5 Little Rules…

5 Little Rules

Recently, my youngest sister, Dawn, an elementary school principal, shared the video below with me.  This is her granddaughter, known on our blog as Princess Sweet Heart, and my great-niece.  Princess Sweet Heart just started Kindergarten this year and came home one afternoon with these 5 Little Rules…

1. Listen when someone is talking.
2. Follow directions quickly.
3. Raise your hand to speak.
4. Respect yourself, respect others, respect our school.
5. Be safe, be kind, be honest.

Even as adults, what Kindergarten can teach us all is relevant in our lives on many levels.  What more could we do that would be better than following these 5 Little Rules every day?

In our toot sweet lives, we often only half listen to people when they speak to us.  I do that all the time with Charlie, my husband.  How often do I only listen partially and then realize I need to ask him to repeat it, because maybe, just maybe, he said something that I needed to hear?  Even if I didn’t need to hear it, shouldn’t I listen to him fully, since he is one of the most important people in my life?  Don’t I owe him that respect?

And, following directions – if we follow directions quickly, won’t that allow us to finish the task at hand more quickly?  In my life, I think of this in terms of emergency preparedness.  If an emergency is swirling around me (and it often is), wouldn’t it behoove me to follow directions from others quickly?

How often do you interrupt people in conversation?  Unfortunately, I’m extremely guilty of this!  I vow to do better; let the person finish what they are saying before saying your piece is akin to raising your hand!

And, respect.  Love this one!  Especially since it starts out with “respect yourself”.  How about adding respecting your environment, which would encompass the rest of the world – our homes, our work, our cities, our parks, our ocean – I could go on-and-on.

Finally, the last rule – be safe, be kind, be honest.  If we do those things everyday, how much would our lives improve?

Thank you, Princess Sweet Heart, for teaching us these 5 Little Rules!

Tootles,