Being OK with Average

It can be really hard when you are the parent of just an average kid, or in my case two average kids. I am surrounded by mommies of above average and super smart kids on a regular basis it seems and I can’t help but feel like I should already be setting aside money for the tutors my girls will need for the rest of their lives. I wonder if the organic approach to learning that I have taken is actually setting us behind. See I have a theory that the girls will learn all things as they are needed as they naturally occur in life. Sounds very granola I know but I am not a pintrest flashcard or work book mommy. I am a” this is real life” mommy. The result of this is that we are 3 ½ years old and can only identify about 5 letters correctly, we can say our numbers but counting actual items goes badly after 4. In short I feel we are a little behind our friends.

When I have those moments of feeling really left out as others are talking about their kids discussing advanced theories of calculus (ok I am exaggerating a little there, but just a little) I have to remind myself all of the other really important things my kids do know.

Some of the wonderful nuggets of knowledge my girls know are as follows –

·        If you drop food on the ground/floor and pick it up quickly it is ok to eat. If you find food on the ground it is icky and you do not eat it.

·        Being late is rude and makes people upset so it is important to always be on time.

·        We only buy things when they have the yellow sale price tag (at the grocery store) because it is important to save our money.

·        No one will want to be your friend if you pick your nose because it is gross (we have been picker free for 2 full months now).

·        Stay away from the bigger kids at the playground because they are too wild.

·        We hold hands in parking lots so cars don’t flatten us like pancakes.

·        When in an elevator the button with a bell symbol calls Taco Bell. – Ok so this one is not accurate but they recognized the symbol.

·        Darth Vader was a good guy, who made bad choices and became bad, but ends up good in the end. (Really, this lesson will get them much farther in life then you would think)

·        We understand needing to make better choices when things go wrong.

·        You don’t touch the glowing part of the stick you poke the fire with.

·        You know your shoes are on the wrong feet if you big toe feels funny.

I don’t think any of the above items will be on a SOL, SAT or GMAT exams at any time, but I think we at least have a good start. So, if you are a mommy like me teaching your kids real world lessons stay strong you are not the only one out there. My girls are average, perfectly average and I think that is great, it just takes me reminding myself that not all things you need to know are found in books.