Learning from my toddlers

Toddlers get a bad rap for many reasons, and rightly so on some of them... the love of the word "no," the tantrums, the endless struggle of potty training. But they're also amazing, and often hilarious. I guess if they weren't most of them wouldn't live to see Kindergarten :-). They really do pick up everything, like little sponges. I have to be extra careful of what Isaac sees on TV these days, because he'll start acting it out immediately. Nothing gets by him. And I'm sure Scarlett is absorbing just as much.

One of the things that I find so annoying/tiring about toddlers is that they love and need so much repetition. Songs, books, dvds, games... whatever it may be that they find so entertaining at the moment, they want to do it over and over and over and over again. It's hard, as an adult, not to get bored and try to rush them on to the next thing. I forget that they're learning every time they do it and relishing what they're learning. And the more I think about it, the more I realize how often I rush through the lessons I'm supposed to be learning without really getting everything I should be getting. Sometimes you really need to drill things into yourself. And it should be fun. Learning is a worthwhile activity in itself; it shouldn't always be about the end result.