I get regular emails from Sonlight, our home-school curriculum provider, and this one encouraged me today.
I was overwhelmed with the immense portions on my plate , and the fact that we are 'behind' on the curriculum.
But this email reminded me to celebrate the REASON why we are homeschooling.
Right now Ollie and Malia are twirling around singing the Christmas play music and she is teaching him to say new words. This is beautiful. This is our home-school.
My foundational homeschooling verse is Phil. 2:15
The ultimate goal we have for each of our children, is not that they absorb mass amounts of information and achieve higher degrees, but that they understand why God created them, how he has ordered the universe, the earth, the people in it, and specifically our family. I want them to "love one another deeply" and witness our faith in Christ lived out in our day to day responsibilites.
We may get behind on the information gathering, but God will never be behind in shaping their hearts for His glory.
Here's the email....
Adrienne
Carolyn from North Carolina wrote.
"This is what it's all about!" she began. "And it is NOT the Hokey Pokey!!" It is a chilly day so the kids do not want to go out and play. So what are the doing? Playing hide & seek!You ask, "What is so fantastic about that?"
"Ah! There are four children playing: our 15-year-old son, 11-year-old son, 4-year-old daughter, and 1-year-old daughter! They all take turns helping the littlest. THIS is why we homeschool. "
I read that and said, "Amen!" And I want to encourage you to hold that attitude for yourself.
I say that because I'm reminded of a conversation I once had with a friend of mine "way back when." Cheryl was mortified, she said, when "someone asked my children what the capital of France was, and they didn't know!"
I told her: "Kids can look that up anytime. In the total scheme of things, it is not that important for our kids to know what the capital of France is! How much better that they learn how to get along with one another. . . ."
Sonlight staff gather for prayer every morning. And I pray at least once a week during those meetings that God will build strong relationships among our customers' families. I pray the same for our family. . . . And I see God answering those prayers.
That is what I see happening in Carolyn's family. And what I have seen in ours, too.
I was just thinking about that the other day. How else can I explain that our oldest son, an Old-Testament-prophet kind of guy--hard-driven, straight-arrow--somehow gets along with his youngest brother, one of the most laid-back, happy-go-lucky people I know?
May the members of your family rejoice in each other's presence . . . partially BECAUSE of the investment you are making now in your children's lives.
Sincerely,
Sarita Holzmann, President
I was overwhelmed with the immense portions on my plate , and the fact that we are 'behind' on the curriculum.
But this email reminded me to celebrate the REASON why we are homeschooling.
Right now Ollie and Malia are twirling around singing the Christmas play music and she is teaching him to say new words. This is beautiful. This is our home-school.
My foundational homeschooling verse is Phil. 2:15
"so that {Malia, Zachary & Oliver} may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which {they}shine like stars in the universe as {they} hold out the word of life..."
The ultimate goal we have for each of our children, is not that they absorb mass amounts of information and achieve higher degrees, but that they understand why God created them, how he has ordered the universe, the earth, the people in it, and specifically our family. I want them to "love one another deeply" and witness our faith in Christ lived out in our day to day responsibilites.
Here's the email....
Adrienne
Carolyn from North Carolina wrote.
"This is what it's all about!" she began. "And it is NOT the Hokey Pokey!!" It is a chilly day so the kids do not want to go out and play. So what are the doing? Playing hide & seek!You ask, "What is so fantastic about that?"
"Ah! There are four children playing: our 15-year-old son, 11-year-old son, 4-year-old daughter, and 1-year-old daughter! They all take turns helping the littlest. THIS is why we homeschool. "
I read that and said, "Amen!" And I want to encourage you to hold that attitude for yourself.
I say that because I'm reminded of a conversation I once had with a friend of mine "way back when." Cheryl was mortified, she said, when "someone asked my children what the capital of France was, and they didn't know!"
I told her: "Kids can look that up anytime. In the total scheme of things, it is not that important for our kids to know what the capital of France is! How much better that they learn how to get along with one another. . . ."
Sonlight staff gather for prayer every morning. And I pray at least once a week during those meetings that God will build strong relationships among our customers' families. I pray the same for our family. . . . And I see God answering those prayers.
That is what I see happening in Carolyn's family. And what I have seen in ours, too.
I was just thinking about that the other day. How else can I explain that our oldest son, an Old-Testament-prophet kind of guy--hard-driven, straight-arrow--somehow gets along with his youngest brother, one of the most laid-back, happy-go-lucky people I know?
May the members of your family rejoice in each other's presence . . . partially BECAUSE of the investment you are making now in your children's lives.
Sincerely,
Sarita Holzmann, President
