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("Look MOM - I wrote your name!")
I have relaxed MUCH in my 17 years of parenting, yet I do admit to being a bit concerned about his lack of interest in learning. When we signed him up for another year of preschool, at 5.5, I wondered if we were wasting money. Maybe he was just a kid that would never like school? Maybe the only way for him to become ready to dig in and learn was to force it? He was SO ready for Kindergarten in every way - socially, emotionally, attention span, ability to follow directions, ect. . . He just refused to care about "school" stuff. Maybe he never would?
So - when school began I had a little chat with his teacher. I explained that I understood and loved that at Montessori they allow kids to make many choices and move at their own pace. . . BUT I really, really, really felt like Joshua MUST be pushed and prodded if he were to be ready to attend school next year. AND since they would not take him as a 6.5 year old - she agreed!
At the beginning of the school year, he was not enthused about the learning component of school. School was "boring." His teachers were "so bossy!" They always wanted him to COLOR (of all things!). He even chose to sleep during rest time, something he has not done since he was 3.5, because he discovered that if he got up early he was expected to color or work on worksheets quietly. Sleeping was WAY better than coloring! (I was not sure if I should laugh or cry when he made that confession!)
However, as they year has progressed, he has
He started to engage with me when I asked him letter sounds. He would try to read the numbers on the clock. He would PROUDLY show me worksheets he had completed at school! His drawings looked like drawings rather than scribbles.
This morning he even asked me to read him a book! (I know that does not sound exciting - but he has refused to read with me except for at bedtime. It is not that he is a really active kid. He is quite mellow. He just did not like ANYTHING school-like AT ALL.)
And over the weekend, as we drove to meet his newest cousin, he was asking me to spell words for him to write on Brenna's kindle! He actually wrote MOM. . . and it was HIS idea.
(Insert one BIG, Long, HAPPY and relieved sigh, here!)
I am SO thankful! School is a must. Education is a gift. The thought of pushing and prodding him to accept that gift for the next 13 years was a bit daunting! (And yes! I do and did know all kids are ready for different things at different times. Jamison is a fantastic student. He easily maintains a B+ GPA, yet he did not learn to read until grade 2. So, on one hand I was not worried! On the other, I have never seen a little guy detest all things paper and pencil related to the extent that our JG used to hate them. . . so I was most certainly bit concerned!)
In the end, I realize once again that the BEST thing we EVER have to offer is time. The gift of time can look many different ways. Sometimes it is listening. Sometimes it is helping. Sometimes it is serving. Sometimes it is waiting. Sometimes it is playing. Sometimes it is resting. No matter how TIME is given, unless it is hurried, it is a blessing - a most precious gift.
Time was exactly what Joshua needed.
Really, time is exactly what we all need.
Funny thing is time is something we are each given equally. We each, no matter where we live in the world and no matter how much money we make, have the same allotment of time each day. I continue to work at being intentional, thoughtful, and generous with how I use each minute the Lord gives me each day. The more I work at investing my time wisely and carefully, the more I realize that pushing pause rather than fast-forward often brings the best returns.
