Her foot in the 2000 pieces of puzzles was my puzzle-loving nightmare!
But I stopped myself.
She dripped pieces against her feet as if they were droplets of rain.
Her eyes would open and close.
Was I watching a meditation,
A Zen ritual,
The peaking of curiosity,
Or was she feeding her senses? Hungry muscles?
We have to remember that most children learn not only through books or stories or academic pursuits.
Children learn through touch. Perhaps more than one hundred times a day, their skin takes in the world so their mind can make sense of it.
Their skin is hungry; their muscles are ready to learn.
There is a reason they have to touch the reversing glitter on a friend’s shirt.
They need to trace the truck on the child’s baseball cap.
They zip and unzip someone else’s backpack.
They climb and jump off of the giant red @Target balls.
They rub their hands on a particular part of your body when stressed or needing comfort.
They try to carry heavy things around the house for no apparent reason.
Sensory needs exist. They will play out in different ways.
So pause before you interrupt an essential part of a child’s evolution. Are you witnessing hungry muscles?
If your puzzle is creating this soothing opportunity, trust me, it’s worth losing a couple of puzzle pieces over.
When the sensory needs of the body are lacking misbehavior will crop up as the body searches for ways to feed this appetite.
Some aggressive behaviors may not be what they appear to.
Have any questions about this? Let’s connect!
