What Making Classroom Valentine's Taught Me.

There we were standing in Hobby Lobby starring at their 30% off Valentine's Day display trying to decide on what to get for Ava to take to pre-K next week. 

Me trying my best to persuade her to go for my idea that was way creative and over the top, I'm pretty sure everyone would know a four year old didn't come up with that on her own. 

Her reaching for the glitter glue pens and these foam hearts. 

Me again trying to direct her back towards my plan, and circling around a few other ideas. Her once again throwing more foam hearts into the cart and saying;

"Mom can we just get these? These are what I want."

I realized something that day in Hobby Lobby, it should have been clear to me after the months of her wanting to pick out her own clothing and weeks of miss matched outfits that just made her happy and delighted, or about how for months hasn't been on board with any of my 5th birthday ideas and readily had her own thoughts about what her birthday should be.

I mean who is she anyway?! I kid. 

Sitting there that day while picking out valentine's it struck me louder than before, she's becoming her own little person. With ideas and thoughts all her own. 

She gleamed at the idea of putting together her own special Valentine's and even though they weren't what I wanted nor as over the top as I wanted it to be. I remembered that she's growing and changing and taking ownership of her ideas. Expressing the things she likes. 

I wasn't about me, it was about her class valentine's and wanting to do them her own creative way.

It reminded me to take a step back and see that everything doesn't have to be the way I think it should. It can be as simple as foam hearts, some stickers and practicing writing her name 33 times for each valentine. 

To see her sitting at the table decorating each one with such pride and accomplishment. She wouldn't have gotten that if I'd taken it away from her to do my own silly thing. 

It not only taught her to let her own ideas come to life, it taught me a bigger lesson about letting go of my own ideas and what I think things should be. Or what I think I should do as a parent when it comes to school project and holiday parties. 

An important lesson, maybe you've been there too. Let's raise up a generation of confident kids. Kids who are confident in their ideas and let them explore their creativity and see it flourish. 

All it takes us us stepping out of the way sometimes.