What do I wish someone had told me when we first began
homeschooling? There are no do-overs and this time with your children is not a
dress rehearsal. The days will absolutely fly by, as hard as that is to believe
sometimes. Take this day and run with it. Savor the moments, do the necessary,
and make the time to do what’s important, kid-wise.
When they ask about tadpoles, take the time to explain and
explore. If you can’t answer their questions at the moment of asking, keep a
special little notepad or list on your phone of their questions. Make a big
deal of recording their questions, and later, make an even bigger deal of
helping them find answers.
If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the
companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him
the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.
—Rachel Carson
This moment will never come again. Listen to them. Ask
questions about their thoughts on things—faith, their Sunday school class,
their baseball coach, the dance instructor. Make sure that you encourage their
ideas and efforts when they happen, before they get lost in the chaos of family
life.
During the year ahead, take a picture a day of your children—just
a simple photo each day or week. At the end of the year, create a photo collage
to show how much they’ve grown and changed. Race across the park with them, or
simply stroll around the block with them. Take a break from your planned
routine and let them make a plan for the day or week ahead. Step back from
studies they struggle with and launch into something that captures their interest.
Whether cookies or oceans, the land down under or
backyard bugs—whatever
captures their curiosity, take time to fan the sparks of their interests.
Encourage them like there is no tomorrow. You do not know
what tomorrow holds, but you have been given this day, this moment, to build
them up and prepare them for their future. What can you do differently in 2013
to seize the moments and make a difference?
Blessings,
Amanda B.
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