There is most assuredly joy in the journey of homeschooling. Sure you are required to instill the facts that come with Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, but what else do you want to make sure your child knows how to do. I was talking to a group of Homeschool moms at a tech conference this weekend and realized that our greatest assignment and test that we give our children is the task to be kind, strong, and to grow into a contributing member of society. These are things that school doesn’t even properly instill. These are lessons that all parents must teach their children, homeschool or not, and these are things that unfortunately, most parents don’t teach.
We look for teachable moments in everything we do. Use the actions of animals you see on a walk to point out natural grace and kindness. Use the gentleness of leaves falling to tell stories of peace and tranquility. Use nature to demonstrate everything that books can not possibly explain. We work extremely hard to make sure that our journey is filled with book knowledge as well as usable life skills.
Everyday we are able to go on new adventures that afford us the opportunity to learn about what it means to contribute to society. There are 2 kinds of people in this world: those that give and those that take. It is really easy to sit back and let our children grow up to be takers, but it takes a lot of dedication for them to grow up and be givers. Strive everyday to lead your children by example to give them the proper guidance that they deserve.
I hear from a lot of parents in my circles that these lessons are some of the hardest that they will ever have to teach their children. It is very important that our children understand that if everyone is a giver, then those that need us to give most will be able to get help when they need it. On the converse side, it is also important to understand that some people will never change. It does not matter if we gave them the world, they would still be in the same circumstances that they are in. People have to recognize that they need help, before help will actually help in most cases.
Teach them to love by loving on your children. Teach them to be kind, by being kind to others. Teach them to have respect by respecting your spouse and yourself. Teach them to recognize authority by being respectful towards authority. Your children learn best by doing and seeing. If you tell them to do as I say not as I do, I guarantee you they will grow up to do what you do. Teach by example, and your children will change the world!