As I prep myself for the upcoming school year (First Grader! Fifth Grader! Sixth Grader! and Baby!), I'm reminding myself of what I wrote.
What Makes Me Feel Our "School" is Successful
AKA- What is Really Most Important to Me
AKA- What Gives Me Joy
1. Reading lots of wonderful books aloud- chapter books, picture books, biographies, etc.
2.When these books get into our heart and mind and make us feel and think.
3. The children doing lots of pleasure reading.
4.Natural writing- letters, stories, comics, drawings, journals.
5. Practical work- chores, helping a sibling, tying shoes (though this is not my strong suit when it comes to teaching)
6. Outdoor play and activity!
7. The appreciation and practice of art and music.
8. Kindness. Contentment. Good attitudes.
9. A math curriculum that teaches itself so I don't have to (or very little teaching from me!). Thank you Teaching Textbooks! We may never be a math family and that's okay. We will, however, survive it.
10. When my kids care about what we're learning Which won't always be the case, but it's lovely when they do.
This list is word-for-word out my planner. Next Friday I will be childless, except for the baby, and I will have a day of prayer and planning for the 2015-16 school year. Some challenges are ahead, including some therapy for some learning troubles, and the math stress that doesn't seem to want to go away. Oh, and a baby who doesn't always like to nap.
Friends, could you pray for me? Pray for my kiddos? As I seek the Lord about his priorities for our upcoming year, pray that I hear Him. Pray that I rest in Him. And pray that we would strive for his measure of success and no one else's.
And please, this is really on my heart, leave a comment about how I can pray for YOU as you get ready for the new school year.
2 comments:
I needed to be reminded of that part about striving for God's measure of success, not my own not anyone else's. Please keep me in your prayers regarding my own planning and preparing, as we gear for our first official year of HS and our first official year for my youngest, with the two in between as well. I love the photo of you reading to all of them perfectly precious!
Stephanie I love reading these blog posts about your homeschool, they are so encouraging for a newbie like me. Your list of things you love is great and it inspires me to with God's help cultivate a natural learning environment at home. I will certainly pray for you all for this school year :) I am excited about doing kindergarten stuff with my eldest this year, but I'm also nervous because I become side-tracked by non-school stuff pretty easily. I have a hard time sticking to a routine, even a loose one. I guess you could say i'm one of those people who likes looking at organizational/schedule ideas on Pinterest rather than actually implementing them, haha. So I think I need prayer this year for consistency, being intentional in how I prioritize learning time and for *perseverance*.
Praying you all have an extra blessed week.
Love, Kendra
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