Director’s Blog – Feb 2020

February is one of my favorite months in preschool! I love all the cutout hearts fluttering around the classrooms!  We all enjoy celebrating love and as parents, we all love our children beyond measure!  But what is love really and what does it look like to love our children really well? 

 “Love is a many splendored thing” as an old song goes, but love is rarely thought of as logical.  Love is seen as untamable, illogical, mysterious, undefinable and something we just fall into! 

Love is, however, a lot more logical and definable than we sometimes think.   

In Corinthians 13,  it tells us that love is:  Patient * kind * not easily angered * keeps no record of wrongs * does not delight in evil * rejoices with the truth * always protects *always trusts * always hopes * always perseveres * does not envy * does not boast * is not proud * does not dishonor others * is not self-seeking *LOVE NEVER FAILS! 

Loving our children well requires all those ingredients for sure! But it can be confusing and difficult to know if we are loving them in a way that will help them grow and learn. Loving well means we are doing what is best for our child and not just what is convenient for us or is the path of least resistance for the sake of peace. 

Some of our teaching staff just recently attended a Love & Logic for Classroom Management conference and they were reminded of some of the great loving and logical ways to manage the different personalities of each child in their classroom. 

Maybe you have read LOVE and LOGIC for parents? Here is a link to some books.

If not, I would recommend it as a tried and true approach to the common and more challenging parent-child interactions.  I have linked to some 2-5 minute videos of Love & Logic, if you are interested in watching some short excerpts of their teaching. I think you’ll be amazed at how simple it can be to love your child without measure and still be logical in the process!  These approaches use common sense consequences and common sense parental responses.  They make sense to children, too, and the results can be amazing when applied consistently. 

Check out these videos and try the suggestions next time an issue comes up with your children.  Let me know how it goes! 

https://youtu.be/bbeNfNbm99w         “Enforceable statements” 3 mins, 48 secs 

https://youtu.be/REfHBytQO5A         “Connecting with challenging children”  3 mins. 45 secs. 

https://youtu.be/rPnrgqGSoY0             “Match It Up” 4 mins. 48 secs. 

https://youtu.be/ipl6eAxgnuY              “Love & Logic Teaches Empathy”  2 mins

Blessings of peace and joy! 

Teresa Brophy, director