The 2020 New Year can be symbolic of the clear vision we want to have–of our families and of the relationships that mean the most to us. Our goals and resolutions for the coming year can include the specific things we want to teach our children during the 12 months ahead. Linda and Richard believe that the goal with preschoolers should be to teach them how to be happy, and to help them understand and feel different kinds of joy, from the joy of the earth to the joy of sharing.
Focusing on teaching one specific kind of joy each month is what makes this effective. The same philosophy applies to teaching elementary age kids responsibility and for teaching kids of all ages the specific values that you want them to embrace. In each case, the key is a focus on one value, or one kind of joy, or one kind of responsibility each month. To illustrate, in their podcast this week, the Eyres read a couple of stories from their 21st book–the second volume of a book of children’s stories that each teach a particular kind of joy to three and four-year-olds. And they end with a challenge to include teaching and relationship goals in our new year’s resolutions.
Mwaka Mpya 2020 unaweza kuwa ishara ya maono ya wazi tunayotaka kuwa nayo ya familia zetu na mahusiano ambayo yanamaanisha zaidi kwetu. Lengo letu la mwaka ujao ni kuwafundisha watoto wetu mambo ambayo tunataka kuwafundisha katika miezi 12 ijayo. Linda na Richard wanaamini kwamba lengo la watoto wa shule ya mapema ni kuwafundisha jinsi ya kuwa na furaha, na kuwasaidia kuelewa na kuhisi aina tofauti za furaha, kutoka kwa furaha ya dunia hadi furaha ya kushiriki. Kujifunza aina moja ya furaha kila mwezi ni jambo la maana sana. Hii ni kanuni ya msingi ya kufundisha watoto wa umri wa msingi na watoto wa umri wote thamani za msingi ambazo unataka waweze kufurahia. Katika kila kesi, ufunguo ni kuzingatia thamani moja, au aina moja ya furaha, au aina moja ya wajibu kila mwezi. Katika podcast yao ya wiki hii, familia ya Eyre ilisoma hadithi kutoka kwa kitabu chao cha 21 - kitabu cha pili cha hadithi za watoto - kila moja ikifundisha aina fulani ya furaha kwa watoto wa miaka mitatu na minne. Na wanamalizia na changamoto ya kujumuisha mafundisho na malengo ya uhusiano katika azimio letu la mwaka mpya.