Welcome to Weekly Topic Saturdays!
Hello all, I pray that your week was filled with joy and love. Welcome back to those who have been with me here at A Golden Dream. For my first-timers, a great big hello there, if you haven't already please check out my previous posts when you get a chance.
Please don't hesitate to join the conversation, there are no right or wrong answers or questions. I'm not proclaiming to know everything, I am simply just discussing and picking topics on things that I personally have gone through and that I know would help someone.
I am a 90’s kid at heart and one of the shows that I grew up watching on PBS Kids was The Magic School Bus. The teacher, Miss Frizzle, took her class on several trips and immersed them in an experience that would stick with them for the rest of their lives. Well today I thought it would be fun to hop on the Golden School Bus in true Miss Frizzle style and let’s all go back to experience the significance of kindergarten once again.
Some of you may be wondering why we are going back to kindergarten? I think that as we get older we have forgotten the core fundamentals of life and how to balance and learn accordingly throughout our lives. In kindergarten kiddos learn so much without even realizing that they are. During that time they are doing so much that will soon impact their lives from that point on. Not only learning abc’s and 123’s, but also learning new skills daily, manners, how well we treat others, and so on. Let me explain.
As we get older we tend to become very slack in areas of our lives that need the most care. In kindergarten, children follow a systematic schedule (until it becomes muscle memory) that maps out things they will be potentially learning and playing throughout their time in class.
A typical schedule consists of the following:
Arrival; Breakfast and morning work
Learning Today’s Date and weather activities
Group Activities where children break into small groups and learn number and letters
Lunch
Nap Time/ Rest/ Storytime
Classroom Play/ working motor skills
Math/ Reading
Recess
Snack
Dismissal
Typically, give or take this would be a run down of what a classroom schedule would consist of daily. The main reason why I wanted to write this blog post about us getting back to kindergarten is because we should get back to prioritizing things that are good for us and also to provide a well balanced life.
MANNERS:
In kindergarten children learn or refine what it is to have MANNERS.
How well are you treating others? Are you respectful of others? Have you asked anyone lately how you make them feel? I periodically check in with my friends and close family to see if there is something that I need to work on. These are things that I may not know or realise that I am doing. It takes real true friends and family to be honest when doing this exercise. I do it because I know how it feels to be ignored, abused, and talked over. I wouldn’t want someone that I love to be feeling the same way. I always tell my friends to be honest with me even if it hurts my feelings. I value honesty over having a group of fake people telling me what I want to hear.
With MANNERS comes sharing, playing and working well with others. Saying please and thank you, knowing when to say I’m sorry, and not taking things that don't belong to you. Are all learning lessons that stick with us. Kindergarten teaches and refines all of those self-control and basic manner skills.
Do You Have Good Manner?
Do YOu Work Well With People?
RESPONSIBILITIES:
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much;
Luke 16:10
Are you responsible? Do you take responsibility for whatever you do? Children learn responsibly at an early age. The teacher assigns each child a specific role that they will be responsible for. For example, students may be given the role of bathroom monitor, line leader, caboose, center manager, teachers helper, and so on. In our adult lives we have similar roles at work, at home, in our church, with our families, with our money and so on. Children in kindergarten take their responsibilities very seriously, they put all of their effort into being the best in their role that they can. We as adults should take note from these children. We become complacent and slack off. Our responsibilities become less of a priority and we don’t put in as much effort. God wants to know that we can be responsible for the things and the roles that he has bestowed upon us while we are here on earth. He wants to know if we will be responsible enough to handle what he has to give us in heaven.
Part of being a responsible person is taking the initiative to do something without having to be asked. Kids learn in kindergarten that if they see something that needs to be done to do it. As adults we should keep this in mind. We have to stop waiting on other people to do it for us. At some point we have to step out of our comfort zones and take the lead on it. If you see something that needs to be done do it. If you see something that needs to be cleaned, clean it. Take the initiative. This also links back to what we discussed in Facing Confrontations, and Resolving Old Conflicts. If there is an issue don’t wait on the other person, YOU reach out to them and try and work things out to make things right. God wants us to do everything in our power to remain peaceful with everyone here while we are here on earth.
SELF-LOVE:
Do you love yourself? Don’t laugh! Really ask yourself that. Do I love myself? If the answer is yes, then what are some things that you should be doing to benefit yourself and self care that's essential in your self love process? Do I drink enough water?Do I advocate for myself? Am I putting myself first?
