Learning from Our Children

I never cease to be amazed by a child’s world. So often it is something that I take for granted. A child grows, a child learns, a child grows, a child learns…a child lives! Life is an exciting experience for children because every day they learn so much! We are also continuously learning as adults but the process for us is more tedious and difficult. Yet a child practically absorbs all the knowledge he/she comes in contact with.

My kids teach me something new each day. They are a support when I need them most! One day I was lying on my bed crying. It had been a particularly difficult day and I felt really low. We all have those moments, don’t we? My seven year-old son came into the room and caught my teary eyes. At first I wanted to hide but then my heart told me to just be natural about my emotions around him. Right away he tenderly said, “what’s wrong mommy? Can I help you?” I told him that I was feeling sad and that I was unhappy with myself. I told him a child-version of my problem and my thoughts. He responded by reaching out to me, telling me not to worry, telling me that my negative thoughts were not true. And then, to top it off, he gave me a big hug and told me he loved me. I thought, wow, some people study years of modern psychology in order to be able to do what he had just done!

Kids have such pure faith and a positive outlook on life. We, as parents, teachers, and caretakers, must learn to let them influence our lives!

Home Level Management

Well, as parents, we're qualified managers. I'm sure of it. I know I am. I might not have a sheet of paper stating that I passed a multilevel management course, but I know full well that I have the skills to pull the job off. Just the fact that I am a mother of five children, ages ranging from 6 to 14, and we manage to keep a daily schedule, get three meals on the table, keep the house clean, stay on top of daily schoolwork, and sort through emotional/social issues, is enough proof. And that's just a tiny bit of what our exciting lifestyle entails. :-)

So, since I'm qualified to do so, :-P, I will venture to state something about home management:

Our aim, as parents, is to secure peak performance from our children by nudging them to realize their full potential. Sometimes we walk a fine line between offering support and encouragement and pushing a bit. Well, don't be afraid to prod and shove a little (when appropriate). Don't be afraid to maintain high ethical standards. There have got to be clearly defined rights and wrongs. In the ends our kids will be thankful that we believed in them enough to encourage their best. The key is LOVE. Real love will see the potential and positively fuel the flame of that potential.

Above all things, have love. Because love really is the most powerful force in the universe.

My Kids Make Life Worth Living

Of course there is a whole lot more about life that I love and look forward to, but when it comes to the crunch, those times when I feel like my heart is broken for one reason or another(like now), I look to my kids and see that God has given me an amazing mission. And determined that I am, I do not want to fail that mission.

I want them to become the best originals they can be, not modeled after what I think they should be, or what others think they should be, but what they have been created to be. I want them to be able to use the passion inside to ignite the flame that will lead their way up the path of life. God help me to be the facilitator.

P.S. I do have lots of photos that I could post but...well, I will have to get a better computer set up before I will be able to be more consistent.

Kids Have the Best Humor

Note: I found the following snippets while looking through old files on my computer. These are from back in the day in Africa...aah the simple life! ;-)

Funny Things That Our Kids Blurt Out

The other day I was telling Brandon (4 years old) a bit about all the relatives that he hasn't met yet. I told him that I would get out some photos and show him his uncles, aunties, and grandparents that he didn't know.

I said, "Brandon you have lots and lots of relatives!"

Then he said, "yes mommy, and I have lots of girlfriends too!"

"Really?" I answered, with a quizzical expression. "Where are they all?"

"Oh mommy" he said in a knowing way. "I haven't met them yet!"

Elena told me that one time, she asked Brandon to put his shoes on, but when she looked to see if he had done it, she noticed that the shoes were on the wrong feet. She said, "Brandon! You've got your shoes on the wrong feet!" Brandon slowly looked down at his feet, pondered a bit, and then looked up again. "But Elena" he said, "these are the only feet I have!"

A conversation overheard between Angali (9), Laura (5), and Kimby (3)…….(overheard by my sister in-law, Lili)

A: You shouldn’t swallow gum because it’s bad.

L: Yes really bad…but why is it bad Angali?

A: Um… because when you swallow the gum it gets stuck in your stomach …. Or somewhere… & then it gets stuck for seven days …. No longer than seven days, a longer time.

L: So Kimby shouldn’t have gum because it’s bad to swallow gum.

K: But then I’m sorry. But I bad because I swallow gum.

A: No but swallowing gum is bad because if it gets stuck then you can die. When it gets stuck then the white blood cells stick to the gum to try to unstick it but they can’t so it takes seven days or more.

Conversations between Lili and her daughter:

Kimby: Mommy when I was bigger than you I had shots.

Mommy: You were never as big as Mommy because you’re still growing.

