One Washcloth at a Time….

One washcloth at a time….little hands doing big work. The great thing about two-year-old children is that they love to join you in whatever you are doing. Whether it is cleaning the bathroom or eating chocolate, Martha (our resident two-year-old)  is ready and willing to help. What a gal!

While I’d love to have another toilet scrubber, Martha isn’t quite ready to take command of that job. However, I’m a firm believer in letting children tackle a task. When the laundry basket hits the couch and it is full of towels and washcloths, Martha is there. Bam! She knows exactly what she is doing when she grabs the washcloths and hand towels.

For Martha, she sees it as fun. Big sister Bekah is folding towels and Martha gets to help. Woo hoo! Martha is a big kid!

Martha is really learning diligence and building her work ethic. She takes this job of folding washcloths seriously. Does she stop after a washcloth or two? When Bekah finishes the big towels first does Martha get upset? She just keeps working on her pile until she is done.

One day she will have a bigger job than putting away the silverware or folding washcloths. She will face bigger things than Mt. Laundry. Thankfully, at two, she is already working on diligence and hard work.

Not to mention she is doing a great job as Big Sister…

Little hands doing little jobs…how are your little ones learning diligence? What jobs do they enjoy tackling around the house?


Trash or Treasure

Imagination and creativity starts early. What you see as trash can become your little one’s treasure.

We use these small bags of chips to toss in Eddie’s lunch when he has to be away for work.  The box was empty and well, who can ignore a box? Or a Not-a-box?

Be careful….those little ones are always watching. Or playing a really funny game of peek-a-boo.

I guess this means that I let my children play with trash? Giggle. Boxes such as these sit by the trash can until Caleb does his “trash check” throughout the day. It never fails that someone finds the boxes too hard to resist.

Look at that concentration…that focus…the wheels of that mind learning and engaging. It is a beautiful moment. So, yes,I let my children play with the trash. It is their treasure.

Sam just built the coolest house ever, right? How could I not capture it! Great job, Sam!

Flex Day!

I should have been prepared for a slow moving Thursday. Wednesday evening ended up with Martha with a fever, Lydia in bed with a headache and tummy issues and the rest came home a bit late from church. However, I decided to hope for the best.

Naturally we all slept in a bit; except the little people. Thankfully Lydia was well rested and feeling much better so she kept them entertained while I got ready for the day. What better way to keep the natives happy than with tents and books?

As the day progressed it was very clear that Miss Martha was not feeling her best.  Runny nose, teeth trying to break through and exhausted. She decided for the second day in a row to skip her nap.  I tried every trick in the book and Martha held firm. She did rest quietly on a blanket but that is not the same as a refreshing nap.

Plans for finishing up schoolwork in the afternoon didn’t work out as I was busy with Martha. Instead Lydia, Hannah and Sarah worked on furniture for their peg dolls.  Paint, makers, paper, cardboard and a bit of creativity. Not on the schedule for today but time well spent.

As we were wrapping up the day, Mary snapped Martha having a bit of down time.  Who wouldn’t want to end the day with a soft, cuddly blanket and some Bible reading?

Hopefully tomorrow will be a “normal” day. If not, well, we will just flex and move on.

Have you had a flex day lately? I’d love to hear about it!