Category Archives: School Days
Homeschooling Tips My Children Have Taught Me
My three children had missed homeschooling for a week due to sickness.
Allen got an upset tummy from something he had eaten; he was just recovering when a fever came around, putting him back in bed for the next few days.
My other two got fevers as well, and homeschooling took a nosedive for the next several days.
Over the weekend, their health was picking up, and by the start of the new week, I thought we could start out slowly with some homeschooling, just to get back in the groove.
We started out very slowly.
Usually, school time begins around 10:00 am for them; today it was noon before we opened the school books.
I tried to keep in mind that it had been over a week since their last lesson and might take a bit of time before a couple young kids would “get into it” again.
Still, it was difficult to keep from becoming frustrated, as Allen spent most of the morning either staring off into space or crying at absolutely-nothing-in-particular.
His behavior was quite a departure from my usually happy little boy.
Jessica, on the other hand, had decided that she needed to do the whole last week’s worth of school in one day because she had been sick.
She spent so much time insisting on it that she was accomplishing absolutely nothing.
I assured her that we could go at her pace today.
Needless to say, it was not the most productive school day we had experienced.
As a homeschooling mother, it isn’t always easy to find the right balance between school and life.
There are some inspired and wonderful teachers and parents who turn every moment in life into an educational experience for a child, without the child even realizing that they are “learning”.
Life is just one great experience after another and the parent manifests that in every moment of the day. They just make learning fun, exciting, and unforgettable experiences on a daily basis.
It is great when a parent, especially a homeschooling one, can make education fun for children.
Especially when they are young, children need more excitement, interaction, and inspiration … and less sit-down book work.
The thing is, I’ve always been a more “textbook” type of person and naturally take this approach with my homeschooling.
Although I have adapted various ideas and tips to try to make learning fun, it’s easier for me to explain a lesson on paper than to pull out a variety of ingredients for an impromptu science lesson.
On good days, I tell myself it takes all kinds, and as long as I am dedicated and manifest patience and love, my children will learn that which is most important.
On bad days, I fear that my children will end up with a lopsided education and rue the fact that their mother ever thought she could homeschool her kids.
Most days are a mixture of good and bad.
Here are a few homeschooling tips I’ve picked up along the way
Start each homeschool day with something special.
For young kids, this homeschool tip doesn’t have to be hard.
You can keep it simple.
- Show them a bug you found in the garden that morning
- Play a funny song from YouTube
- Try drawing a sketch of the child for a few laughs
- Even better, let them try to draw your portrait
Have a reward system.
The rewards can be as simple as a sticker chart which, once filled, can be exchanged for a treat – a snack or an extra video.
Offering a reward of some kind, for things like …
- good behavior
- positive attitude
- completing something in school
… gives your student something to look forward to.
Be consistent and fair with the reward system and children will look forward to it.
Allow spontaneity in your homeschooling.
You do have goals and requirements, but at the same time, a dull and uninspired child will work slowly and perform poorly.
If you notice they are slowing down or lacking inspiration, break it up!
- Introduce a new idea
- Take a break outside
- Teach a live class
- Do something to bring new vision into their day
The idea of this homeschooling tip is simply to let yourself have fun as their parent as well as their teacher.
Give yourself the space you need.
I think this is the most important of the homeschooling tips I’ve learned, personally.
Do whatever it is you need to be the best homeschooling teacher for your kids.
Yes, you can strive to be inspired and happy, but on some days you might need to sit them in front of a video or have them quietly read books so you can have a bit of me-time.
Every day can be a wonderful learning experience, but you don’t have to feel like you need to perform, as my mom would put it, a song and a dance on a daily basis to keep your kids learning.
I’m beginning to learn to also follow my kids’ lead. They need guidelines and schedules, yes, but just like us big people, sometimes they need a longer break or even a day off.
Kids are often the best teachers we have, and their exuberance and wonder can rub off on anyone, of any age.
