Once a teacher, always a teacher...

Okay, so I've been thinking alot lately about how I handle my child and her learning experiences. Being a teacher has allowed me to become with many different types of children. There are the ones that you say, "I hope someday my child will be like this one because..." And then there are, of course, the ones that you say, "If my child acts like this one, I'll have to kill myself." You can also see how much the parents have been and are involved with their children's education. You can see the ones that have spent hour after hour teaching, training, working, disciplining...and it pays off.

When I became pregnant with Caelynn, I was just 2 months into my fifth year of teaching junior high/senior high kids. All of a sudden a million fears came into my head when the pregnancy test read "positive". Fears like:
1. What if my child is deformed?
2. What if my child hates me?
3. What if my child hates....SCHOOL?!?!?
4. What if my child doesn't get saved?
5. What if my child rejects God and his/her parents?
6. What if my child is born healthy and then something happens?

Some fears you learn to deal with - like even if my child was deformed or has an illness occur later, it's okay - my love will be the same because my child is MY CHILD. And if that is how God forms my child, that is perfect because all that He does is perfect. Every child is a gift - no matter what form they take.

I then started to really take note of parents - and I worked with some students who did have some learning difficulties and disabilities. I liked to ask them what they did at home, how much time they spent, any tips or tricks that had helped along the way. I wanted a stockpile - heck, a whole arsenal of wisdom and knowledge to draw from.

I've tried to implement that over the past months together with my child. I had one mother who has an AMAZING relationship with her teenaged daughter - her secret? She read to her every night while still in the womb. Her child came out literally loving books. When her daughter was fussy or sick or teething and nothing else worked, reading always did it. I started doing that - I read the Bible to Cae every night before bed. She came out knowing EXACTLY who her Mommy was - she knew my voice. Even now, she waits at naptime for me to pull out the Bible and read to her because it's become a habit.

I have lofty goals for my child. I want her to know all the states and capitals, all of the presidents in order, the books of the Bible, animals, the alphabet, be able to read...by the age of 3. Some will say I'm crazy - that I push her to do things too early. I disagree. I think every parent knows his or her own child's limitations. I won't push her past them - but I do want to challenge her. I saw a 2 yr old who knew every single country and it's capital - just by the shape of the country. He was 2. Yes - 2!!! I saw a 5 yr old that could answer any presidential question from any president in the history of our great nation. He was 5. It can happen. Are they prodegies? I'd say probably not. It was just countless hours that their parents spent in teaching and training. A child'd mind is absolutely amazing - their capacity to learn is the greatest at a young age. Why not take advantage of that?

I struggled and STILL struggle with geography and maps - so why not give Caelynn a boost up by starting her early so that maybe it won't be a struggle for her?

I used to work in a daycare. Now, my feelings today about daycare are that for SOME kids - it's better than being at home b/c mom isn't one to work with them. Some flourish there b/c they actually have interaction with peers and adults who take the time to teach and train. For myself - it's not the way to go. Nothing is more precious than this time I have with my child. And who better to teach her than the one who gave birth to her? But, having worked in a Christian daycare, I learned some valuable lessons. Our head classroom teachers were skilled in being able to teach these children. I've heard parents say, "They are too young for that. It can't be taught." Wrong. I worked in the 1 yr old department - and saw over the course of 1 yr how children could learn their colors, be able to sign them AND say them, recognize certain letters of the alphabet, learn to follow commands, and also be potty trained. Amazing. Parents would come and say, "I can't believe you got my child to do that!!! He/she is only 1!!!" So, early on I came with the school of thought that kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. We may see our friends kids who can't do something so we assume that our child can't as well. I hate that line of thinkging.

I plan on starting potty training my daughter at the age of 18 months. Some say she is too young. I disagree. She is already interested in the potty, I talk her through it and let her come in with me to explain simple concepts. She can tell me when she has gone #2 in her diaper. I think she'll be ready. If not, I'll stop. I won't push her too far...but I think she can do it. I also plan on starting more formal learning times with her in January. Each week we'll do a new letter of the alphabet and also a new state and capitol in the U.S. My goal is that by the time she is about 2 1/2, she will know her states and capitols, as well as her whole alphabet and HOPEFULLY be able to read.

With that said, I don't believe that children should be advanced in ALL things - I don't understand the concept of teaching something like reproduction to a 5 yr old. There must be a certain time and place to everything. Will I introduce her to music early? Yes. I would like to start teaching her piano lessons as soon as she is able to sit and comprehend notes, rhythm, etc...

Am I biting off more than I can chew? Why this drive for teaching early? Like I said, "Once a teacher, always a teacher." If I have spent years teaching others children to push the limits, learn more, learn better...wouldn't I be hypocritical if I didn't do that for my own child?