A Little Help...

In our Casa, help is never in short supply. The children will eagerly help a friend new to our environment learn how we do snack...

 clean a water spill...

 help a friend put on her socks and shoes...

pour water for an outdoor snack...

help fold the laundry...

 and maybe even re-fold some cloths to make sure that they fit on the shelf just right.

And most of the time, the children take care of these tasks without even being asked. These young ones saw a need and took care of it without an adult over their shoulder telling them what to do. Children--especially the youngest ones are often underestimated when it comes to how capable we, as adults, think that they are.

We each have an inherent desire to be able to feel needed and to feel as though we are a contributing member to our households, workplaces and when we visit friends and family. Think about ways you can allow your children to help at home. Maybe it's helping to prepare dinner--cutting vegetables for a salad, setting the table or combining ingredients for a delicious pasta dinner. Maybe it's helping to transfer wet laundry from the washer to the dryer and then from a dryer to the basket and then helping to fold it and put it away. Or even it could be helping to dust a table, feed the dog or make their lunch and lay out their choice of clothing for the next day.

Showing your child how to help and then un-doing what you showed them (like how to fold a cloth and then unfolding it) and allowing them to try gives them a feeling of ownership, of confidence and more importantly of joy. This creates a greater respect for the environment in which they live.

"How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."--Anne Frank