Self Love can be displayed by going to therapy, taking a walk, walking away from confrontation to reflect and calm down. Reading an interesting book or taking a break for much needed personal Me Time.
Students learn this when dealing with other students in class. So why don't we? Perfect the skill and the mindset in practicing self love.
NAP TIME
In kindergarten one of the things that I know we all miss is nap time. Although when we were in kindergarten taking a nap was not something that anyone wanted to do. We were all full of energy as children and having to slow down was not something that appealed to us. But as an adult there are many times throughout the day where we wished we could take a nap. Are we getting enough rest at night? Do you have a nighttime routine that helps you wind down and get ready for bed?
We are so busy and connected to our devices that we don’t take the time to properly disconnect from the world and get the optimal amount of rest. Getting enough sleep is paramount to being healthy and functioning well. Without the proper sleep we can become stressed, irritable, groggy, easily angered, and so on. Take the time to wind down by taking a bath, listening to calming music, reading a good book, and relaxing. Don’t run from or fight sleep, embrace it.
RECESS
Getting exercise is essential to children and even more so for adults. Are you active and taking necessary steps to become active? As one should know, kids do not sit still. As we get older our movement may decrease over time. I challenge you to get back active and move your body. Go for a walk, take up yoga or simply have a dance party. Whatever it takes to get moving will do the trick.
HOMEWORK
In some way or fashion we can ever escape doing homework. Even the little kiddos have to do it. For me I enjoy self evaluation and setting goals for the year. Your homework can very well be getting in touch with yourself. Truly understanding discovery of yourself, setting boundaries, and being aware of your worth.
In the beginning of the year I created worksheets that I uploaded to the website under the downloadable resources tab. Download a free Self-Evaluation Worksheet and Eco- Map and get started in making you a priority.
SOCIAL SKILLS
In this life, it is inevitable, we will have to, in some way of form, work with other people whether we like it or not. In kindergarten we learn the social skills needed to interact with others properly. We learn to listen when others are speaking, not to over talk other people, share, and pick up on social cues. We each take turns being the leader and we all learn to participate because everyone's opinions matter. I think as adults our social skills start to faulter and we become no longer concerned about the welfare of others. Our interactions are becoming less personable and more over social media. In our adult life while we are at work, in marriages, in school, and so on we have to work with and collaborate with other. Like I mentioned earlier God wants for us to be peaceful with everyone.
Picking up on social cues is important because it is what allows us to read people. It is an unspoken language that tells us whether the person is angry, upset, tired, hungry, ready to leave, happy, trying to tell us something, and so on.
SNACK TIME
Fueling your body with healthy options will make you feel better. You are what you eat. Most of our mood solely depends on what we ingest and intake. Our bodies are an investment to do good works according to the plans that God has in store. We can't do those plans accordingly if our bodies are not in the best shape. Treat your body as a temple and treasure it accordingly.
Am I eating what's best for my body?
What are you fueling your body?
CREATIVE OUTLET
I know that I cannot be the only one that has a creative outlet, where when I am engaged in it I can be lost in it for hours at a time. I talked briefly in 10 Things You Don’t Know About Me, about my love for fashion. When I am creating garments and designing I can get lost in the process. I love seeing how my design that began as a fashion sketch transforms into the real thing. Fashion can be time consuming but it inspires me, makes me happy, and I love it. This is where I can truly let my inner child out.
In kindergarten, when we weren’t in our homeroom class we went to electives that opened our perspective and allowed for ust to try new and exciting things. These electives were P.E., Art, Computer Class, Music, Library, Creative Writing, and so on. Each of these electives played a major role in helping us determine what we liked and didn’t like. It helped to shape us and our interest. I challenge you as an adult to find a creative outlet and express yourself. Do something that makes you happy and sets your inner child free.
Questions To Consider:
Do I live a balanced Life?
What are some areas that I need to work on?
Am I intune with myself?
What are some ways that I can practice Self-Care and Self Love?
With Love, In kindergarten we learned the fundamentals that would help us and grow with us for the rest of our lives. I challenge you to do some self-reflection and time travel back to kindergarten. Take a look at yourself and remember what you learned back then. If you find on your journey that you have forgotten some things give yourself a refresher. It is important to give yourself credit and live a well balanced and purposeful life.
~Just Breathe...A Golden Dream~
Amen.