Big Rocks First

This is one of my favorite visual object lessons. I’m a big believer in object lessons. My personality likes to see and participate in learning, so I use those techniques to teach my kids as often as possible.

This may not be new to you but it will be new to your kids. And it’s fun.

- Take a large jar - at least a quart size.

- Gather or have them gather palm sized rocks. If your child can participate in an activity they should.

- Gather smaller rocks, and even smaller rocks. Have your child separate  them by size into piles or containers.

- Gather sand.

- Have a container of water near by, but out of sight.

Have your child carefully put the largest rock into the jar or container. I like a jar because its see though, but that will require careful placement of the rocks so it doesn’t break.

Ask your child if it is full.

Regardless of their response (agree or disagree) tell them you think more will fit. And give them the next smallest rocks.

Continue with all the rocks and sand asking the same thing between each size. Is the jar full now?

When you get to the sand ask one last time, then take out the water and have them slowly add the water.

This is a lesson in how to prioritize. Whether it’s time or tasks, this object lesson will help your child see that you have to do the big things first. If you add everything backward - water first, sand, rocks the jar would over flow and make a mess. You can try that too, but save it for another day because you have one last thing that needs their focus. For now just ask what they think would happen if you did it backwards. 

What are your big things? Is the last question. Talk about and make a list of big, medium, small and really small things.

Big on my list is my health. Big rocks for me are knowing what the best food is and making sure I have the best choices available for when I need to eat. Making time to walk and move to refresh my mood, raise my energy levels and just breath. Scheduling doctors appointments when necessary so things don’t get out of control simply because I wasn’t paying attention.

Another big rock on my list is bible study. It grounds me and puts me in the right frame of mind to deal with life. It’s foundational for me.

My work is a big rock for me. My writing and sharing is super important to me. Paying my bills is a big rock. You get the idea.

Medium size rocks for me are being in touch with friends and family. Reaching out to people to make sure they are doing well.  In turn socializing with them makes me happy and keeps me upbeat. I’m an extrovert and being with people makes me happy so I don’t want to leave that rock out of my jar. But first I have to be healthy and in the right frame of mind.

Making art is a medium rock for me. I have to make art! It’s one of my main ways of expressing myself. 

A small rock on my list is reading for pleasure or research. I have books everywhere and given any time sitting in my truck or waiting in line or at an appointment I look things up and read. It’s a small rock that fits in after all my bigger rocks. 

Sand and water are things like getting together with friends or rearranging the furniture. I love doing it but if I haven’t taken care of my big rocks it will have to wait. I have not always been like that. My reaching out rock use to be my getting together rock. I could spend every day, three times a day getting together with friends, talking and laughing - and then my life would be falling apart because I hadn’t paid my bills on time. I would love it all in the moment, but then my house would be a mess and my work wouldn’t be getting done and I would ultimately be unhappy. It’s almost like a reward now and I appreciate the sand and water things so much more.

This object lesson can be used in daily life. If one of your big rocks is health your child can write down all the healthy things that they need to do in a day: Brush their teeth, eat healthy, low sugar food, walk and play outside, stretch and move, do art and read to feed their brains. 

This little lesson will be something you can talk about with your child for years. It will become part of your thinking (and your child’s) as you evaluate and make plans daily, weekly, yearly. 

Pro tip: Your children are your big rocks but so are you.