We can learn so much from our children. One thing I've been reminded of is the joy of simply watching the world go by. The garbage truck comes only one day each week, that means only one day to watch him go up and down the street with that fancy new garbage truck that picks the bins up with it's mechanical arm and dumps them out, just to put them back where they started. Want to make this extra exciting? Help your neighbours by brining the bins back up for the house on either side of you. While I no longer find the picking up of the garbage exciting, I love to watch the excitement and wonder in her eyes every time the arm comes out for another bin, it makes this ordinary occurance something worth being there for. Next time, the recycling! The recycle truck doesn't have a fancy arm to pick up the boxes, so we actually get to say "good morning" to him when he gets out at every house to dump the boxes of cardboard and cans.
Even more exciting is when the super big garbage truck comes with the "hands" on the front to dump the big garbage bin in front of the apartments nearby! We get to watch him out our window and see how it all goes into the back. This also stopped being an adventure for me years ago, but the wonder in a child's eyes at how slowly the big truck moves and how much noise it makes creates an atmosphere of excitement and adventure.
Each morning we can watch the school buses go by, and the children walking to school. By the time it's her turn to walk by herself I'm sure she'll already know the way! They are so happy and loud on the way to school, this can only increase her excitement and diminish her fear of the huge school. What a great way to start each morning!
With winter approaching I know we will be watching the snowploughs and sand trucks soon enough. This filled hours of time last year! We would make a cup of hot chocolate and cuddle with a blanket to watch them clear off our streets and drive the snow away. We could wave at the drivers as they went past and hope that they wouldn't pile snow by our driveway that I'd just need to shovel again. This may have beeen the most exciting part of the snowfall!
We also watch the clouds go by, any fieldtrips who walk past, special cars (especially on parade day!) and all the animals in the neighbourhood. People walk their dogs, pull wagons full of kids, look for missing cats, go for walks with friends, or ride their bikes. With all this excitement just outside the window how could you not spend a few minutes everyday just feeling a part of it all. This has helped form her sense of community, learn that there is always something to do, something going on, and watching neighbours help each other has helped encourage us to help others. Sometimes the best way to feel at peace with the day is just to watch the world go by, then go out to join in.
Even more exciting is when the super big garbage truck comes with the "hands" on the front to dump the big garbage bin in front of the apartments nearby! We get to watch him out our window and see how it all goes into the back. This also stopped being an adventure for me years ago, but the wonder in a child's eyes at how slowly the big truck moves and how much noise it makes creates an atmosphere of excitement and adventure.
Each morning we can watch the school buses go by, and the children walking to school. By the time it's her turn to walk by herself I'm sure she'll already know the way! They are so happy and loud on the way to school, this can only increase her excitement and diminish her fear of the huge school. What a great way to start each morning!
With winter approaching I know we will be watching the snowploughs and sand trucks soon enough. This filled hours of time last year! We would make a cup of hot chocolate and cuddle with a blanket to watch them clear off our streets and drive the snow away. We could wave at the drivers as they went past and hope that they wouldn't pile snow by our driveway that I'd just need to shovel again. This may have beeen the most exciting part of the snowfall!
We also watch the clouds go by, any fieldtrips who walk past, special cars (especially on parade day!) and all the animals in the neighbourhood. People walk their dogs, pull wagons full of kids, look for missing cats, go for walks with friends, or ride their bikes. With all this excitement just outside the window how could you not spend a few minutes everyday just feeling a part of it all. This has helped form her sense of community, learn that there is always something to do, something going on, and watching neighbours help each other has helped encourage us to help others. Sometimes the best way to feel at peace with the day is just to watch the world go by, then go out to join in.