They Grow They Learn

 When my firstborn was born, I started checking the CDC Milestone checklist each month. For me, this was not a source of worry, but a way to bring awareness of her development. I loved having that monthly reminder to marvel at her growth.

She was pretty average — ahead on some things, matching on others, behind on a couple. But I never had to intervene. I just sat back and watched her grow. Maybe she couldn’t kick the ball this month, but a month later, all on her own, she was kicking a ball all over the yard and having a blast. It was fascinating!

My job has been simply to present the tools (for example, keeping a ball around) and watch her take off with them when she’s ready.

But I had this question in my mind — how far will this take her? Can it continue into her school years?

Sure, a baby has an internal drive to learn how to roll over or to walk. But what about learning to count? Or studying US history? Or mastering punctuation?

My firstborn is almost five now. We’re in preschool and heading into kindergarten. And some of those same approaches still work!

I model a skill for her. She sees mommy writing. She sees mommy halfing a recipe. She sees mommy watching the clouds and bringing the laundry in.

I make the tools available. Tell her how to use them. And then leave it there.

Sometimes she grabs the concepts right away. Sometimes she seems totally uninterested. But then…a few times later…she just takes off with it.

I gave her some alphabet handwriting practice sheets. Zero interest.

No worries.

I showed them to her again a few more times. She drew one letter one time and then was done. Okay. That’s fine.

And then, one week, all of the sudden, she was doing pages of them. She was engaged, eager, and asking questions.

Next she was writing her own words and asking me how to spell everything.

And I am tremendously in awe of this. It reminds me of the parable Yeshua (Jesus) told about the growth of a seed. You plant a seed and it grows — you really don’t know how — but then you reap the harvest.

So cool.