The Best Lesson We Can Teach Our Children (With Very Few Words)

The other day I was washing up the dishes before putting the boys to bed. This is a task I generally do in a rush, trying to get it done as quickly as possible so I can get on to more important things.

As I scrubbed furiously at a pan, I realized Jerome was standing near my arm. Watching me. Watching my careless movements, learning from me.

Always Watching, Always Learning

In the Secret of Childhood, Maria Montessori talks about how the child is an eager observer who is particularly interested in imitating the actions of the adults in their lives.

As the primary adult my children observe, my every movement is catalogued, eventually imitated. Do I want them to be careless? Do I want them to always be in a rush?

I can tell my children to handle items gently, move slowly, act peacefully, but my actions, my attitudes, my movements are most effective in teaching these lessons.

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders but they have always been good at imitating them - James Baldwin

Because of this, I am practicing carefulness, gracefulness, gentleness, not only with the people in my life, but also with my tasks, the items I handle in our home. The preparation of the guide.

This, I believe, is important work, lasting work. Work that requires me to really focus on each task as I accomplish it, the pan from our morning eggs, the tiny pair of pants in the laundry pile.

Before my realization of Jerome watching me that day, I had surely thought of it before, but since then I have been doubly conscious of slowing down. It ties in beautifully with the choice I am making as a mother, which is really turning my motherhood around.

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God bless,
Olivia Fischer