One of my main thought patterns lately has revolved around productivity. I am constantly thinking back to my working-full-time days and how unproductive I was in every aspect of my life. I literally scraped by for years, not doing much beyond the bare minimum. But NOW...if I am not doing something that is genuinely productive in some way, I feel like I am letting myself (and my family) down. And it feels good! I actually accomplish worthwhile things these days! At the end of (almost) every day, I feel great about what I have accomplished, even if that just involves giving my boys tons of love.
I have also been more aware of my boys' time and how productive they are. I allow Elijah to play Angry Birds for about 10 minutes every day, and that is IT. It is not a productive use of his time, but in very small doses I'm fine with it. Elijah is SMART, so so smart. He is constantly asking questions..."What's his name? Where is he going? Whose car is that? Whose horn was that?" (seriously, CONSTANTLY)...so in the past few days I have started telling him that the answers to those questions aren't necessarily productive.
We need to start directing his inquisitive nature toward productive activities. Things that are going to stimulate his smart brain (not Angry Birds). So tonight I asked Dan to begin chess lessons!
He did pretty well for his first time! I need to figure out what other productive activities I can place before him this summer because it will be here quickly! Hours on end at home without cognitive stimulation=not good for our 5-year-old.
I did not have this inquisitive nature when I was his age. This is all new to me. I am hoping we can feed his need for obtaining all kinds of information in productive ways!
3 comments:
It can be exhausting!! I remember those days. I agree with jtj though; the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. I always answered my kid's questions with a question, just like my professors in law school. It's called the Socratic Method and it is said to encourage the highest level of thought. Not as simple as answering his question like " Where do you think he is going?", "What do you think his name is", you have to take it a step further. Jtj gave good examples for someone Elijah's age. To be honest, it pains me to hear you say that you told Elijah his questions aren't productive. Encourage his many questions and get used to them. You are the adult.
chess sounds like a great stimulant! that smart little guy is going to keep you on your toes.
as the oldest of 5 children, i can tell you that sometimes all those questions get plain annoying. i think it's ok to make him think about the question/answer before he asks it.
Your little man is very intelligent!
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