So it turns out that the month of March is International Ideas Month. What a great topic to explore with our kids! Children tend to be full of ideas, but they aren’t always given the chance to take off with those ideas. So let’s challenge ourselves to be noticing and to be celebrating our kids’ ideas. Here are some areas where we can welcome our children’s ideas and help them to implement them.
Projects
Our kids are full of ideas for projects. They love to build and design and create everything. So let’s think about ways that we can support these projects.
Do you have an art loving kid who thinks every piece of trash is something they have to keep because they can use it for something? Maybe ask about some of those hoarded pieces of trash and see what their ideas are for creating something with it.
You could also take a look at our Show Me How series with over 50 videos showing your kids how to create all kinds of things. I bet they can show you how to use up some of those materials.
Or maybe your artist has lots of ideas for pictures to draw. We can support those ideas by keeping lots of scrap paper around and figuring out a way to honor the effort of all those pictures. A digital album can be a good solution when you don’t have room to display so many pictures.
Perhaps you have a builder. Blocks, boards, Legos…they are all about building. How can we be celebrating our kids’ building ideas? Let’s be sure to provide materials if we can, and let’s be willing to have their building projects take up some space. And of course, let’s compliment their efforts!
Your kids may have project ideas for outdoor fun. Whether it’s saving up for a swingset, setting up a portable pool, creating a homemade slip-n-slide, or making a garden, let’s be willing to see if we can help our kids make something of their outdoor ideas. Even if we can’t make it happen, we can be celebrating our kids’ ideas by noticing them and giving them a fair chance. That really does make a difference to them.
Inventions
Sometimes our kids have even bigger inventive ideas, and we can celebrate those too! Check out our article here about helping kids to be inventive!
Ways to do things at home
Maybe your kids have ideas about how they would like to do their routines or chores. Or it could be an idea about how to keep their spaces or how to decorate their rooms. We can celebrate our kids’ ideas by honoring them even if it isn’t what we would prefer. If it doesn’t interfere with what is really important to your family, then maybe we could allow a different way of doing things.
So let’s think about ways to celebrate our kids’ ideas on how to do things at home. Over at My Signing Time, we have our Classic Signing Time series with several shows teaching signs about being at home and with family. Check it out here.
Themselves
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, let’s celebrate our kids’ ideas on how to be themselves. Let’s let them dress the way they would like to, even if it’s ridiculous to us. Why have a conflict over hair? Let’s honor their ideas about their hair.
And then there are the activities. We can get a little caught up in what lessons or sports or whatever activities we think our kids should be doing. While we could guide our kids where they need us to, we can also honor their ideas about what they would like to do. Let’s celebrate our kids’ ideas on what activities they would like to be a part of.
So, during this International Ideas Month, how will you celebrate your kids’ ideas?