Pretty fair trade, I’d say.
Note: this blog post was originally written in 2011; updated in January 2021.
Image Boy Reading a Book — by © S. Seckinger/zefa/Corbis
8 Ways to Prepare for the New School Year
Whether we’re discussing the upcoming school year, the school year that just ended, or a number of other things going on in the world today, “unprecedented” is a word that comes to mind.
It seems to be an apt description for schools closing from one week to the next, stay-at-home orders across the nation, and coronavirus cases rising from week to week.
Some aspects of this time just feel so strange because … well, so little seems to have changed, yet at the same time, so much has changed.
By so little, I mean the day-to-day life for many families with children likely remains more or less the same. At least during the summer before the new school year begins. Of course, there are fewer trips out and few (or zero) visits to friends’ houses, but if you and your family members have not directly suffered from COVID-19, it can feel like a lot of waiting around.
By so much, I mean the fact that schools have closed, summer camps are not an option, concerts and church services are a no-go, and shopping (along with many other activities) must be done with a mask.
I’d venture to say that, in some ways, children are doing better with these changes then their adult counterparts. Children are incredibly resilient and tend to more easily roll with the punches and adjust to the changes that 2020 has brought our way.
Even so, as parents, there is much we can and should do to help our children both adjust to and prepare for the continued changes that are coming.
One of those changes has to do with the upcoming school year.
Although we had a taste of it during the final quarter of the last school year, many students and school-aged children are embarking on something new and different as the new school year begins.
In this post, we’ll discuss eight ways to help your child prepare for the new school year … as it is bound to be a unique and unprecedented one.
1. Keep up with the reading
If you know me at all, you know this is going to be at the top of the list.
Reading is so important.
If you have a young child who is not yet reading on their own, read to them every day.
One of the best books I’ve read recently is this one:
| The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction By Meghan Cox Gurdon / Harper Paperbacks 304 pages, softcover. Harper. |
The Enchanted Hour highlights just how important it is to read aloud to your child. Reading aloud every evening or sometime during your day makes a huge and lasting difference in so many ways.
Do yourself a favor and borrow The Enchanted Hour from your library or get the book on Amazon. One thing it highlights is how reading aloud is not only for young children; it can be a family event for children of all ages.
If your child is already of reading age, find them a few books that will capture their attention. You might feel that your child is “not a reader” but nearly every child will read if it’s the right book for them.
If nothing else, reading will give them something to do during a summer when your child is far more likely than usual to play the boredom card.
If you have a child in the lower elementary grades, reading with them and having them read to you will help them practice a vital skill they will need in the new school year.
2. Prepare your child for new skills
Every school year moves your child up a grade, presenting new concepts and their accompanying challenges. Math can be a particularly challenging subject for many children, whether they are learning addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, or fractions and equations.
It can only help your child to brush up on these concepts and prepare for new skills before the new school year begins.
I’ve mentioned Khan Academy before and I’ll mention it again because it is a free resource with hundreds of videos explaining math and other subjects at every level, from kindergarten up through college prep.
Other helpful skills to practice or introduce include penmanship and handwriting, creative writing, reading comprehension, and grammar skills.
3. Talk about the upcoming school year’s changes
Whether you plan to homeschool, do remote learning, or hire a tutor, among other options, the upcoming school year will undoubtedly hold changes.
One of the best ways you can prepare for these changes is to talk about them with your child. Keep the discussion age-appropriate and try not to introduce ideas or problems that might make them fearful or anxious.
There is a lot going on around us with the coronavirus pandemic and plenty that we could be worried about. But one of the most important tasks we have as parents is to maintain a positive attitude about these things and to speak with hope and confidence as we navigate the changes and lead our children through them.
If your child has access to social media, or hears the news on radio, or even sees headlines on YouTube channels, these various sources can cause questions. Depending on the sources, they can also cause anxiety and fear.