K: But Jesus made me stop growing.

M: If you stop growing now then when you’re a Grandma you’ll be such a funny short Granny.

K: But little Grandmas still love you.

K: Mariah taught me to go pee in my pants.

M: You’re older than Mariah, how can she teach you to go pee in your pant?

K: She made me go pee.

M: How did she do that?

K: She pointed her finger at me or something funny like that and said "aaa doo-doo" and then I went. She made me.

More stuff from Brandon--

I told Brandon that after we finished lunch clean-up, we would start our diary. Later, I said to Brandon, "ok, let's go now!" He looked up with a very serious face and said, "are we doing our diarrheas now?"

I had to reprimand Brandon for putting his hand prints all over our newly painted wall. When I asked him why he had done it he said, "someone should paint the wall with hand prints! It'll look really nice!"

Brandon always has funny things to say. When he has a fever he says that a rhinoceros is running around in his head.

He also says that his feet sing when he runs (he's talking about the pattering sound they make when they hit the ground).

ISN'T LIFE FUN WITH KIDS ALL AROUND US??

Homeschoolers Who Have Changed Our World

By Mike Farris, News reprint

History is filled with famous homeschooling kids who have grown up to amazing things. Here are a few examples…

John and Charles Wesley

No account of modern church history would be complete without the stories of John and Charles Wesley. Born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley of Lincolnshire, England, John and Charles were the 15th and 18th of 19 children. Susanna schooled all her children at home, and she didn't confine their learning to mere academics. Together with her husband, an Anglican pastor, she taught her children the Bible and trained them to serve God.
Susanna's child rearing was put to the test when John left home to pursue higher learning at Oxford. Ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1728, John began a ministry of open-air preaching.
John Wesley traveled over 250,000 miles in his lifetime, spreading the Gospel. With a strong emphasis on good works, the Wesleys founded clinics for the sick, and orphanages and schools for the poor. Ultimately, they were a part of the Great Awakening, which swept the English-speaking world and saw hundreds of thousands being saved.
Mothers and fathers of large families, take heart. Among your children there may be a John or Charles Wesley, who, with a godly upbringing, can dramatically impact the world for Christ.

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams, born in 1902, was an extremely active, creative child. When he was placed in traditional school, that active nature led to trouble almost from the beginning. He simply could not sit in the classroom when there was an outdoors to explore.
After Ansel's expulsion from various schools, both public and private, his father decided to teach his son himself. One year, his school consisted of a year's pass to the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, where he took in art, architecture, music, and other achievements of civilization.
The world remembers Ansel Adams for giving us the most dramatic landscape photographs of the century. In his autobiography, Adams says: "I often wonder at the strength and courage my father had in taking me out of the traditional school situation and providing me with these extraordinary learning experiences. I am certain he established the positive direction of my life that otherwise, given my native hyperactivity, could have been confused and catastrophic. I trace who I am and the direction of my development to those years of growing up in our house on the dunes, propelled especially by an internal spark tenderly kept alive and glowing by my father."

Parents know their children better than any teacher ever could.

Thomas Edison

In 1847, a seventh child was born to Samuel and Nancy Elliot Edison. Thomas Alva was a mischievous and inquisitive child. His parents placed him in formal school at age seven, but his active, creative nature was stifled in a rigid educational setting.
Nancy Edison, a former schoolteacher, trained her youngest son in the basics and fostered his creative, inquisitive nature. As one Edison biographer put it, "She was determined that no formalism would cramp his style, no fetters hobble in the free rein, the full sweep of his imagination." Edison himself said of his mother, "She instilled in me the love and purpose of learning."
The results of Thomas Edison's love for learning are legendary. After beginning work as a telegraph operator in 1863, Edison invented improvements to the telegraph. He went on to improve fire alarm systems, stock tickers, and the telephone transmitter, and to invent, among other things, the phonograph and the incandescent light bulb.
Thomas Edison obtained the most U.S. patents ever given to one person, and ranks as one of the greatest inventors and industrial leaders in history. He also serves as just one more example of the power of parent-directed education.

Pearl Buck

Pearl S. Buck grew up on the mission field in China, and became a famous American author and winner of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize. A lively, precocious child, she pestered her mother with countless questions. Pearl's mother, realizing that her daughter needed a creative outlet, began her education at home. She especially focused on Pearl's skill for writing, and encouraged her to write something every week. At the age of six, Pearl began writing for missionary magazines. Her writing was also published regularly by the Shanghai Mercury, an English newspaper that offered prizes for the best stories and articles written by children.
It was not surprising when Pearl decided as a young adult to become a novelist. She went on to write more than 65 books, plus hundreds of short stories and essays.
She is best known for her books dealing sympathetically with life in China, including her widely acclaimed novel, The Good Earth. In 1938, Pearl S. Buck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Although Pearl received her later education at various schools, her most significant years of academic training were spent at home. It was her mother who recognized her flair for writing and fostered her creative development.

