What I learn from 'Alwani's PHD laundry effort'.

Most of the mornings, I would hang the clothes on the drying line. Each line is allocated for each person, the front bit is Alwani's, the second is Yusuf's and third is AF's. I hang them according to the shelving areas. My husband's clothes are usually hanged using hangers, and the same as mine. Mak taught me this since she knows that we are not planning to get a helper and she said it's easier for us to organise our lives with small kids. And I must admit, it works very well in my household.

Usually, I fold the clothes at the drying line so that it would not crumple as much, and I would go into the house with a stack of folded clothes, while the rest of other clothes will be hanged in the 'holding area' before they are to be ironed and worn. Then, the stack would be dissembled according to the proper shelves.

However, for the past few days, it has been pouring heavily outside. I didn't manage to fold and keep them like the usual manner. My laundry was PHD (piled higher and deeper, literally!) since the rain poured more than a couple of days!

And then, a princess came to the rescue. While waiting for me to get ready to send her to kindy, Alwani took one garment after another and folded them (in her own 'princess-y' way). And believe or not, she completed 3/4 of the pile! My husband and I were amazed! And to my surprise, she actually classified those garments... 'I want to do it just like Ummi. This is mine, that's Yusuf's and the other one is Abang's!'

This is the end product, she piled 'baju kanak-kanak' (children's clothings) and 'baju besar susah lipat' (big clothings which are hard to fold) into two stacks.

L-R: 'Baju kanak-kanak', 'Baju besar susah lipat'.

 

 

Though her folding skills must be polished, she has grasped the idea of neatness and cleanliness at such a young age, Masha Allah. She's 3 years and 11 months old, that PHD helper of mine!

 

• Does that folding techniques passed my QC? Not really.
• Did I refold the clothings? No! That would mean I, as her mother, thrashing her efforts.
• So, am I happy with the outcome? Yes, because Alwani did it her way, her special thoughtful way.

 

A young child learns by absorbing what she hears and sees people's (re)actions around her. If she knows that I refolded her stacks, surely she would not be interested in helping me the next time. Alwani learns by doing; from the interaction of her own thinking and her experiences in the external world.

 

Thus as parents, we should strive to prepare the environment so that it provides stimulating, challenging materials and activities for children - even daily chores can be stimulating and interesting if we want them to be! 

 

Thank you, Princess Alwani! You have helped me proven that Piaget's theory is spot on!

  

Ummi's PHD helper.