A vital aspect of positive parenting is to invite open dialogue, appropriate to their age and comprehension, not only in regards to the upcoming school year but any other questions they might have about the coronavirus and the various effects it is having on our communities and the world around us.
These kinds of conversations can help us as parents, too. When we’re making the effort to find the positive and maintain a hopeful demeanor for the present circumstances and the future of COVID-19 as we speak to our children, we can also find the positive aspects for ourselves.
4. Create a schedule for the new school year
I am an absolute professional when it comes to making schedules. Color-coded, divided into half-hour segments, including every day of the week and even a plan A or plan B depending on what’s going on.
Keeping those schedules is another matter entirely. I am preaching to myself here when I say that the best schedule you can make is the one that you can keep … and that your family can keep, no matter how simple it might be.
You might have more or less say over the specifics of your daily schedule depending on whether you are homeschooling your child or they are attending a remote school or tutoring part-time, etc.
If you create a schedule for the entire day, you’ll want to incorporate time for breaks, snacks, exercise, and daily chores. You might institute school “periods” where your child does the same subject at the same time every day.
Another option is to focus on two or three subjects each day rather than fitting in every subject on every school day. For example, Monday and Wednesday for Math and Science; Tuesday and Thursday for English and Social Studies; and Friday for Creative Writing, quizzes, and catch-up.
5. Adjust the schedule to fit your child
I asked my younger son what he thinks would be an important thing to do to prepare for the upcoming school year. He said that he thinks having a precise schedule would be the best thing to do because that way he knows what to expect every day.
I asked my older son the same question. He said he would like to take it one day at a time. (And yes I am homeschooling both my boys this year, so your prayers are appreciated; they are very different and the same schedule will likely not work for both of them.)
At the same time, I realize we need at least some regularity, so I am attempting to create a schedule that has structure but is also breathable. (I’ll tell you how it goes.)
Some kids focus on schoolwork better in the morning hours, while others might find it more natural to settle down to their homework after finishing their chores and getting some exercise.
The weather also makes a difference in the schedule. When it’s hot in late summer, you might have a P.E. period in the morning, but once the weather cools into autumn and winter, you might move exercise to later in the day.
6. Make a dedicated space in the home for school work
When I was a homeschooling teenager, I had two favorite places to do my homework: a recliner in the living room, and the floor in my bedroom. When it came to writing and math, I would usually obey my mom and head to the dining room table, but when I was reading, I would usually find myself in my favorite spaces.
As a mother and a teacher, I generally encourage my kids to work at the desks that my husband built for them. Still, one of my sons gravitates toward the dining room table instead of his desk when he has the choice.
I used to be a little more strict about the places my kids could do their schoolwork, but then I read this book:
I think the book should be required reading for anyone who teaches. It’s even helpful for those who have no inclination towards teaching but who need to help their kids with homework in the afternoons and on into the evenings.
The book does not only discuss learning styles but also other aspects of the learning environment and how different people – children and adults alike – tend to work better in certain environments.
For instance, children who are auditory learners would do better in an environment that doesn’t have a lot of sound distractions. If your office is in the same room and you’re frequently on the phone with work calls, your child will tune into your conversation no matter how often you tell them to focus on what’s in front of them.
If I, as an adult, have ways I work best, it is the same for my kids.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can let your kid recline on the bed and do homework on their pillow. (If nothing else this would be detrimental to their handwriting skills.) But it is helpful to understand the ideal learning environment for your child as you create a dedicated space for homework.
For instance, children who are auditory learners would do better in an environment that doesn’t have a lot of sound distractions. If your office is in the same room and you’re frequently on the phone with work calls, your child will tune into your conversation no matter how often you tell them to focus on what’s in front of them.
Whether it’s a corner of the dining room table, a desk in the den, or a small table and chair in their room, your child will more easily adjust to “school time” when they have a dedicated place for learning.
