Parenting, and a new method...random stuff...

So, how is it that I get to have the hard conversations already with my kids? Really, I don't remember tackling these issues this early in life with my mom, but there I was again.

Last night I got have a sit down discussion on doing your best, instead of just getting it done, hmmm a fun topic, really... I am a firm believer in having a child do a job properly, and redo it if need be, until it is done properly. To me this reinforces the notion that if you do it well the first time, then you will get it done and move on to more enjoyable tasks. I also think that there is satisfaction in seeing a job well done, and we want to instill a sense of pride in a job well done, even if there is no outside approval forthcoming. This was being sadly neglected in our house lately, so I sat down the offending party, and we talked about how it showed a disregard for themselves, and the others in the house(especially me since I try to keep the house tidy), and it showed a lack of personal pride too. I did explain that I had no expectation of the jobs being done perfectly, but of them being done to the best of their ability. It was also brought home to them that God can also see the results of their efforts, and knows if they really put their best effort into it, and a slapdash job could be seen as a sign of disrespect. This got them to really sit up and take notice, they had not seen their lackluster efforts in this light, but now have resolved to do the jobs to the best of their ability, and to be proud of well done work.

All of these life shaping conversations seem to be coming one on top of the other lately, it is tiring, but thankfully I seem to be finding the right words to say, to really explain and give examples, so thanks to God for that!! Next of course it will likely have to have a conversation on the sins of excessive pride, but oh well, I am pleased to have the kids doing their best and wanting to excel in the jobs they do. Parenting, what a voyage!!!

On a totally different note, I have recently found a new source for homeschool information and ideas. The Charlotte Mason Method is a very tried and true concept of education. Charlotte Mason lived in the 1800's and taught and pretty much pioneered the homeschool movement, especially in England. I have just started reading a book that summarizes her thoughts on education and how to achieve her optimal teaching and retention methods. I would read her books, but there are 6 volumes and they are hard to find, so I have the next best thing, a summary. Many of the CM ideas are similar to things I am doing already, like narration of information to show retention. She recommends though, that you read a chapter of a book every day, and have a child narrate it back to you, with as much detail as they can remember. This encourages careful listening, retention and recall to do well, and allows a child to engage their mind in visualizing the story in their head, thereby cementing the facts and information. Some of her other concepts make me feel better about things I would like to do, like I do not like child versions of the Bible, or other books, I want to read the real story to the kids, not a watered down version. I want the evocative words of the author to be heard, and the kids to learn to expand their minds with the images and ideas of long ago visionaries. The CM method also agrees that history should start at the beginning, so we are good there, but she recommends you add in histories of the peoples of the time, to allow the child to truly walk in the period, understand its mores, role in history, and customs. This poses a problem as we are still in the beginning, but maybe we will read up on the first astronomers, or the Greek and Roman Myths that spawned the names of so many of our planets, not sure yet. One thing I really like about the program is that you do not drill, but encourage really seeing the world around, noticing and studying details and being able to recall them. Today children are tested to see what they do not know, but the CM method wants to expand on what they do know, allowing each child to learn at the own pace in their own style, phew a relief for me! There are so many interesting ideas and time tested methods in the book, I am so very excited to have found this, it is a bit of a mental shift for me to work this way, but i really think that the kids will do well and go far in this learning style.

ok, enough rambling, the kids need a story, so I am back off to finish their day out on a good note!