Sharon,
Kiddos are so different aren't they!
While your little one may not be a shaker and a mover or a little guy who loves to jump up and act things out
, one thing I always weigh with this type of behavior is whether or not the little one is disobeying me as the teacher by refusing to do what I am asking.
While the rhyme in motion may not be the most important thing to make sure he does in his day, CM would always have us peek at the habit that is being formed by allowing kiddos to omit the part of "school" we are asking them to do. As our own kiddos are growing and changing, we've discovered that it's important for our children to obey us as the authority regardless of the task. I once heard Dr. Dobson say that if you do not have first time obedience instilled in your child by age 12, you will never have it. That was a shock to me, and I was pretty sure this couldn't be true. But, as we've had to work for years and years with my oldest son's strong will, to train him to obey us the first time that we ask something of him, I can see had we not worked hard at it prior to his teen age years it would be very difficult to require it now.
My husband and I have since worked harder than ever with our youngest kiddos from their earliest school experiences to form the habit of obedience in the tasks we require of them during the day. So, when the rhymes in motion (or whatever may not be our kiddos favorite moment in the day arrives), we just require them to jump in and do it quickly (being over in several minutes). We look at each task from that perspective and require cheerful compliance.
We also do not allow our kiddos to ever use the word "boring" when describing a task that they make not like, or we give them additional chores within the house to do instead until they are no longer bored. It was a consequence my own mother used to implement (as we grew up on a hard-working farm). Needless to say, we never called a task boring.
In this way, kiddos learn to be a steward of their time and to have a cheerful attitude, even when they may not love what they are doing. This is excellent life skill training for their upcoming adults years, as many adults have never learned this habit!
You may feel completely differently, and what you think matters most in your situation.
But, I chose to share this, as I know it was an eye-opening moment for me and for my husband as parents to read and discuss Charlotte-Mason's writings and her strong focus on character training and the training in obedience to God's word above all else in the early years. Then, we figured out how best to require this in our own home and how to make it fit in with our family goals.
Blessings,
Carrie
But anyway...)
