In preschool nothing catches on fire faster than a bad idea. And the corollary principle to that is “Eyes always trump ears.” What the teacher says becomes white noise compared to what the child sees.
Just this week a little boy sat
at the table where we were doing craft projects. He immediately took a toothpick and used it
to wipe glue all over his paper. Several
other little boys who had already started with the right steps quickly did the
same. When I explained that they needed to
color the paper before gluing, they picked up crayons and tried to use them in
the gluey areas. Immediately there was glue on the table, on hands, on crayons
and on art projects, and none of it where it needed to be. They seemed puzzled
why it wasn’t working.
Fortunately, there really
aren’t many genuinely bad ideas when you are four years old, just experiences
to learn from. Paint, glue and markers
can all be wiped up or off or replaced.
But there are good things to learn from watching all of this. Some
things I’ve realized as I observe children include:
1. Children are quickly influenced by what they see the people
around them do, especially if it appears that there is a short cut
involved. What is in front of their eyes
can plug up their ears, so they don’t even hear adult instructions, nor do they
need to see the outcome before they try it. Some children have a natural self-confidence or
eagerness, and jump into things even if they have no idea what they are
doing. Those are the children who are
the most influential of all to onlookers. Note to parents: be cautious about
what your children see in movies, on TV and on the computer. Those self-confident people on the screen may
be more of a powerful role model for your child than you think.
2. Children are like most big
people and want to do the fun part first and the hard part later, but that
doesn’t always work well. They usually
want to paint first, because painting is fun.
They want to procrastinate writing their name on it or cutting it out
because those things take more time and skill and can be hard. Note to teachers and parents: all the parts
are fun when you have skills, so taking time to teach skills isn’t being hard
on them or taking away the fun. Skill building actually makes school and life
more fun in the long run.
3. Learning the sequence of doing things can be as important learning
what to do. Shortcuts often are just bad
ideas in disguise. Note to self and
anyone else interested: Learning where to start and then what to do next is
important in conquering so many of life’s challenges. Asking for help and listening to instructions
can be a good start for everybody. Some
things that sound like a hot move are just a bad idea catching on fire.
© Diane L. Mangum 2014
