Just let THEM do it...

As parents, and as Mothers especially, our goal is to teach our children the things they need to learn in order to survive and succeed in this world. We teach them to walk, to eat by themselves, to clothe themselves, and even to tie their shoes. Now this last one is probably one that I struggle with as a parent. It sounds so simple, just teach them to ties their shoes, right? I thought so. We've been teaching Jenna to tie her shoes since Kindergarten, but it's a hard thing to pick up. It is such a delicate process, and everything has to be just right for the end product to come out correct. Over the summer she didn't have to do it at all because she wore sandals for months. But this school year we decided it was time to really teach her. She's been doing a really great job, and she can do it entirely by herself, even if they aren't very tight on her feet by the time she's done. The reason this was hard on me was not that her shoes weren't tight, or that the laces might be hanging off to one side so she would step on them all day; it was how long it takes for her little fingers to tie the shoes. In the morning I usually feel like I'm in a rush, even if we are on time, and it just seemed easier to say "Just let me do it, really quick." Well, I can't say that, or she just won't perfect it. So now, instead of leaving shoes until the end, shoes come on right after clothes, before hair is done and family prayers are said. This helps me a lot to just say, "You can do it", so she has a chance to get the practice, and tie those shoes!



The boys love playing together on the stairs. Adam is close to being able to climb up on the first stair. But for now, he loves to watch his big brother Will being crazy and making him laugh!