things myself. But I also know that when a child is helping-the lessons learned are invaluable.
When I used to teach Kindergarten, we did calendar time every.single.day. By about the second month of school I dreaded teaching it. Other primary teachers will give me an Amen I’m sure-something about it just gets old and draining. Once the routine of teaching was established each year, I implemented a calendar helper and the special student would lead calendar time, with me sitting off to the side to quietly guide. The helper always loved this job and I loved not having to do it all myself. I guess that was one area where I didn’t mind a child helping me out! 😉
Fast forward to homeschool and our morning board time. I won’t say I dreaded teaching it at all, I really don’t, but Pac Man began asking if he could teach it. At first I said no and then it dawned on me-this is a great learning opportunity for him! He already knows most of the skills being taught during this time, it would be great to develop his leadership abilities.
So, now we see this quite often….
I took the photo while sitting on the floor in Pac Man’s normal spot-as he leads us during calendar time. Krash is putting up the day of the week.
I guide Pac Man from below and he is one happy little helper.
Pac Man grows greatly by being the leader. He has learned so much from his role also as the eldest sibling for Tot School both with Krash and now with Ladybug. Pac Man may not learn many school skills from our game of the week for preschool time, but he is learning so much about patience, selflessness, and so much more. There are so many opportunities for an older sibling to be in a helper role, I just have to remember to let him!