Imposing Our Will

Another idea of the CM Method of learning is not overly imposing our wishes or ideas on children. We are to have "influence" but not dictate everything about what and how a child learns or make them into who we want them to be instead of who God intends for them to be. I found this a bit of a paradox at first. I am after all the parent which is my God given role. I began to understand this the more I implemented the idea slowly in areas I found myself trying to influence my idea of what would be fun or good in little things.

As Lilly's birthday neared I knew she wanted to have a sleep-over. I am not a big fan of sleep-over's. I remember some of the craziness that occurred when I was a child at all night extravaganzas. But, Lilly "reeeeaaalllllyyyyyy" wanted to have a sleep over and I figured 3rd grade was better than 7th or 8th grade. So, I decided to let go and listen to her ideas.

After discussing this with her I was a bit concerned. First, she wanted a "nature party". Lilly loves all the things we learn and do in nature. This is all wonderful for us. But, considering the exposure other kids may or may not have had I worried about how well this idea would be received by her friends. Would they make fun of the different ideas she had, etc? I found myself asking these types of questions.... imposing my ideas. I stopped myself and let her enthusiastically tell me all her ideas. As I listened, I realized her ideas were much more in-line with what I would think of as a "proper sleep-over". It really sounded more like a camp-out. This sounded much better to me than Hannah Montana movies, popcorn everywhere and staying up until the wee hours of the morning. My one rule set in stone was--lights out at 10:30p.m..

She decided on 13 friends. Ten of which showed up the day of the party. I made out a schedule and included it in the invitation. As a parent, I knew I would appreciate knowing all the details. I also didn't want the kids expecting to stay up all night. Our schedule was: Come over after school, play and get to know one another, make crafts, go on a nature walk, dinner, movie, roast marshmallows, tell nature stories by the fire and then lights out by 10:30. I really doubted they'd be asleep by 11:00. But I was determined to give it a shot.

We made riddles instead of going on a scavenger hunt--Lilly's idea. All of the items we made riddles for were the party favors as well as things we used on our nature walk--a compass, a magnifying glass, bubbles (told us which way the wind was blowing), flashlight, pencil for taking notes, a watch, a whistle and a penny--to use as a guide to find something small enough to fit under the microscope. We also made a nature guide and titled it "Lilly's Nature Guide". We slathered ourselves in bug spray and headed out to the field behind our house. I was amazed at all the things the kids spotted. Baby frogs, purple flowers, mushrooms, cactus, just to name a few. The kids had a blast and some enjoyed looking at items under the microscope in between playing in the tent and blowing bubbles when we got back.

By the time we completed all the activities... it was 10:00. Just enough time to get everyone in their P.J.'s and set up sleeping bags. With everyone settled by 10:30 I began to read. Almost every child was asleep by 11:00. Lilly was so excited she couldn't sleep and finally decided to go to her room to sleep. Overall, the party was a huge success. The kids had fun and maybe even learned a few things as well. Allowing kids more freedom to fulfill their ideas in life can be truly rewarding.... even if it's a simple sleep-over.