Friday, October 19, 2007

Friday Five


Having spent the better part of yesterday getting a sunburn with sixteen four-year-olds, today's Friday Five will be both brief and appropriate.








Five Things I've Learned from Four-Year-Olds


1. Don't hold a grudge.

My daughter's reaction when someone hits her goes like this:

"Ouch, hey stop it!"

"I don't want to play with you anymore!"

"Oh, it's okay. I know you didn't really mean to bite me."

"Let's go play on the see-saw."


She gets over things quickly, and so do her classmates. And she seems happier for it.



2. Behold the power of Play-Doh.

It's true. Take a group of crabby, stressed out kids and give 'em a few cans of Play-Doh. Not only do they all shut up, they all relax, and do some wonderfully creative things. I think I need more Play-Doh in my life.


3. Naps can be good.

This does not apply to my daughter, because she never sleeps during the day. However, she does sit in the corner during nap time and read quietly. We all need quiet time during the day. It keeps us from getting too cranky.


4. Enjoy little things.

We spent three hours wandering around a "Native American Festival" with these kids. The didn't give a damn about the captive bison, the tee-pee, or the dancing. They wanted to pick up sticks, play in the dirt and go feed the ducks. Dirt is captivating. There's lots of interesting things in it. Sometimes life is less about the big show than it is about just playing in the sand.



5. Sometimes it's okay to rely on someone bigger than you when you're scared.

During an animal demonstration involving a very large snake and a caged bobcat, I had six of my daughter's classmates, plus her, all vying for space on my lap. Those that didn't fit on my lap, leaned on my shoulders, hugged me, or just grabbed a fistful of my shirt. Just that little bit of contact made them feel safer and better. It's okay to go hug someone else when you're not feeling strong.

Okay, that's it. Have a good weekend. I'm off in search of some aloe vera for my neck, and maybe grab a nap before I have to head off to work.

12 comments:

Jo Beaufoix said...

I love this Jen.
Play dough is a gift from the Gods, cuddles are fab when scared (or when not), and dirt is the business.

And yay, you survived.
Hope you get some rest before work.

Jo Beaufoix said...

P.S. Ha, I am first and second. Hooray.

Jo Beaufoix said...

Ooo and third too.

Sorry...

I'll stop now.
I'm only amusing myself aren't I.

Anonymous said...

That's a great post. I should have the rules tatooed on my forearm.

Bellevelma said...

Play Doh... I'll have to remember that for the next field trip I chaperone.

Anonymous said...

Play Doh may be a gift from the Gods but not if its in your carpet.

the rotten correspondent said...

Also, you can never go wrong with a box of crayons

and

whenever you get crabby, you need a snack.

works for me...

Susan said...

And all of those things have nothing to do with IQ or labels, either, just plain old common sense. What a great kid!! I'm going to try to embrase all of them.

Dumdad said...

Wise and funny words, Jen.

Her Royal Frogness and myself enjoyed this together as I read it out loud.

Jen said...

Jo You can leave as many comments as you want *tee-hee*. It's good for my ego.

leeandaluu Go ahead with the tattooing, but at least give me a credit on there...

belleHOnestly, the play-doh was post trip. We ended up leaving early because it was too hot and we were all a little peaked. The play-doh happened after the hour long drive back to the school.

auntie barbie Which is why you don't give your kids play-doh in the living room. Duh. Of course, playdoh seems to vacuum up nicely for me, so...

RC We can have Leeandaluu add those to her tattoo!

my two cents It was so cool watching all of the kids on Thursday. And it almost made me cry watching how TFYO interacted so well with all of them. We took a little boy in our car and he and TFYO shared her magna-doodle back there on the long drive. He kept drawing race cars, and then handing her the picture so she could put the numbers on for him. Listening to her explain what a "95" was was priceless.

Dumdad Aw, thank you. And I'm tickled you read these with your wife. Bonjour to Her Royal Frogness!

Molly said...

I especially like this Friday's Five. Each item is a treasure. At age 60, I keep relearning not to hold a grudge. Furthermore, I am afraid that I have not quite learned number five. I tend to keep things to myself. Take care; I hope that the sunburn is better today.

Diana said...

Right on. Especially #3.