7. Have fun with back-to-school shopping
(Even if the school will be at home)
We all need something to look forward to. For some people, back-to-school shopping is probably a chore while others enjoy the idea of picking out notebooks and pencil cases, backpack and P.E. shoes.
In our family household, the new school year usually consists of me looking through our existing stock of pencils and notebooks and folders to see what is actually needed. I then organize my shopping accordingly.
However, one thing that became a back-to-school tradition was to go shopping with the kids to pick out snacks to go with their school lunches and recess breaks.
Back-to-School Shopping cannot be done in the usual manner this year. If nothing else, it will involve putting on a mask before you enter each store. But it can still be something to look forward to.
You can opt for an online back-to-school shopping session as you purchase school supplies on Amazon
If you have more than one child, you can schedule a one-on-one shopping trip with each of them. (Carting several kids around with masks as you go in to and out of stores and try on clothes and find the best deals is not my idea of fun, but making it into a unique event with each child could end up being a special experience.)
8. Go through a practice run of a school day
Given the unique personalities of each child, this step will be more important for some children than others. However, some children will appreciate an “experiment day” as you go through what a school day will be like once the new school year begins.
You can also work out any possible kinks or complications that you find in your schedule. For example, my kids and I have just begun going through one of our subjects early, because it’s a new curriculum and I wanted to get a feel for it before the upcoming school year begins.
However, I realize that the time we set aside for it is not the ideal time because it is roughly the same time that my husband returns from work; I usually like to make tea for both of us and hear how his day was.
These are the kinds of things you can adjust if you try them out early to see how it works and if it works.
Closing Thoughts
It is going to be a different school year, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good one. Amidst the changes and uncertainty, one of the most important things we can do for our children is to maintain a positive attitude as we approach the upcoming school year with hope and enthusiasm.
All the best as you prepare for the 2020 to 2021 school year with your family!
Free Educational Websites for Your Kids to Keep Learning During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Teenage Girl Using Laptop in Library — Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis
A few days ago, I posted some suggestions for activities you can do with your children, given that schools across the United States and Europe are closed, and many communities have been given the mandate to “shelter at home” to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
This blog post provides a list of educational websites offering free content for children. The list is loosely divided into grade levels so you can scroll down to your child’s or children’s age level. Many articles have a list of websites, but no additional information as far as which ones work well, which ones have hidden fees, what ages they are best for, etc. So, in addition to links, you’ll find at least a short description for each of the sites.
I hope this article proves helpful as you navigate the world of homeschooling, at least for the short time, while we’re waiting and praying for the COVID-19 pandemic to blow over without too much long-term damage.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are on the front lines offering healthcare assistance, maintaining order, and serving the community during this time.
All School Ages
1. 123 Home School 4 Me
123homeschool4me.com has free printable worksheets for all ages. Their website states, “We have over 300,000+ FREE worksheets for toddler, preschool, and K-12. Our free educational printables cover alphabet letters, math, language arts, history, geography, and more.”
2. Google Arts and Culture Partners
I mentioned this in a previous post, but Google Arts and Culture has collections from hundreds of partners worldwide, including museums, national collections, and galleries. You can “visit” one museum each day and still not be done by the time the coronavirus pandemic passes. With Google’s street-view feature, your kids can tour New York’s Guggenheim Museum or Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum while waiting for the COVID-19 danger to pass.
3. Khan Academy
Khan Academy is pretty amazing. Each of my kids has a profile, which I encourage them to use during the summer when they’re not in school. They also have an app for younger children (ages 2 – 7) and recently published an article on how to use Khan Academy for remote learning, including a daily schedule with links to all kinds of resources.
An especially helpful aspect of Khan Academy is the fact that they have an almost endless supply of math material – for every grade and on into high school and beyond. For someone like me (not especially strong in the math arena), it’s great to have a resource to fall back on when I can’t explain a math concept to my teenager.
Preschool – 2nd Grade
4. Starfall
Starfall.com has a lot of fun, education material that you can access without an account. Most of their free, interactive material is geared for the kindergarten level. If you choose to get an account, it’s $30 for a year of full access.
