Nothing beats helping a child succeed

This year I decided to try something brave, something truly daring and adventurous. I have become a Camp Fire Little Stars Leader.

Those of you who have never tried something like this are probably wondering what all the fuss is about.

Close your eyes and imagine with me: Five to eight preschoolers all trying to finish a project. Bedlam can sometimes be the result.

There’s also lots of whining, mainly from the adults.

Seriously though, it’s not so bad.

Like the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, it is a time for adults and children to come together to build skills and develop a sense of community responsibility.

But anyone with little kids will tell you that nothing turns out the way the directions tell you it will. This is a fact. But usually the parents are more concerned with the end product looking like it should than the kids are.

Kids love the process – even if it does not turn out how we, as their parents, envision it.

Take, for example, my recent cooking project involving making cookies.

Now, if you accidentally leave the cookies in the oven because you are chatting away with the other parents, they may get burned.

Don’t fret. The kids think this is OK and are still excited to decorate and try their (slightly) burned cookies.

And then there are projects involving painting. You may worry that more paint is getting into the kids’ hair and onto their clothes than on what they’re supposed to be painting. No worries. The kids think it is funny to have blue noses.

In the short time I have been doing this I have seen shy kids come into their own, and when given the chance to be in charge, they really feel a sense of empowerment. Children who are very active and can sometimes be uncooperative around their parents – like my son – learn how to work together. It is truly amazing to see how much this can affect a child’s everyday life.

So between the burnt cookies and blue noses I have seen how a young child’s self-esteem blossoms when he is able to work toward a goal and then be recognized for achieving it. Receiving an emblem for the project makes them feel they have done something important.

Another leader told me that after her group made Valentines for veterans they went to a local retirement center to deliver them. The veterans really appreciated the Valentines and the fact that the children came in person to deliver them.

Now, she says, her daughter stops every older gentleman she sees and asks, “Are you a veteran?”

If he replies “Yes” she says, “Thank you for serving our country.”

I guess that’s one of those little rewards that make putting up with the messes and mistakes not such a big deal after all.