“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child…” 1 Corinthians 13:11
I love this pumpkin because it really captures the three year old in Axel. He chose a pile of rubber bands, masking tape, and tractor stickers for his decorations and he loves it! He visits it on the porch daily. It doesn’t have a Jack-O-Lantern face (or any other image, for that matter), but it is the sum of his skill level and objects he loves. I love letting him embrace the three-year-old in himself whenever possible. The story below is another example of how I’m doing this!
Kids love to count down to something; it helps them anticipate and build awareness of space and time. We count down to vacations and special events, and, during one-such countdown, Axel got stuck at “four days left.” From then on everything was four days away: his birthday, going to visit cousins, going camping, etc. Even after our vacation was over, he still thought it was four days away! He couldn’t be convinced otherwise.
I decided his joy and pride in knowing this was more important than continuing to argue with him about how many days really were left. I gently continued to teach him how to count days on the refrigerator calendar but let him have ownership of his logic each step of the way. He needed to know that he could use his own intellect, that the way his brain processed was OK and important. Eventually he will learn to count. His concept of time will be accurate. But then counting will not be such a fun game; it will be routine. So, for now, for this precious stage, vacation will remain “four-days-away.” Don’t let them grow up too fast!
oh, hello cheerio! 