This was one of the main educational websites I used with my kids when they were in the early-learning stage. It has activities that teach phonics.
5. Education.com
Education.com offers printable worksheets, lesson plans, guided lessons, and online games. You can create a free account as a parent, and your child will be able to access a few things before a window pops up that says you’ve reached your basic membership limit for the month. However, the pricing for this website is quite economical; it costs $3.49 a month for access to worksheets, $5.00 a month for printables and digital, and $6.00 a month for full access to all the material.
2nd – 5th Grade
6. Typing Club
Typing Club is the new Mavis Beacon. This website doesn’t require you to create an account, although if you do so, you can track your stats and progress. It teaches touch typing for free. Your child can also take a placement test to gauge how much they know and determine where they belong in learning to touch type.
While touch typing might not seem as important as in eras past, there is still a lot to be said for kids learning to become familiar with the letters and numbers on a keyboard. And it is a lot easier to learn with a website and app than with an old typewriter and sheets of paper.
7. Scholastic Learn at Home
Scholastic Learn at Home provides “day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing” during the coronavirus pandemic. You can choose a grade level and access the material for your kids/students. You’ll find links to all kinds of interesting information for a variety of ages. This single website can keep your kids occupied and learning for a good, long while.
4th – 6th Grade
8. TED-Ed
TED-Ed offers hundreds of educational videos, most around 5 minutes in length. Each video also has a “think” section that asks a series of multiple-choice questions, a “dig deeper” section that has links to other sources, and a “discuss” section where folks can join the conversation.
Video categories include Health, Literature and Language, The Arts, Thinking and Learning, Social Studies, Science and Technology, and much more. This website is ideal for children who enjoy learning random facts and information about a lot of different things. You don’t need to create an account to access the videos and material.
Junior High / High School
9. Coursera
Coursera collaborates with nearly 200 universities and companies to provide lessons in skills, including business analytics and graphic design. They offer career preparation and students can even earn a degree or certificate from various universities. You can create an account and access the courses for free, but if you want grades or certificates, this requires payment.
10. EdX
EdX is a pretty awesome online learning medium. You can choose from over 2,500 verified online courses on topics such as Computer Science, Language, Data Science, Engineering, History, Literature, Physics, Math, and Humanities. You’ll need to create an account to access the courses, but they are all free and many of them are self-paced. You can also earn verified certificates in the courses, which usually cost $60.00 to $90.00 per course.
11. DuoLingo
DuoLingo is a language-learning website (also a free app) that offers free lessons in numerous languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Welsh, Hindi, Latin, and many more. Users can also simultaneously learn more than one language. Last year, my daughter was learning Spanish while I took lessons in Hindi and tried my hand at Irish Gaelic.
Closing Thoughts
I plan to be updating this blog post regularly as I and my kids try out other online educational resources during our time learning from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hope these are helpful, and feel free to leave a comment if you’ve found a great website you’d like to share, or if you have tried out any of the above websites and enjoyed using them with your kids (or didn’t).
Be blessed and stay safe and healthy as a family.
Activities To Do with Kids Stuck at Home during Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)
Many communities have chosen to take proactive measures to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic, and hundreds of schools across the nation will be closed for the next few weeks. The question many parents have now is, “What are we supposed to do with our kids during the coronavirus pandemic?”
Here are a few practical suggestions of things you can do with your children as your family practices social isolation to keep yourself and others safe from COVID-19.
1. Go On a Few Virtual Museum Tours
Hundreds of museums worldwide are offering virtual tours, which you can access through Google Arts and Culture. These include art museums, national galleries, and photo images. Their virtual tours are ideal for kids stuck at home and bored due to the COVID-19 precautions.
If your child has an interest in art, they can check out amazing art forms from other cultures, such as Chinese Shadow Puppetry or explore historical art forms including modern art, cubism, post-impressionism, canvas painting, etc.
