As a homeschooling mom, I’ve had a lot of fun finding ways to help my children understand different concepts and ideas. I discovered with my oldest that the terms “upper case letters” and “lower case letters” were confusing. I tried saying “big letters” and “little letters” and that was confusing too—she thought I meant the size of the letter, not the kind. I finally hit on the right way to describe it – “mommy letters” and “baby letters.” This concept worked so well, I’ve used it for all my children.
The other day, my mom was here. She drew some letters for my three-year-old, Benjamin, who loves to write and name the different letters. I explained to her about “mommy letters” and “baby letters,” and she drew a capital A.
“Look, Benjamin,” she said. “This is a mommy A.” Then she drew a lower case. “And this is a baby A.”
“Oh,” he said. “It’s a Benjamin A.” If that wasn’t cute enough, he followed it up with, “Where’s the gramma A? And the daddy A?”
Even as young as he is, just barely turned three, he understands the importance of families. If there’s a mommy and a baby, then there must be a grandma and a daddy. He also named the other members of the family—brothers and sisters are an important part of the family unit.
Isn’t it amazing that children instinctively understand that we cuddle and love a baby doll? Even a child who has never seen a doll before will automatically cradle it, knowing that this is how we treat a baby.
The family was given to us as a precious gift from our Heavenly Father. We gain so much comfort and support from loving parents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles—we have a cheering squad that was designed just for us. The family has a unique and important place. It is sacred. It was created for us, for our own good and growth and comfort.
Society today is leaning toward the devaluation of families. We’ve seen this prophesied and we knew it would come to pass—how grateful I am for this advance warning we were given so we can know to hold tight to our families and to keep our connections strong. When even the smallest child knows and understands just how important a family is, we can know that truly, our families are the most beautiful and precious gift we will ever receive.
Related Blogs:
Family Home Evening: Five Ideas for Families
Being of One Heart and One Mind at Home