Patience and Preschoolers.
Kinds seems ironic, as if the two do not belong together.
Patience is a virtue, and I constantly define it to my preschooler as “waiting well.” The Good Lord knows how much He has been working on me and the fruit of patience. I think He gave me my son to help grow this fruit in all of us, lol!
Our newest monthly preschool box, Orchard Harvest, from Experience Preschool came recently, and nothing grows patience like waiting for our garden to grow. Each month Experience Preschool sends us 2 books- one on the monthly theme (this month a Johnny Appleseed book) and one on a character quality. This month is all about patience and Bear Waits is the perfect book. Check out this link to hear them on audio!
Before we started reading, I had my kids tell me all they knew about apples and wrote down their thoughts on an apple cut out I made. They knew so much about apples, and I was able to easily lead into Bear Waits by telling them that it takes a long time for a tree to grow an apple. We have to be very patient whenever we plant anything.
I loved how the characters in the book waited well. They didn’t get mad or frustrated about not getting what they desired when they wanted it. Instead they sat together under the apple tree and just endured. They waited well. They were truly patient.
After reading, it was time for reflection. I loved the little dictation paper Experience Preschool sent us. The Teacher Guide encouraged that children think of a time they had to be patient, draw it out, and the teacher could write what the children said about their picture on the lines.
Instead of reflecting about an actual event, both my children made up their own pictures of themselves waiting for something. My daughter is 7 but even at her age, she still LOVES our Experience Preschool box. This activity was perfect in that both my children could do it well for their own age and ability. It wasn’t difficult for my 3 year old nor too easy for my 7 year old. Where my 3 year old dictated, my 7 year old created, spelled, and wrote her own sentence. She even used the apple where we wrote what we knew about apples to help her spell “apple pie”.
Dreaming of Apple Pie 
Steam Rising
My 3 year old made up a story about how he had to wait on a toy boat in the lake. This was the first time he has drawn a stick figure and I could actually tell what it was! I wrote out what he narrated to me, then turned to help his sister. When I checked on him again, he had started tracing the dictation! He’s been in a tracing phase lately… I think I am going to get out our My Little Journal from Experience Preschool tomorrow to just let him start writing in it.
Definitely an activity worth keeping in a portfolio.
Patience is a virtue- a work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is patience done growing in us. However, it starts when we are small. The little seed of patience is planted and over years, trials, and time our patience grows. Training our children to wait well, to be patient, is a gift that we can give them and teach them everyday. Even if they are in one of the most impatient stages of life- preschool.