If they like exploring historical sites, they can “virtually visit” a number of places in India and learn lots about culture and history, or take a virtual visit to the ruins of Pompeii.
2. Plant a Vegetable Garden
It’s nearly spring, and growing things are starting to, well, spring up. Why not make the most of it? Whether you have a lot of space in your yard or a few sunny windowsills, you can grow something with your kids.
A few easy plants to start with include green beans and peas, zucchini, carrots and potatoes, and tomatoes. Some need more space, more or less sunshine, and varying amounts of water, so do your homework before getting started. You can even find apps for vegetable gardening to help make it easier.
If you don’t have a lot of space, perhaps start with an herb garden. Hopefully, by the time the coronavirus pandemic blows over, you’ll find your family has taken positive steps toward being self-sustaining as a household.
3. Get into Coloring (Again)
The popularity of adult coloring books is on the rise, as they are known to offer stress-relieving benefits. The same goes for children. In other words, this is an activity you can do together with your children.
A few great adult coloring books include Be Blessed! Adult Coloring Book
4. Take on a Home Improvement Project
Remember that bedroom you’ve been wanting to paint forever or the bookshelves you need to organize? Now might be a good time. Of course, the ages of your children will have a bearing on what project you choose to tackle.
If nothing else, as long as you are all healthy, you can probably pull off a decent spring cleaning together.
5. Educate Your Family about the Coronavirus
Students Working in a Computer Lab — Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis
This might be stating the obvious, but take the time to learn the facts about COVID-19 and the coronavirus. This means check out official websites that provide accurate information. Yes, you can laugh about and share memes, but don’t depend on them for your understanding of the novel coronavirus.
Nations and states within nations, for the most part, have websites that offer up-to-date information about the effects of the virus in that area. Stay informed by tracking the latest COVID-19 updates in your city and state.
A website that offers frequent overall updates on the coronavirus is Pharmaceutical Technology’s page on the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.
The Kids’ Health website also provides a good amount of information on their page, “Understanding Coronavirus,” including an article specifically for kids: “Coronavirus: What Kids Can Do.”
6. Keep Your Children Learning
Thankfully, it looks like plenty of free educational resources are popping up all over the place. For instance, Scholastic has released a Learn at Home resource on its website, with daily projects geared for different grade levels.
The editors of Scholastic Magazine make this statement:
Even when schools are closed, you can keep the learning going with these special cross-curricular journeys. Every day includes four separate learning experiences, each built around a thrilling, meaningful story or video. Kids can do them on their own, with their families, or with their teachers. Just find your grade level and let the learning begin!
Closing Thoughts
I hope these few ideas help you to transform these uncertain days into a positive time for your children. If your kids are anything like mine, they’re probably looking at things they’ll be missing. They might be feeling disoriented and disappointed. It’s our responsibility to guide them through this time.
Hopefully, looking back on the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, your kids won’t just remember it as the time that people bought out all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but as the time their family grew closer together and learned plenty in spite of schools being closed and events getting canceled.
Be blessed and stay safe as a family.
Gathering Days
Off they go gathering days in their pockets like so many found items, dandelion wands and stones that make magic, fallen leaves from trees and shells that could be from another world altogether.
But now it’s days that blend into each other like magic that can’t be undone … and as you kiss your son goodbye one morning you find that he is almost as tall as you, and your daughter has begun to borrow your clothes, and the youngest (who has always asked so many questions) now asks ones you have no answer for.
As they head out the door for another school day you want to tell them everything they will ever need to know (if only you knew it), so you kiss them back (and for the one not so much into affection, you simply say “I love you” and “Have a good day”) as you watch them head out to gather another day, hoping they will tuck it as tightly into their pockets as you do.
