While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

Even while I am teaching I am constantly reminded I have so much to learn. My favorite teachers? Kids. From every child I have taught, I have gained so much.

Asking “why?”:

As we become adults we become more content with a simple, neat answer. Not so with kids. They always want to know why something is the way that it is. They dig deeper, seek to understand. If you have ever had a conversation with a six year old about “why the sky is blue” you will know what I mean.

Asking “why?” when we don’t understand something can lead to creative and life changing opportunities.

Living the moment:

Watching the face of a kid, so intent on an activity, his tongue stuck out in deep concentration. Seeing pure delight wash over a child as they indulge in a favorite treat. Having a conversation and knowing that for this kid, in this moment, nothing else in the world matters more then the words spoken between you, captivated, undivided attention.

Many times I am thinking about the future, or what is next on my to-do list. Often it takes an encounter with a child to make me slow down and remind me that life is happening, right now. If I don’t embrace this moment that I am in, I’ll have lost it forever.

There is often more then one “right” solution:

Time is flying, there is so much to do. Often it is easiest to do things the way you always have or the fastest way you can. Children usually don’t have the same time/thinking pattern restraints that we adults do. They are not worried that their ideas are unconventional or “outside the box.”

Even fanciful, wildly impractical ideas can hold the seed of of a fantastic solution. For thought provoking conversation and some great inspiration, ask a kid their opinion. The best way to do something, world events, anything. For new insights and a different way of doing things, ask a kid!

Here are just a few lessons I have learned. Do you have any creative lessons you have learned from the kids in your life? Please post below!