Outsmarting the Label
A board game. That’s all it was. My daughter is all about the Wizard of Oz right now and my mom happened to have the collector’s trivia board game. GG was so excited to show her and Tensley was just as pumped to see it. Ages 6+ it said. Tensley is barely four. Eh, I figured she’d enjoy the pictures on the cards and the mere fact the Wizard of Oz could be a game to play. I also thought that it may be too “old” a game for her to enjoy or keep up with at this point.
I was wrong. Mm crow.. You know what happened? She tried. She listened to the rules. She knew almost every answer and she beamed when she got it right. Rolling a dye and moving a piece across the board helped us practice counting far better than our workbooks at home have. We modified the game a little since she hasn’t learned how to read yet and, therefore, learned that a course can be adjusted for everyone to have fun playing the game. We learned sometimes we win and that’s fun! We learned sometimes we lose and that’s fun for our friend.
It’s just a board game.
It’s just an attitude.It’s just believing in somebody we love.It’s just playtime.It’s learning together!
I could have impressed upon Tensley that I thought she couldn’t play. I could have found something else “labeled” worthy of an almost 4 year old. I could have let a tin box tell her she wasn’t smart enough and convince her it wasn’t worth trying. I could have let that same box determine what I believe of her to be capable of doing.
It’s great to be wrong sometimes! I’m so thankful that I listened to her. I’m happy that she wants to play. I’m excited that she’s willing to learn. I’m honored that she wants to play with me. She wants to understand how things work. She wants me to teach her, join her, play with her, listen to her and believe in her! And oh I do! I’m remarkably proud of her!
What kind of voice are we letting our children hear from us? I know that I want to speak life into them! How do we coach them to discern the reality or facade of limitations and encourage them to try challenging things? Most importantly, how are we showing our children what God thinks about them?
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Stop and play the game.