Bye for the Day, Mom
If you had driven
Down Shields Avenue
Past a school at roughly
9:37 am
You might have seen a brown-haired boy
With glasses, and a button-blue shirt tucked in
Standing against the black steel fence
Waving
A score of other children swung and hula-hooped and dribbled balls and played tag
Forgive the boy waving
As if at the cars driving by
Or those waiting at the bus stand just past the parking lot
Or at nothing at all
He was waving to his mother
He was waving to me
The Best A Parent Can Do (School Begins)
School begins in less than a week for my children. For many school districts, it is already in full swing, having begun on the 17th, or even the 10th, of August.
Many parents, mothers especially, are thrilled about school starting up again. I have seen numerous posts with humorous photos and quotes about the fact that kids will be heading back to school. They will be looked after for the greater part of the weekdays. They will be educated. They won’t be around to say, “I’m bored.”
But I have mixed feelings about the start of the 2015-2016 school year. Last school year was a challenge for each of my children. As I mentioned in an article for the CAA Newsletter earlier this summer, my two older children brought schoolwork home nearly every afternoon. And they didn’t always finish it.
It was my youngest son’s first year at school, which held its own set of challenges. I spent a few hours at their school on most days, so my son began to expect having me around. When I had to leave each day to attend my own classes, he grew very emotional. A couple of times, he had emotional meltdowns. Once he ran out into the parking lot to say goodbye, when I was still inside the school and had no idea he had gone outside.
Although the summer has been filled with my work-from-home editing projects, it has been wonderful to have the kids at home. Nearby. It’s been fun to read in the evenings (Lord of the Rings with my ten-year-old; the Little House series with my eight-year-old). We’ve enjoyed baking projects, party planning, and camping. We got a puppy and figured out how to house-train her. The summer has flown past.
On the same day my kids start school, I start classes as well. I’ve registered for 20 units, and will also be helping out at the kids’ school part-time, not counting my freelance editing work. Needless to say, our days will grow a lot more packed. Maybe that’s what contributes to my mixed feelings about the upcoming school year. Will I be able to juggle everything and still make time for those things every parent should be able to fit in? Like reading with the kids or taking day trips on the weekend? Will the days be consumed with homework … mine and theirs? Will I grow short-tempered and sharp because my mind is on a myriad of tasks?
Those are some of my concerns, but I know all parents have their unique set of concerns and questions. Kids starting new schools, or leaving home for the first time. Will they make friends? Will they do well in school? Will they have kind teachers?
In spite of the questions, the best we can do is pray. For this school year, yes. For their workload and friendships, for their education and growth.
And also for the future. That each thing they learn, each difficulty they confront, each challenge they face, will be part of what grows them into caring, loving, well-balanced adults. Those who, most of all, love God, love others. Those who know how much they are loved and cherished by us parents, who hardly know how to express it. And by God, who expressed it best in the love of His own Son.
What Kids Wish the Bible Would Say
Kindergarten placement testing. That moment of truth where you know whether your efforts in early learning, flash cards, and countless stories made a difference. Whether those moments counting everything in sight, sorting, categorizing, and teaching your toddler (then preschooler, then child) to follow directions were effective.
I had been both anticipating and dreading the moment. He is my youngest, and since our middle child began attending school in fall of 2011, it had been just the two of us during school hours.
But it was also a time of change for our family. I started school again, and began working from home as an editor and ghostwriter. Amidst all that, I knew I did not give him as much time and focus – scholastically speaking – as our first two children.
Hence the mingling of anticipation and trepidation. The defining moment arrived. Our van was in the shop so my dad dropped us off at the school he would be attending in the fall. I waited in the office while he took the test.
Finally, the door opened. The kindergarten teacher walked up the hallway, approaching us. My son followed her. She stopped by the principal’s office and he ran up to me. “Mommy, I did very, very, well.”
Well, that was a good sign, especially since he doesn’t normally use the words “very,” especially twice in a sentence. Maybe he heard it straight from his prospective teacher.
