Music echoed through the small sanctuary. Standing on the platform, I watched as Johnny (worship leader at Familia Christiana) coached each of the girls on their instruments: Deanna on the keyboard, Leilani on the bass guitar and Mikayla on the electric guitar. Esther, Johnny’s wife, filled in the spaces with her sweet voice singing the melody and I joined in with harmony. Anneliese was playing the drums, stumbling a little as she gained confidence. The Praise became palpable and almost tangible. I knew it was the Holy Spirit because “the Lord inhabits the praises of His people.” (Ps. 22:3)
What a thrill!! Worshiping the Lord with my kids making the music! I had always wanted to be part of a band. I just never dreamed that the principals would be my children. Then realization rolled over me in a wave: these musicians were not children any longer. They were young women fast becoming members of the adult population. Talk about a thrill – adults that will worship “in Spirit and in truth.” (Jn. 4:23)
Praise God that we decided to home educate!! Our time with them is so precious, so fleeting, so essential to imparting to them the truth of the gospel. Not just so that they will know and believe, but so that they will be equipped to lead their own children to the cross of Christ. Every day, as they grow older and taller, I am reminded of the ultimate “subject” in their education: knowing and serving the living God.
Some have said that our children will always be our babies. In a way, I’m sure that’s true. However, my dream is for my children to become parents who will be able to bless their children even more than I am able to bless them. My dream is for them to become adults who will lead their own little ones to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and will then teach them to lead their children in the truth. This generational legacy depends upon us nurturing them, leading them, guiding them and eventually letting them go. This dream depends upon our ability to see them and, over time, treat them as adults, too.
It’s been hard at times to allow them adult responsibility like driving a car, getting a job, or going on their own road trip (without me). But each time they take these things on and “conquer” them with integrity, it becomes easier to accept them as the adults that they are becoming.
This gray area between young people and adults is such a wonderful time! We allow them to spread their wings knowing that if they encounter something hard or fail at flying, the nest is always nearby ready to receive and comfort them. Then the nest becomes a launching pad again for the next try. Will they get in a fender bender? Will they encounter a rude boss? Will they get lost? Probably. But for this time, we are there so that their failures become learning experiences as they begin their journey toward adulthood.
As we gathered our instruments to return home, Mik asks “Mom, can we get some ice cream?” My reply is, “No, not tonight. We have dinner at home.” “Awww, Mom! Why not?” she whines. I just smile as I see the child in her that is still shining through those adult-looking eyes. Even as we guide her on her journey, the child still clings. Someday she’ll be ready to conquer the adult world all by herself. Until then, I’ll just keep helping her along, nudging her out of the nest and encouraging her to “walk in truth.”
1Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He is revealed we may have confidence, and not be shamed from Him in His coming.
3Jn 1:4 I have no greater joy than these things, that I hear my children are walking in truth.
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Curriculum or Learning
This year has been a tough year. New house, new town, new friends, new church, new vehicle, and new challenges had all taken their toll on our routine. Sitting at my desk, going over papers and tests, I was frustrated. What had my kids really accomplished this year?! I was trying to do an honest assessment so that I would have a starting point for planning the curriculum that I would use next year. I’m sure you’ve been there. It’s that time of year.
Our West Texas Wildlife project had fizzled and died after my computer crashed and we lost all of the pictures we’d taken. We’d only gotten half way through our Astronomy because we needed more work in Math. The Rosetta Stone Spanish got abandoned in January when my computer crashed again! The kids have been told that they will be doing Math through the Summer in order to get back on track.
The more I worked the more discouraged I became. What had happened?! Why couldn’t I follow through?! I had visions of them being 21 before graduating high school.
I came up for air to look around for the suspiciously quiet ladies and gentlemen in question. Adrian was on his computer working on yet another logo in Adobe Photoshop to go with his skateboarding video he was working on in Windows Movie Maker. Terence was out cleaning out his car that he’d bought and fixed up with the local mechanic. Deanna was at the sewing machine making a purse for her sister out of an old pair of jeans, decorating it with scraps of fabric she’d found in my stash. Mikayla was in the art center up to her eyeballs in acrylics, painting a beautiful picture of summer fantasy flowers. Leilani was at the stove in the kitchen making herself a scrambled egg burrito and salad.
Gradually, I began to relax. So, we didn’t get through all of the curriculum I had planned. Life had happened! Opportunities had arisen that we had seized as they came across our path. The children had gravitated toward learning those things which were important to them, which is good. Besides, we did complete their 2nd year of Latin all the way through with straight As and the kids had all made new friends.
Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t do Math through the summer, but it does mean that I’ll quit stressing over the curriculum that we didn’t get to this year. There will be time for Astronomy and Spanish next year.
I remembered the baby birds that the kids had been keeping an eye on in the beams of our carport and the horny toad that the boys caught so that the girls could examine him. We’d taken field trips to the Guadalupe Mountains, the Davis Mountains, Balmorea and Las Cruces. Just because we hadn’t finished our photography journal, didn’t mean that we hadn’t learned anything -- it just meant that we didn’t get all of the paper work done.