Florence Nightingale

On May 12, 1820, a baby girl was born in Florence, Italy, to wealthy British parents. Named for the city in which she was born, Florence Nightingale was brought up to be an intelligent woman of good society. Both her mother and her father contributed to her academic and social training. While Mrs. Nightingale instructed Florence and her sister in social graces and the skill of running a large household, the girls' father taught them English grammar, history, philosophy, Latin, French, Greek, German, and Italian. Florence also received Biblical training from her parents, learning to read the New Testament in its original Greek.
When she was 16, Florence heard God's call to a special life work: easing the suffering of the sick and dying. She began withdrawing from society life to concentrate on studying health and reforms for the poor.
Florence Nightingale did much to introduce sanitary nursing methods to the whole world, especially to the battlefield. Among her many public honors, she became the first woman to receive the British Order of Merit.
Florence Nightingale and the others I mention above are just a few examples of fertile minds and pioneer spirits developed by home schooling. We have yet to see how today's home schooled children will change the world.

So True

Children have the ability to mold and make the parents as much as the parents do to mold and make the child.

Immaculate Perfection--Friend or Foe?

I wrote the following tidbit 5 years ago when I was living in Africa...

We all want a "perfect" world, though deep inside we know it doesn't exist. I'm one of those people that is constantly moving misplaced things a hairline back to where they are "supposed" to be. My idea of a clean room is spotless surfaces, no clutter.

Before I became a mommy to 4 energetic boys and an even more energetic girl, I would swear that my kid would never get his shirts dirty when he ate. I would smile with smug satisfaction at the fact that my room was always neat, and no matter what happened, I was in full control...Fast forward a few years to the present. This is the scenario:

First thing in the morning: Wake up time is here. Some early birds are already up and around! While I try to shake my tired body into a state of wakefulness, I survey the room. I can see a pile of Hotwheel cars out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, a sharp pain shoots through my foot. Quickly I inspect it to find that a teensy Lego piece is responsible for all the trouble! Further inspection reveals a trail of Legos leading to the bathroom. I look at my watch and see that time is running out. Kids need to get dressed, to breakfast, then morning devotions and finally school. The day has started! Of course the kids, after some reminders, put away their toys. The only think that irks me is the stray Lego here and there...

At the breakfast table I look on as my twins proceed to baptize their clothes in milk. What happened to those immaculate shirts I always dreamed about? My seven year old boy comes to the table and I notice new holes in his shirt. What to do? I send him back to change, knowing that there are only a few shirts of his that are still alive and "passable".

You see, once you have kids, you change. You begin to see that perfection doesn't lie in outward appearances or material things. True perfection is really imperfection, or should I say, the ability to live with imperfection and love it! When I look into my kids eyes, and see into their beautiful hearts, I see just how perfect God has made them! This helps me to have more patience with their mistakes and failings. Then I am easier on myself and my own mistakes! So we all learn and grow together!

The following poem tells it all better than I could!

If I live in a house of spotless beauty
with everything in it's place, but
have not love, I am a housekeeper,
not a homemaker.

If I live for waxing, polishing, and
decorative achievements, but
have not love, my children learn
cleanliness, not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child;
then stands aside to let the child walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens Salvation's message to a child's heart.

Before I became a parent, I took
glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God's perfection of
my children.
As a parent there are many things
I must teach my children,
but the greatest of these is Love!

(adapted from 1 Corinthians chapter 13)

The Best Teachers...

"The best teachers and parents are the ones who are able to think outside the box and put themselves in the mind-set of the children they teach. They are able to find what works and are willing to try many different techniques until they discover the best solution to helping their children learn."

excerpt from The Excellent 11, Ron Clark

What My Kids Teach Me

I realise that I'm being a tad negligent of my blogging duties. Life as a busy mom seems to have gotten even busier of late! Well, here's a little something to keep things going.

Things I've learned from my kids over the past week:

1. Kids learn better through play; especially when they play outdoors.--When they get to have more outside time, they are happier during school time, their creativity increases, and their understanding of the world around them deepens.

2. I'm the best, most beautiful mommy in the whole wide world. ;-)

3. Guiding my kids lovingly up the path of life is made a whole lot easier by setting clear boundaries and following through and what I tell them.

4. Some of the things that I have corrected my kids for (specifically my oldest boy) are things that I also do. The best way to help them learn and change is by changing myself.

