Trust Your Child’s Natural Desire to Learn
I casually asked our 15-year-old how his biology studies were going. “It’s not as terrible as I expected.”
I was reminded once again that no one can force a love for learning into their kids. It’s ALWAYS a process.
We’ve been homeschooling over 20 years (8 kids). It still surprises me the odd times at which teachable moments happen, and 99% of the time they aren’t created by me.
I’ve learned over the years to do far more observing than initiating, and I find that my kids and teachable moments seem to intersect more naturally than most people think.
But it takes a certain amount of faith in a child’s natural desire to learn and the unique process it is for each one. Most of us believe that each child is unique, so it makes sense that their learning curves would be vast and varied.
Every now and then, I step back and take into account where each of our children is in his or her development…yes, even the semi-adults who live in our house because the learning doesn’t stop just because they have a high school diploma.
We have graduated 5 and have 3 to go. Two who just graduated live with us. They are headed different directions, but are both life-long learners like the rest of our kids.
These boys are forging their ways into life and coming by their opportunities honestly. This is something that money can’t buy…hard earned respect and a good name.
Both are continuing to learn, BUT they also know what they are passionate about. They are willing to pay their dues to get where they want to go. It doesn’t matter if they have found their passions; if they don’t have work ethic to go along with it, they won’t get very far.
As a mom, I am finding great reward in watching our kids move forward well in life. It’s the long-awaited harvest of countless seeds sown over many years, and it overshadows all the doubts and struggles that are an inevitable part of the homeschooling journey.
But it didn’t come by being in a hurry. It came ever so slowly, being faithful in the little things which, as it turns out, are really the big things.
Every homeschooling mom struggles with wondering if what she is doing is enough. It’s the battle fought a thousand times over every child. Yet, I’ve learned that most of the time I WAS doing enough…by simply providing a loving, secure home environment through daily routine/chores, boundaries, etc., encouraging our kids along the way and not trying to force too much book learning too early.
Moms, our kids need us to SLOW DOWN. They want US. They want us to BE with them. I encourage you to make it your goal to create unhurried (not to be confused with directionless), joyful days with your kids.
Homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself. Take time to savor each season. Let your heart slow down regularly to soak in this precious time with your kids. The days are long, but the years are short. Live them well. Together.
So thankful for the lessons of previous moms who have gone ahead of us and share their experiences and wisdom they learned along the way. Going slowly and not forcing learning is difficult this day in age but vitally important if we want our children to truly be who God made them to be, not just who society thinks they should be.