Educating our children well

There are lots of arguments on the best way to educate our children. I’m not here to take sides.

Educating our children well is the main goal. 

It does not matter if your child is homeschooled or public schooled or private schooled. Our unifying goal as parents and care-takers of the next generation is that they are educated well. This is the way, guys, that we build a better future. By pouring into our children.

So what does this look like if schooling location doesn’t matter?

Be present with them. This doesn't mean you only do kid activities or cater your time to your children. It means you actually hear them, respond to them as a person, look them in the eye every chance you get. 

Let your child discover the world around them for themselves. Don't guide them, or helicopter over them, through discovering new things. Take a few steps back and let them explore themselves. A child will only learn their true limits when we let them test those limits. A child will learn faster that a worm is safe when they discover that worm on their own.

Ask probing questions to your children and let them make their own conclusions. This is a hard one because it requires us to retrain our thinking. But don't ask questions in a way that provide the answer. Make them work through the question to get to the answer. Provide guidance if needed, but don't lead them.

Allow your children to watch you to live life so that they can learn how to do so as well. Our children will learn from our example if we let them. If we keep them preoccupied all the time, they won't be present with us.

Stepping back and letting kids make decisions on their own. Don't strong arm them. There is a big difference between your child having an opinion, or a strong opinion, and them just being bad and disobeying. Give your child a chance to decide on what they will do. Learn who your child is and what their responses are to things. It will actually be easier to discipline bad behavior this way but allow your children to figure out who they are.
 
What do you think? Anything you would add or take away from this list? It seems like it is exceptionally hard to be present with our kids these days. There seems to always be something much more important to do. Once we slow down and focus on these actions while raising our babies, I think their real learning begins. 

​Lori
To know God and to make Him known
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