Character Training

and habit and manner training and cultivating spirituality. That is what God has put on my heart for this upcoming school year. Yes, the academics are important and I am very excited to have my children learn about history and science and great literature. But I have had this nagging feeling that I am missing the mark on some "subjects." A lot of the articles I have been reading recently have been about "home training." And the unique opportunity I have to really, really get at the heart of my children. Not just encouraging them to learn and that all of the world is our classroom but really, really emphasizing our place as followers of Christ in this world.

So, these are my intentions and some of the resources I plan to use:

Manners and Habits: We are going to focus on the dinner table for manners and habits. We eat dinner together every night and I want the kids to participate in setting a table properly, using the correct utensils, encouraging good discussion, saying "please pass the salt", cleaning the table afterwards, etc. Some books I will use are: Polite Moments by Maldaner; The Hidden Heart of Homemaking by Schaeffer; Training Our Daughter's to be Keepers at the Home by Ward.

Character Training: I have numerous books on training up a child. I have read a few of them and I have come to the conclusion that for successful child training I, as a parent, have to speak to the heart of my child not just the outward actions. Speaking just to the outward actions will temporarily solve an issue but chances are there is a bigger heart issue that leads up to the unwanted outward action. The curriculum we use encourages the reading of good books that reinforce wonderful characters traits. Some books I will use are: the Bible, The Pilgrim's Progress; Trial and Triumph by Hannula; Little House on the Prairie by Wilder

Cultivating Spirituality: This is kind of a new idea to me. I read a post about it on http://higherupandfurtherin.blogspot.com/. And it is definitely what I think I was looking for. It has given me ideas that will help me guide and encourage my children to have a relationship with Jesus. I can teach them Bible stories and have them quote scripture which is very important but I kind of felt something was missing. And I think it was my need to help them/encourage them to have a relationship with Jesus (and me too!) This is something I can't make them do. And is not something I am good at it myself. So, we will start out by writing/drawing in our prayer journal every morning before school (because it is so much more important than school.) I am hoping this will encourage them to understand how important individual quiet time is with God. Not just to pray but to listen. Some of the books we will be using: the Bible, What the Bible Says About Being a Girl from Pearables; Missionary Stories by the Millers; These Are My People.

Now the hard part is to figure out how all this fits into an already busy school day . . . ;)