The Reward You Receive When Your Child Learns

 

A while back, my youngest daughter Zoe asked me if she could sell her baked goods at the local farmers market. It impressed me that she wanted to do this. 

She is such a great little baker and I believe I have mentioned this in previous blog posts. I love to cook and taught her some things about cooking and how to make a recipe her own. I’m not much of a baker, but when she expressed an interest in baking, I told her to take what I taught her about cooking on top of the stove and apply it to baking. She has done this very well, and I have benefitted so much by watching her progress as a baker. I really love tasting her creations. Her cookies, cupcakes, and brownies, are super!

I knew that she didn’t know what would go into getting things together to sell at a farmer’s market, but I also knew it would be a great opportunity for her to learn. It is stressful for her to meet deadlines for the market and deadlines for orders for her baking as well.

I had to take the role of a manager and give her a push now and then, but she has proved true to her word. I told her that if she really wanted to do it that it would be a lot of work. I watched her work very hard baking all day and night while I got market supplies together for her. A tent, table, chairs, and other market supplies were necessary.

After a few markets and some money earned for her, we were able to reflect on our experience together. She expressed to me that it opened her mind. She said most people don’t know what goes into doing something like that. To hear her tell me what she’s learned so far touched me. She has gained a greater awareness. She had a preconceived idea of the market but to hear her share what she learned is a reward for me as a parent.

She had an idea, set a goal, and went to work. She has grown. Maybe I’m thinking too much about it. Maybe I’m not thinking enough.

As our conversation continued the comment concerning what we learned together made us ask another question. What are other future experiences we might have preconceived ideas about, and what else might we learn from our experiences? It questions the possibility of the unknown I think. 

We should stay open and wait to judge until we search and see. It wasn’t as easy as we thought and we learned more than we thought we would. My children are my teachers too. 

It may be a little trip into philosophy but well worth the journey.

Is there something in your life you are wondering about? What would it be like? You might be hesitant to see. There could be challenges. Think about your experiences. You made it through in the past. What did you learn? Your lessons are valuable. You’ve gained a greater consciousness having had those experiences. Some may be good and some may be bad.

As I mentioned, it is a great reward and one you deserve to have. I am writing about both a reward as a parent and the reward of being open to what is possible for you to try.

I hope this post is an encouragement for you. I would love to get your feedback on it. Please share anything and let me know what you think. Let's continue the conversation.

Here is a video on YouTube about staying open to learning new experiences.

Give Zoe a Like on her Facebook page!