Hairy Homonyms & some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

So this lesson starts with my dear friend Lisa offering us a bag of toys and books she no longer wants.

I’m a minimalist. Like…when it comes to other people’s stuff. I enjoy having a nice palette of clothes and accessories to work with myself, but I only keep as many toys as fit in our cube organizers.

My 4 year old is a sentimentalist. Like…every other week he cries about something we no longer have because we gave it away when we left Texas. He remembers exactly where he got every trinket he’s obtained in the last 2 years. Even these creepy little rubber creatures he got for playing a carnival game at some random city festival.

I knew this bag of goodies was going to require some strategic planning. I glanced through it, saw one or two things I thought the boys could use to practice their numbers and shapes, and also saw a few things I knew we didn’t need. We had a donation box set up at church and I told my friend I would just drop anything we didn’t want there.  

As we walked home I set up my strategy…pull out the two things I wanted to keep, get the boys playing with them to distract them from the fact that we had a full bag, and hide the rest of the bag.  And it worked!!!  At least for a few hours. 

We have a discussion about sharing with all the other children that don’t have any toys, Adam seems okay, and I eventually get rid of the rest of the bag.

Fast forward a couple weeks. My sweet, thoughtful friend comes by with some magnets she found in her couch that belong to one of the books from THE bag. One of the books that I gave away. Whoops! Adam remembers I gave it away and the crocodile tears begin to flow.

First because he’s sad I gave it away. Then because he’s sad I can’t make the book whole for the poor, unfortunate soul who is missing some of the magnets to his/her book. Then because he’s sad again that I didn’t let him keep it.

Then we have a discussion. Keep in mind that my 4 year old is a very old soul. Our discussion is about where the book went and why it was put to good use. We gave it to a SHELTER that protects women and children from “bad daddies” whom they have to hide from. I explained it in less scary terms than that, but you get the gist. He begrudgingly accepts that he would like to share toys with children that don’t have any.

Fast forward a few hours and we are praying over our dinner. Steven says the prayer and thanks God for our SHELTER and food.

 Adam FLIPS!

“Not a SHELTER! We don’t have a SHELTER!”

Steven has no idea what’s going on.

I am laughing hysterically throughout the rest of the prayer.

And we discuss the several meanings of the word shelter.

I learned again the importance of being thoughtful of the understandings and thought processes of my children. It’s always more helpful when I try to get in their mind and anticipate the questions and concerns they might have to avoid such misconceptions. I'm trying to work harder on being ultra respectful to my children--to explain things that might be confusing or scary to them, to speak to them rather than about them, to explain interruptions in our normal routine before they happen when I can, etc.--because little people are people too.  

Comment below with some of the words your kids have missed the double meaning on and/or ways you have found to be respectful and thoughtful toward the workings of the little ones' minds. I’d love to hear your stories!

Love, Robin