Getting a Habit--but not the kind nun's wear

Today, I wanted to take some time and work on creating a new habit.

The habit of Asking Questions and LISTENING. Sometimes I ask questions but then I answer them for my children, which kind of (kind of?) defeats the purpose.

I also observed that my eldest was doing all the talking for her sister. My four year old would mimic her big sister or look to her for what her answer should be.

I set aside some time today to work one-on-one with my four year old with the Intention of Asking her Questions and letting her answer them her own way. I shared with her that it was important that she make the decisions during this task because I wanted something that was uniquely her idea(Meaning). After all, we want her to have some neat things to show Daddy when he gets home later and to use this week that will help her learn our new poem. (Bridging to the Future). In my mind, this was a weak bridge, but it was all I had at the moment. I didn't really think ahead on a way to bridge this one!

I brought out all sorts of art supplies. My daughter and I went over all the creatures we'd need. A horse, bird, spider, dog, cow,cat, fly and goat were all on the agenda. I told myself to ask questions as much as possible and avoid giving any answers.

We began with, "Which animal do you want to make first?" Followed with "What do you want to use to make it?" "Is there any body parts that you want to include?" "What will you use to make fur?" "How big do you think we should cut the nose?"

This is the horse. I was quite amazed at her creativity. I also observed how she saw a horse and what parts she felt were vital to include.

We kept going. I had set apart an hour for this task while the babe napped and my eldest drew and read.

This is a horribly out of focus cat. My daughter chose large ears. I asked if cat's had anything in particular on their face? (Using the step forward approach--I will blog about this at a later time)

"Whiskers," she whispered. So we added some.

For the most part, I think I only told her to do something two or three times. And...And!!!...when we got to the last animal she started to dialogue out loud, saying,

"Hmmm...how am I going to make this one? Do we have feathers? I need a nose and eyes and a body. Mom, what do you want to use for the body?"

Here's our motley crew creatures that she created...all on her own. She made them as a result of answering questions.

ML Technique: Asking Questions