I view the home education of my children as a lifestyle choice. It is not a job that I hold Monday- Friday between the hours of 8am and 4pm and it is certainly not something I can turn on and off, like a switch.
I am both mother and teacher, always. There is no time that I cease being mother to become teacher or vice versa. Like motherhood, homeschooling is really 24/7 and it is fully integrated into our lives. We are truly cultivating a lifestyle of learning.
I find homeschooling my children to be both wonderful and challenging and sometimes, it is wonderfully challenging.
It is filled with rewards and splashed with moments of feeling unqualified, discouraged, and even unappreciated.
I believe that if we are to truly to embrace the home education of our children, we cannot simply limit ourselves to the traditional subjects. Nor, should we feel a need to separate the subjects from one another.
My goal as a mother has always been to prepare my children for a life outside of our home. Of course I want to prepare them in practical ways, but I also want to prepare them spiritually. And if I can spare them some of my mistakes along the way, well, what mother wouldn’t want to do that?
Gratitude is a spiritual lesson that is closely connected with contentment. If you can be truly content with whatever you have, that is a blessing. Think of all the dangers and temptations that are born out of discontent, is that not reason enough to focus on cultivating an attitude of gratitude?
This week I started a gratitude journal with the boys (first grade). Research has proven that showing daily gratitude can increase your happiness and change your life! Why wouldn’t I want that for my children? Of all the lessons I must teach them in life, I believe this is one of the most important lessons they must learn at an early age.
I am striving to teach them to look at their world with eyes of gratitude. I do not correct what they are thankful for and I certainly do not tell them what they should be grateful for. Instead they know that must complete 1 page each day, every day.
When I record our time spent on our gratitude journals, using typical school subjects, it fits the bill for Language arts: writing and handwriting. It may even be loosely described as art, because they illustrate the words in their journal.
However, at the heart of it, it is so much more. And I am grateful for that.
– Teacher Mom
P.S
Verses concerning contentment:
Philippians 4:10-12
1 Timothy 6:6-7
Resources used:
Handwriting without Tears Draw and write notebook
Beautifully said!:)
Just found your blog and boy, what a find! This post is just beautiful. Homeschooling really is a lifestyle choice and is wonderful challenging.
We will start our gratitude journals today! We do this for our spelling words each day, but I love the idea of promoting perpetual gratefulness. Thanks.
Absolutely beautifully said. I do not home school- I am a teacher in a primary school. I teach like you do. Everything is immersed into one another- I call in whole curriculum approach- if we are learning about bees- then everything is based around that topic. Daily journal writing is a wonderful opportunity for children to write and know that they are not going to be 'marked' on it. It is their free expression to put their thoughts on paper.
Your littlies are very lucky to have you as their Mum and their teacher.
I have kept a Gratitude Journal in the past and really enjoyed looking back through it to see all the things I mentioned (maybe I need to start that again). When I taught 4th grade, I would have students do this in their daily journals from time to time. Thanks for inspiring me!
Beautiful. Your kids are so blessed! I suspect that you are also keeping a gratitude journal of your own…no better way to teach than to model in your own life. Contentment and gratitude are two life skills that should be purposefully taught, there just isn't enough of either in this world!
Thanks for sharing this. I am truly inspired by this idea & shall implement it right away. Also, was touched by Mrs. Tenkely's comment.
Gratitude journals are the best!! For an adult or child, a gratitude journal opens up awareness to all the great things that surround us each day. It's amazing that something as simple as developing a habit of gratitude, can transform our lives.