Celebrating the small victories!

I know to some people, the things on here that I post might not seem like a big deal, when I talk about my kids. However, when they accomplish something that I know they've been trying to do for a long time, it's SO exciting! For me, and for them! We both put so much work and effort into it, that I love when they succeed!

The victory that I'm celebrating today is that two of my little girls were finally able to tie their shoes! It might seem like a small thing to you, but actually that's HUGE! Do you actually remember learning to tie your shoes? Do you remember who taught you? Do you remember the time you actually succeeded and correctly tied your shoes for the first time, the right way? And I don't mean coming up with some type of knot, that kept the laces tied...an ACTUAL tie!

One thing that I start out with at the beginning of the school year, is telling the students that I will not tie their shoes. They will come up to me and always ask me to tie their shoes, and I always say, "Sorry! I don't tie shoes. Tie them yourself or go find a friend!" To some people this may seem harsh, but honestly it's the only way that the kids will become independent and try on their own. If they know that I won't tie it and they can't tie it, they aren't really left with any other options other than learning to tie their shoes, or walking around with untied laces. Believe me, I've seen some kids never learn how to tie their shoes and go all year like that...but most of them will learn out of necessity!

I won't tie my kids shoes, but I will teach them how..and that's what I've been doing for many months now with 2 little girls. It has been hard and frustrating for me, and for them..but we just keep practicing and practicing! Today they came up to me and said, "Miss Snodgrass, we can tie our shoes!" Now, keep in mind, they've been telling me this for the past couple of months. Almost every child will tell you that they can "tie shoes"..but whether they can actually do it is a COMPLETELY different story! So when my girls came and told me this morning, I actually thought, "yeah, sure." But then they sat down, and showed me! THEY ACTUALLY DID IT! You honestly have no idea how excited I was..they tied their own shoes! All of our hard work and frustration has finally paid off! I just lavished praise and excitement on them, then gave them a high five and a big hug. You should have seen them..they were so proud! You would have thought they won the lottery or something!

So today, I celebrate the small victories with my kids..no matter what they are..they are celebrated!