My Smart Little JA

My son, JA (pronounced like the name Jay) just did the most amazing thing tonight. Well, I as his mother, thinks it's pretty amazing if you ask me! So I thought I would brag on him.

I have so enjoyed having a boy as my youngest child. After having 2 girls, I love seeing how God made his brain and body to be so different than the girls. Albeit my children are all very much alike in their loud mouth, very independent, no nonsense approach to life - my son definitely thinks things through differently than the girls.
Okay, on to what he did that I think is so cool. Friday night, we won a HUGE family night game box with all assortments of games, popcorn, bowls, a blanket and lots of goodies from a silent auction at their school. So bright and early this morning he begins to play with a game called Jenga. He didn't ask for instructions on how to play, but sat down in the living room and proceeded to do a fine job of removing the pieces, placing them on top and continuing until the structure eventually fell. Later this morning, when I asked him to please put the game away, I hesitated, wanting to tell him the quickest and easiest way to put it away (just reassemble the game, as if you were going to play it, and slide the container over the top of it, turn it right side up and put the lid on). After all he is only 6 years old and I wasn't sure if he would get frustrated trying to dump all the pieces into that little tin.

So, in my hesitation, I decided to go about my chore and check on him later. I wanted to see if he could figure out how to get it put away properly. Low and behold - to my surprise, I walked in a few minutes later, he handed me the game, perfectly assembled in the box. I smiled a proud mama smile and asked, "JA, how did you get it all back in so quickly and correctly?" He said, " I turned the lid upside down and stacked all the pieces on top, then I slid the tin over the tower and shut the lid."


That might not sound like a big deal, but I was so proud of his ingenuity! He figured it out all by himself! I just love the way God made our brains, even children. It shows that we don't have to teach them everything, but being a teacher, it's hard to get out of that mode and let them learn it for themselves sometimes. God gave them a wonderful mind too! I hope that I hesitate more often and allow my children to figure it out more for themselves. More proud mama moments would surely come!