She called me into the office and showed me how he did. She turned the pages of the test, explaining briefly what he had been asked to do on each one. He aced following directions, did well in problem solving, and thinking skills (probably talked a blue streak while working out certain problems). He struggled with the page on phonics. Overall, besides the phonics page, the teacher said that he did “very, very well.”
I was happy. My teaching had been at least relatively successful. Even though I hadn’t given him all the attention and focus that I had wanted to, he was definitely ready for kindergarten. It was all good.
My son played outside while we waited for my dad to pick us up. After a few minutes, he came to sit beside me. “Mommy, I wish sometimes that the Bible would tell us that we don’t have to be nice to each other. I wish it would say that we can be selfish and think about ourselves.”
I blinked, taken aback at his statement, but thankful for his honesty. My other two kids had never said anything like that, especially not at five years old. I tried not to overreact. After all, he wasn’t angry. He was just expressing how he felt. About something rather important, in my point of view.
I said, “Well, let’s think about how life would be if the Bible told us that we could do whatever we wanted. What would the world look like if people did anything they wanted to?”
His eyes glazed over. It was clearly too nebulous of a question. I realized I’d have to bring it home a little closer.
“What if the farmers didn’t feel like doing their work and decided to do something else instead? Or the truck drivers who bring food from the farms chose to stop bringing things like milk, fruits, and vegetables to the stores? Then we wouldn’t have anything to buy. What if the people who keep the streets safe or keep the traffic lights working decided they didn’t want to help people and went home?”
He was quiet, but I could tell he was thinking about it.
“What if Mommy decided I didn’t want to take care of you for a little while? What if I felt like going to a trip to the mountains so I could read and write?”
He looked at me and laughed. It was a small laugh, as if he wasn’t sure whether I was joking or not.
“I would never do something like that, and I’m happy to take care of you because I love you.”
He seemed satisfied with my answer. Usually, if he didn’t agree with something, he would either continue the discussion or stalk off in a huff (and then I’d have to reason with him a little more).
So my youngest son entered kindergarten. I no longer have him with me for the majority of the day. Does that mean my job is ended? Not by a long shot. That single conversation showed me just how important and vital my role as a mother is. And I’m in it for the long haul.
Only God knows what kinds of questions he will come up with on his own, much less what kinds of attitudes and perspective he will face when he enters school. He will likely bring home or store up in his mind many new thoughts and questions, things he will need to weigh up against the foundations that my husband and I have taught him and are teaching him.
I am tempted to get overwhelmed by the responsibility, rearing a child – not scholastically, but spiritually and morally. Teaching Him about God and truth and love. What threatens to alarm me most is that I can give this little man all the information in the world, but only God can do the work in his heart.
But I can help. I can help by praying. By “raising him up in the way he should go,” by loving him and reasoning with him and keeping an open dialogue with him, and with his brother and sister, as they learn and grow. By giving them solid input and informing them of all sides of deep, foundational issues. By having the courage to let them come to their conclusions. Then I can pray some more, that the conclusions will be good one, and that they will grow into courageous and compassionate grownups.
At the end, that’s the very best I can hope and pray for … for any of the upcoming generation.
I Know God Has a Plan for Me – A Child’s Essay
By Jessica, 10 years old
I know that God knows me because he says it in his Word. God knows that my name is Jessica and that I like to read. He knows it is important for me to have Godly character. It will help me obey him like King David did. He knows that I mostly have the character traits of faith, and gentleness. God even knows I would like to have the character trait of patience with others.
God helps me just like he helped David. When it comes to temptation just like David did, I can ask God to help me. God will always help me resist temptations. He helped me once when I was tempted because I saw two Hershey kisses on a shelf. I wanted to eat one, but instead I asked God to help me not to be tempted, and he did.
God had a plan for David, and he has a plan for me. God chose David to be king, because David did not think about riches. Instead he thought about God and how to please him. God also has a plan for my life. I think God’s plan for my life is for me to be a missionary, or to write children’s stories about his love.
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