Sidewalk Chalk and Snow

Very recently there were beautiful flowers, rainbows, lines and names written on my blacktop driveway, on neighbor’s sidewalks and on the EduKids Centers’ outside play spaces.  The marvelous artists were young “personal” grandchildren, children and our Centers EduKIDS.   It was wonderful to see and put smiles on many faces.  We took pictures.

Those beautiful designs are not there now.  They have been covered by Spring Snow.  And while adults grumble and grouse about it, young children just take it in stride and make snow angels and snowballs again, instead of sidewalk pictures knowing that the colored chalk is in the garage and the sun will shine and dry everything up real soon.

Things change.  Things return.

Very young children, in particular, count on and thrive in routine and consistency.  It is important that their days look pretty much the same.  Infants need us to know their feeding, nap, play and cuddle times.  They respond to the same voices and touch.  They know their cribs, their highchairs and the smell of your hair.  This settles them and tells them that they can trust their world.

Toddlers are pretty exciting and excitable.  They explore and investigate everything, try out new sounds while they learn language, run instead of walk and shout instead of whisper. We marvel at their energy.  They are truly a work in progress that changes every day.  This change in body, mind and ability is magical ~ but they need consistency and routine as much as the babies.  Toddlers count on us to have their blanket at the ready, their baby doll at their side, only the cereal they like in the cupboard and the same babysitter when you dare to go out.  They have learned that you will come back.

Preschoolers are the artists.  They take a line of yellow sidewalk chalk and make a star.  Their splash of water is the shark in the ocean, their slide at the playground is a rocket ship and you are a superhero.  All of this change and confidence in their new ideas and growing abilities is because they have trusted you and their world.  You have shown them that while things change, they can trust in their world to make the return.

That’s why they make snowballs instead of looking for the sidewalk chalk.  They know you are keeping it safe for the return of dry sidewalks and hot days.

Children remind us to take pictures of the snow angels in April  along with the rainbows in the driveway.  That’s a great thing.