5. Stories, cuddles, and talk times at bedtime are worth so so much!

I'm quite sure that I could keep adding to this list. But for now, I'll sign off with a smile...how thankful I am that I can learn something new each day and that I live such an exciting life! It's great to be a mom!

A Day in Our Lives...

I’ve never been good at keeping a diary and my journals were limited to two or three entries a year. But I really would like to try to say a little something about our family antics at least a few days each week. Hopefully that “little something” could be useful to someone!

With all that said, I will start with the highlight of today:

Making whole wheat biscuits for breakfast with my kids. YES, I’m quite sure that along with many other small miracles throughout the day, our science class, math class, and home economics class cleverly disguised as a baking project, was tops. I was filled with such a sense of fulfillment and joy as I baked with my kids early this morning.

First of all, I prayed for direction and got that I shouldn’t worry too much about the schedule. I knew that getting involved in a family baking project first thing in the morning would push our schedule back a bit. But, the kids do really learn best by doing things so enhancing their school time with a hands-on activity like baking was well worth the time! Of course, it took us twice as long to finish cooking than if I had done it all by myself. As we measured, sifted, poured, stirred, kneaded, and molded, I discussed measurements, fractions, ratios, multiplying, chemical changes, digestion, etc. I also discussed health and hygiene a bit after catching the kids sneaking bites of the raw dough! The biscuits turned out great and we had a nice bonding experience that got us off to a good start for the day!

Excellent Articles About Teaching Kids to Work

I'm on a push right now to continue to motivate my kids to become professional happy helpers. The goal is that they will eventually be self-motivated to work and help out around the house. This means tuning into their work habits and putting in the time to teach and train them. I was just realizing that though they are usually enthusiastic helpers, there is so much more they could be doing and their initiative has a lot of room to grow. As the kids were growing up I made the mistake of cleaning up after them a lot because it was the quickest thing to do. Ok, so it's never too late and I have decided that I will take the time to teach my kiddos the right way to work no matter how long it takes! Teaching a kid the correct way to clean is often quite time consuming--but it is well worth the effort! Tonight, as I was tucking my kids in bed, I asked Kyle, my five year-old, what the highlight of his day was. He smiled really big and then told me, "when I was working in the yard with daddy."

I found a BLOG yesterday which I thought was interesting. I didn't have time to do much more than skim over the posts and I liked what I saw. The BLOG's called "The Lazy Organizer" but this full-time mom is definitely not lazy! Anway, she wrote some good articles about teaching kids to work. I read the first two and was able to glean some tips. Here are the links to the series of articles for you to check out:

Part I, Whose Job is It?
Part II, Getting Rid of the Clutter
Part III, Let Them Help
Part IV, It Takes Time
Part V, Work Together
Part VI, Learn to Practice
Part VII, Make it Easy

Motivation for Little Workers

Positive statements that encourage

What a worker!
Fantastic effort!
That looks like it's going to be a great job!
You must be pleased with the work you are doing!
I appreciate your helpfulness!
Now you've got the hang of it!
This is much better!
Keep up the good work!
You are learning so much!
Wow, you really stick to your job!
You catch on real fast!
You've just about got it!
You're getting better at _____ every day!
You must have been practicing!

(--And there are many more you can use with just a little thought!)

Introduction

Parenting is not easy but it's got to be the funnest, most fulfilling job in the world! If all you do is care for your kids and pour into them, you are doing one of the most important jobs that exist! Why? Because you are molding their lives for the future. You are preparing them for the "big world out there". They are tomorrow's leaders.

I was never much of a child oriented person before I started having my own kids. I was what you could call a "career girl", ambitiously looking for adventure. When my precious kids came into my life, I discovered something wonderful: these little ones that God sent my way were amazing and quite the adventure!

Kids are so smart and learn much faster and easier than we adults do, they have so much faith, they cheer us up in our lowest moments, they are a ready and willing sponge, ready to soak up any input that you give them, they are adorable, and the list can go on and on.

If we as parents, learn to turn each minute with our children into a time of discovery as well as communication, then we will already be giving them a good foundation for their lives. When a child feels free to explore in order to discover, he/she learns to love the learning that comes with the exploration and subsequent discovery! And, if the experience is enhanced with communication, he/she learns to relate what is learned to the world around him/her.

I have often been guilty of impatience with my kids resulting in unwittingly cutting a delightful learning opportunity short. Many mistakes have been made due to being so busy with the important things in "my world" to the neglect of my child's world...which in reality is like the sun of "my world". Without it, my world would die.

But, it's never too late. Mistakes and all, we must continue on! After all, how can we become professional parents and teachers if we never make mistakes we can learn from?