Celebrate what your kids can do with a “can do” cup

Recently, my daughter Ally, 4, came home from preschool all excited to show me this amazing thing she’d made that day.

To my surprise, what had her all worked up was a plastic cup with a bunch of craft sticks (Popsicle sticks) sticking out of it.

But then Ally explained to me that this was her “Can Do” cup, which features some of the things she’s able to do by herself or excels at now that she’s 4. Ally had decorated the outside of the cup with stickers. Then her teachers had asked her to name five things she’s good at doing. They wrote each of the things in Ally’s own word on a large-size craft stick.

Ally excitedly pulled out each craft stick to have me read about all the things she’s mastered. The craft sticks said things like “I can ride my bike all by myself!” and “I can put on my shoes all by myself!”

I can’t believe that Ally was so excited about these craft sticks in a plastic cup, but I realized that what she loved was being recognized for all the things she can do. My husband and I praise Ally a lot, especially when she learns or tries something new. But I could see that this cup was a new, fun way to celebrate her achievements and it made Ally proud to see those things written down.

Since she brought home her “Can Do” cup, I’ve added more craft sticks to the cup each time I notice something that Ally can do by herself. She loves to watch me write it out on the craft stick and once in a while, she asks me to pull them all out of the cup and read them to her.

This project is a great way to recognize “big kids” and celebrate all those little achievements that can be so big to them.