Before we had the twins, renovating homes that were in dire need of tender loving care was (and still is) a passion of ours. Now that we have the twins, there’s nothing more joyful than passing this passion on and experiencing it with them. Yes, they are still young and their fine motor and visual areas of their brains aren’t fully developed yet. Oh, did we mention their patience is in short supply? To help them build greater dexterity (and be more patience) we encourage them to play toys like blocks, legos, and play-doh. We also encourage them to draw, paint and color. One of the things that we have yet to teach them was home painting.
The last thing on our home renovation list was painting the stools left from the previous owner to match the eat-in nook decor. Since we were partnering with Kimberly-Clark in sharing how we celebrate family values we thought getting the boys to paint the stools would be the perfect opportunity. Teaching them how to paint is one of the practical ways to be a coach to our kids and help them learn from life. While having fun painting the stools, our twins can benefit from learning a few life lessons along the way:
Problem Solving: Without even realizing it kids that participate in projects like this are consistently being challenged to solve problems. Practicing problem-solving develops kids’ skills in reasoning and understanding. This in turn will help them develop important problem-solving skills necessary for success in any career.
Perseverance: This skill teaches them not to give up. Painting a stool requires patience and time. In this increasingly competitive world, perseverance is essential to achieving success.
Focus: You can’t expect 4 yr old kids to focus on anything, but you can teach them what each of their role, whether big or small, for this project is to be. Participation improves kids’ abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives.
Collaboration: Early on, we taught the twins to be a team player, from helping each other with their potty training to turning on light switches they couldn’t reach on their own. Now, painting the stools together. These experiences help them gain confidence and to learn that their contributions have value even if they don’t have the biggest role.
Accountability: No one is perfect. We grow from learning our mistakes. Because mistakes are a regular part of the process of learning to paint, the twins begin to see that mistakes happen. We teach them to acknowledge them, learn from them and move on.
Getting them involved in painting the stools was no small feat but seeing the joy in their eyes and experiencing their sense of achievement made this home that much sweeter.
Disclosure: Thank you Kimberly-Clark for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.
P.S. Don’t forget to visit Pick Up the Values for more #CelebrateFamilyValues program ideas. Also, visit their Facebook page or their Twitter account to get access to time and money saving tips and tricks and access to valuable coupons from Huggies diapers and wipes, Scott paper towels, Kleenex brand facial tissue, Cottonelle toilet paper, Poise pads, U by Kotex tampons and pads and more.