When the opportunity arose for the girls to do a play with some other home schoolers in Alpine, we took it and they learned the 8 parts of speech in a totally new way. When Terence got the opportunity to work with a mechanic and learn about his own car, he took it and learned a lot. When the boys were given the opportunity to clean out the abandoned pool in front of our house and use it as a makeshift skate park, they took and had a blast. When the girls were given the opportunity to take piano lessons, we jumped in with both feet and they all did well.
What am I stressing about?! Isn’t this what home schooling is all about? Of course, it is! We home school so that we can have flexibility and not be tied to any one curriculum or one subject just for the sake of the “points”. Learning, living, laughing, and loving each other are the real goals.
As I went back to my “assessments”, I was looking at them from a different perspective. The curriculum had been only a starting point toward our real goals and we’d done pretty well with those. There were some places for improvement -- attitudes, responsibility, follow through, showing love to one another -- but those were things that needed more practice that any curriculum could provide.
I began writing down what my children DID learn this year and by the time I’d finished I was surprised at the list. Wow!! Learning had been happening in spite of the paperwork! Yea! Success!! I now had so many ideas for next year that I had to tell myself to slow down. After all, there are only so many hours in a day.
So, as we do Math and Reading through the Summer, I’ll relax and tell my children how proud I am of them and what they have accomplished this past year. I’ll take some time to read aloud to them and plan summer trips and outings. Most of all, I’ll take the time to hug them, discover with them and play with them. That’s what it’s really all about.
Our West Texas Wildlife project had fizzled and died after my computer crashed and we lost all of the pictures we’d taken. We’d only gotten half way through our Astronomy because we needed more work in Math. The Rosetta Stone Spanish got abandoned in January when my computer crashed again! The kids have been told that they will be doing Math through the Summer in order to get back on track.
The more I worked the more discouraged I became. What had happened?! Why couldn’t I follow through?! I had visions of them being 21 before graduating high school.
I came up for air to look around for the suspiciously quiet ladies and gentlemen in question. Adrian was on his computer working on yet another logo in Adobe Photoshop to go with his skateboarding video he was working on in Windows Movie Maker. Terence was out cleaning out his car that he’d bought and fixed up with the local mechanic. Deanna was at the sewing machine making a purse for her sister out of an old pair of jeans, decorating it with scraps of fabric she’d found in my stash. Mikayla was in the art center up to her eyeballs in acrylics, painting a beautiful picture of summer fantasy flowers. Leilani was at the stove in the kitchen making herself a scrambled egg burrito and salad.
Gradually, I began to relax. So, we didn’t get through all of the curriculum I had planned. Life had happened! Opportunities had arisen that we had seized as they came across our path. The children had gravitated toward learning those things which were important to them, which is good. Besides, we did complete their 2nd year of Latin all the way through with straight As and the kids had all made new friends.
Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t do Math through the summer, but it does mean that I’ll quit stressing over the curriculum that we didn’t get to this year. There will be time for Astronomy and Spanish next year.
I remembered the baby birds that the kids had been keeping an eye on in the beams of our carport and the horny toad that the boys caught so that the girls could examine him. We’d taken field trips to the Guadalupe Mountains, the Davis Mountains, Balmorea and Las Cruces. Just because we hadn’t finished our photography journal, didn’t mean that we hadn’t learned anything -- it just meant that we didn’t get all of the paper work done.
When the opportunity arose for the girls to do a play with some other home schoolers in Alpine, we took it and they learned the 8 parts of speech in a totally new way. When Terence got the opportunity to work with a mechanic and learn about his own car, he took it and learned a lot. When the boys were given the opportunity to clean out the abandoned pool in front of our house and use it as a makeshift skate park, they took and had a blast. When the girls were given the opportunity to take piano lessons, we jumped in with both feet and they all did well.
What am I stressing about?! Isn’t this what home schooling is all about? Of course, it is! We home school so that we can have flexibility and not be tied to any one curriculum or one subject just for the sake of the “points”. Learning, living, laughing, and loving each other are the real goals.
As I went back to my “assessments”, I was looking at them from a different perspective. The curriculum had been only a starting point toward our real goals and we’d done pretty well with those. There were some places for improvement -- attitudes, responsibility, follow through, showing love to one another -- but those were things that needed more practice that any curriculum could provide.
I began writing down what my children DID learn this year and by the time I’d finished I was surprised at the list. Wow!! Learning had been happening in spite of the paperwork! Yea! Success!! I now had so many ideas for next year that I had to tell myself to slow down. After all, there are only so many hours in a day.
So, as we do Math and Reading through the Summer, I’ll relax and tell my children how proud I am of them and what they have accomplished this past year. I’ll take some time to read aloud to them and plan summer trips and outings. Most of all, I’ll take the time to hug them, discover with them and play with them. That’s what it’s really all about.
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