It's important, I think, for kids to see us lead by example. I have been thinking about this recently in regards to reading. I want to raise readers, but do they see me reading? I do read a lot, but mostly on the computer. When they see me on the computer, they think "games" not "books" or "information." So one of my goals is to read more paper books in front of them, to create a culture of books in our home.
The same is true of anything, leading by example. I try to keep a nature journal alongside the kids. Actually I think my journal has had more entries than theirs lately. I enjoy it. I am building my own skills of observation and drawing. It's a simple way that fills my need to be creative.
It takes time to do things with them instead of just pushing them off to do an assignment on their own. Sometimes I have to make time. The picture above? The table was a disaster, covered with I-don't-even-remember-what--a colossal mishmash of things that probably didn't belong there. I made myself just push it aside (literally--a big shove!) for a few moments to watercolor the sketches I had done earlier on our nature walk. It was a little hasty, but so worth it.
Waiting for the perfect time to do things with our kids will just mean that we'll never get to it. Or I won't anyway. The best thing, I've found, is just to plunge in and do it. Seize the day!
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