Until….

The following excerpt was written by Diane Hopkins and the entire article is posted at http://www.lovetolearn.net/policies/baby.lasso

How to be a Christlike person is the most valuable lesson a child could ever learn! The lesson is learned moment by moment; watching a parent being patient, handling frustration with kindness, pressing on for the goal in spite of numerous interruptions, valuing each child’s needs regardless of inconvenience. That valuable insight–how Mother handles the baby is the real lesson–has dramatically changed how I view my home school. I am teaching foremost my values: godly character, kindness, respect for others, individuality, sacrifice and a host of other Christlike attributes. Teaching them reading, writing, math, etc. is very important to me but my perspective has been altered. “Mimic me, follow me and I will show you the way a Christlike person acts and what he values”. That is the message every parent relays to their children whether they are aware of it or not. Children try to copy everything anyway (our mannerisms, our daily activities, etc.). We must be certain that we are providing a correct pattern for them to copy, not only in our daily activities but in our attitude, our tone of voice, and our facial expression. We need to conduct our lives so that we can say “follow me”. If our children are to “buy” our values, what a tremendous responsibility we have to make sure we are living our best so the lesson is clear and well learned! What more could you ask for from your homeschool than to produce Christlike people?!

I’m an organized and structured type personality, though I often desire to be more creative.  I have my lists and schedules down to a science.  If you read this list during Great Lent, you know that I was working on certain “bad habits” that had crept into my relationship with the kids. I realized what Diane expressed so well, that reading, writing, and math are important, but not more important than the example I give. Many of the errors that I correct with the kids, started with me. If their tone of voice is sharp, then my own is probably sharp too. It can be very humbling (and funny) to see your children imitate you. Good habits such as reading and hobbies (I like to garden) are also learned by an observant child. It is tempting to put off doing the things I enjoy “until”….until the house is clean, until the kids are older, until dad can come, until we finish “x,y,or z”, until the kids are asleep, until school is done, etc.  Putting off fun projects has become a bad habit.  I do this frequently waiting for a day “until…”.  By doing so, I miss the chance to give the girls a good example. Parents are often told to “catch your child doing something right”.  It seems to work both ways.  Go do something fun….the kids are watching.