My daughter, Alexandra, is my sassy, outgoing girl. At four years old, I’m not sure she has ever learned how to listen. She always challenges, questions or just simply ignores.

We were enjoying a celebratory dinner after her first full day of PreK. She was excited and we were, too. She had a great day and couldn’t wait to tell us about it.

“Alex, tell me about your day. What did you learn?” I asked.

In her most excited and animated way she responded, “Mommy, I learned to LISTEN!”

I was speechless. I didn’t even know how to respond to such profound self-discovery. Seeing that I was stumped, she continued.

“My teachers told me that if I listened to THEM, they would listen to ME,” she said, very proud. “And, I learned how to RAISE MY HAND!”

I congratulated her and reinforced this amazing acknowledgement of a very important skill. One that I knew her teachers would have to continue to work on even after this initial excited commitment.

Shortly thereafter, when I began to ask my husband a quick question what did my sweet little girl do? Raised her hand. Instead of interrupting me, she raised her hand. This continued for the rest of the evening.

I’m telling you that this was one of the most peaceful dinners we’ve had in a while. In case you are wondering, yes, she no longer raises her hand at home to be called on…but, I’m so glad even for one day she recognized the importance of listening.