Instant Gratification

"The road less traveled" talks about instant gratification, and I think in our society today, we all want it! I am definitely not excluded from this desire, even though one of my goals in life is to try to reduce that desire more and more. The other day when Camden came home from school, it popped right out at me - the difference in the German Culture and the American culture with regard to Instant Gratification. Camden came home with a "stuffed animal that he made in class." It was cute and he actually made a stuffed hermit crab in rememberance of his hermit crab that passed away. The "stuffed animal" was made from felt material, and was stuffed with cotton filling, and then half glue gunned and half stapled together to "seal" the animal so the stuffing wouldn't come out. The project actually reminded me of a project that I helped Bailey's pre-school class do as well. It was a simple project that took little time, and gave us all instant gratification. As I was looking at his stuffed animal, it immediatley struck me that this would not have EVER happened in Mia's Kindergarten. In her kindergarten she would have learned to sew the sides together by hand, because "why wouldn't you take the time to do it right". The project may have taken several days, but it would have been done completely by hand. It is funny how something so little struck me in such a big way. A year and a half ago, I wouldn't have thought anything of the way Camden's class did it, but I see a different picture now, and I think instant gratification takes away so much!