What I really want my kids to learn this year
Okay, girls, it’s almost here. The new school year. And it’s going to be a busy one. All four of you will be in school this year (and Jackson will be into everything!). We’ll be learning about American History — about the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, the Underground Railroad and Civil Rights, each of the States and all of our Presidents…and everything in between. You’ll have reading, writing and arithmetic, foreign languages and piano, handwriting and copywork.
But you know what I really want you to learn this year?
I want you to learn that:
Learning means discovering the world around you and how it works.
And it’s exciting!
Even when it’s hard work.
In fact, just because something doesn’t come easily to you doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.
And sometimes you have to work hard because there’s hard work to be done.
But it’s also okay to focus your attention on the things that excite you and your energy on the things that fit your natural gifts.
Remember, no matter what you’re working on, having a bad attitude makes everything harder.
It also makes the people around you miserable.
And people come first.
In fact, showing others kindness is more important than showing them how smart you are.
I want to show you that:
It’s fun to learn together.
Because we all have something to contribute.
And when we work together as a team, we learn more, get the hard stuff done quicker and have more fun.
I know it sounds strange, but giving and serving others can be even more fun than getting and being served!
And that’s true whether you’re serving someone in our family or a stranger.
Also, working to the best of your ability is more important than how your work compares to someone else’s.
And when you show yourself trustworthy in the little things, you’ll be trusted with the big(ger) things.
Finally, understanding yourself and how you learn and work best is really helpful.
But we all live here and have to learn to make compromises.
Because people come first.
(I know I said that already, but it’s an important one…and one I’m still learning too!)
Here’s to a fantastic school year!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy, and together they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. Mandi loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.
What I really want my kids to learn this year
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