GIVING THE CHILDREN A CHANCE - OUR 4 YEAR OLD PRACTICES PROBLEM SOLVING
Praise God for children!
As many of you may already know, @papa-pepper is not my real name. Hopefully none of you take that news too hard, but it is true. If it is any consolation, I really am a papa and I do like peppers.
Though I may be a papa now, there was a time when I didn't want to have any children. Life was very different back then, and I am glad that those days are over. I think a lot of my success here is due to the fact that I am very different than I once was. Without that change being made, I don't think anyone would be too impressed with me. I share more about all of that in this video I made a while ago, just in case anyone is interested.
Now that I have five @little-peppers, children are a big part of my life. Since we homeschool them and since I am trying to set up our lives in a way that I can work from home to earn whatever income we need, our children are around us a lot, and we are around them a lot too.
It is a huge blessing to be able to see my children all throughout the day when I don't have to leave for work. Since they are around, they see the things that we do ranging from household chores and normal "life stuff" to building chicken tractors and clearing land for our house. Often, from their tiny perspective, they manage to come up with some very good ideas.
MONSTER TRUCK THE PEPPER SOLVES A PROBLEM
THE BLESSING OF CREATIVITY
The happy little guy with an apple in the photo above in "Monster Truck the Pepper." (Also not a real name.) He is one of my biggest helpers, since he is still four and doesn't have the same regiment of studies that his older sisters have with our homeschooling curriculum. Basically, that means if @papa-pepper is working on a project, there is a good chance Monster Truck is my right hand man.
There is usually some job appropriate for a little guy his size to do, so I try to keep him busy and engaged, and together we can get a lot done. Before we left on our trip up to Wisconsin, I wanted to get a new area fenced in for our hogs to graze on. Eventually we will try raising them in a pasture, but for now we are using them to clear some land.
Driving T-posts in the ground and hooking up some cattle panels to them takes a bit of effort, but in the end they serve the purpose and get the job done.
At one point I asked Monster Truck to go get me a spool of wire. It took him a bit, but when he came back he had a spool of wire and a bungee cord. To a parent, there is the instant encouragement to think that the boy took longer because he goofing around playing with other things, like the bungee cord, rather than just getting what he was asked to get, like the spool of wire.
Sometimes in these instances it is best to not jump to conclusions and to instead give the child a chance. When I asked him about it, he certainly had an answer.
He figured that if I used the bungee cord to hold the wire spool to the fence, then I wouldn't lose it in the bushes or have to struggle to find where I left it. Instead, it would be hanging right there where I could see it. The little guy had already watched how I would fill a five gallon bucket with tools and hang it by the handle on top of the T-post to keep my resources close. He took things one step further and found a way to do the same with the wire.
I was personally blown away, and also encouraged. Often there are things that I make and create without a plan or blueprint. Sometimes it is best to search your mind for a design or solution rather than have to look one up every time. Apparently our @little-peppers are learning to do the same!
For all of you parents out there, be slow to judge a matter and give your little ones a chance... not only to explain their actions, but also to think, create, and invent. They are the future!
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-bungee-cord
Until next time…
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Even though I find you weird with all your little snakes and spiders I must compliment you on the way that you raise your kids. I honestly believe that they will become better people because of the fact that you home school them and you teach them to use their common sense. This is something that they will NOT learn anywhere else. Life is about living and survival. It doesn't matter how you survive...a college degree is not going to put food on the table. Your children are blessed to have you in their lives.
Well said @giantbear!
Thank you for that encouragement! (and honesty!)
One of my big issues is that I am totally outspoken...lol...I behave myself on the steemit platform.
wow @papa-pepper you are so correct and your tribe AKA @little-peppers are real blessings and awesome to see in action ie helping my dear wild man keeping it real. I feel the same way too as a fellow dad and glow with joy due to my little one . Keep up the great work , you will always have my upvote and greetings to @papa-pepper tribe.
Moreover, would you see my latest post on why I think that steemit is undervalued and send in your thoughts -which will help my readers get a more comprehensive view point. I wish you more success.
I have four children and most of the time they are monsters, but what's most worrying they don't seem to be growing out of it
Oh no! That sounds terrible!
My youngest girl is the most demanding, but no it's not that bad
That is so awesome!! Our children are such a blessing, arent they!?!
And pretty fine teachers sometimes too!!
Wow, nice thinking from the little guy. You can even spool the wire out from where it hangs. BTW when I first saw your name, i misread it as "papa-prepper." I didn't like that so much. Pepper is better.
Pepper is better! Thanks man!
Very good post. Please vot for vot.
quite interesting, no doubt you are teaching your children to use their own common sense to solve the particular problem but i thing you to focus on programming their mind so that they able to focus on solution as compare to the problems, only then they are going to become much better as compare to others.
@papa-pepper!
This is based on PARENTING, So I gone through every single word of your precious blog. This is amazing and believe me tears were in my eyes while reading the stuff. Actually I homeschooled my 4 kids for 3 years(result was not the same which I was expecting). But I got some wonderful skills in my children which I never seen to other ones. I belong to a very backward area in the world so might be I was not able to get the things which involves in homeschooling. Good luck for your homeschooling.
And yes I love these words:
For all of you parents out there, be slow to judge a matter and give your little ones a chance... not only to explain their actions, but also to think, create, and invent. They are the future!
Your reply touches me deeply. Thank you for that.
Cuz I wrote it with my heart.
Your children are blessed to be at home with their parents. Life is so short and so many people miss the best years. My mother has a stunning relationship with all of her three adult offspring @papa-pepper
Very lucky children that you get to spend so much time together!and great to watch them learn. Good thinking by the little man.