There is so much negativity going on in the world, and I've been seeing it's effects on my boys. I worry about them being pessimists, and I want them to look for the good in everything, even if it takes a while to find it. So, they've started journals. Landon's goal is to think of 2-3 good things each day and write them down. Then I ask him to tell me a little bit more about each thing. Taylor's goal is the same, but I also encourage him to write a little more about how he felt during the day, and that sort of thing. We only talk about what he puts in his journal if he wants to.
Last night, after I helped Landon with his journal, he started asking me questions. First, he asked why I could say a word that he wasn't allowed to use, and wanted to know what that word meant. So, I had to explain that the word was a bad word, and I only used it because I was telling grandma about a quote that I had read recently in a book. The word was in this book a lot because the story takes place in the 1930's in Alabama, and people didn't know any better. We talked about what the word means, and about how it should never be used.
Then using his 5-year-old vocabulary, he started asking questions about those who are in the country illegally, and wanted to know why it appears that some things are different for them than they are for us. I did the best I could to answer his questions, but it was hard. I want the boys to make up their own minds about things by looking at all sides of the issue before making a decision. When they ask questions like that, I do my best to give them all the angles. That set of questions was especially hard for me because that is one subject that I have strong feelings about. It did make me revisit my opinions, and while I haven't changed my mind, I think it's good for us all to think about why we think the way we do.
I think my kids teach me as much, if not more, than I teach them!
soooo cool!
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