We started our morning devotional with a hymn and prayer in Spanish. Right after the prayer, Jackson announced that his notebook was lost. I tried to instruct him in Spanish on the importance of putting things in their correct location and preparing his things the night before. Jackson stared at me blankly, and I broke into English. Now our scripture study and Spanish study were missed as we all looked for Jackson's notebook.
I felt discouraged with the way our day was beginning. I even assumed that the rest of the day would continue likewise.
I sent Jackson and Tyson on their way to school for their elective courses and tried to start the younger ones on their school work.
In a moment of dramatic expression, I told my husband that I wasn't doing anything right! After my pity-party, I decided to read my scriptures which were opened wide on my lap... just waiting to speak to me.
I read a beautiful scripture from The Book of Mormon in Alma 26:27:
"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said....bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
I wanted success!
Since I still had the assumption that all would go wrong for the day, I immediately felt frustrated and assumed Jordan was playing around when I saw him sitting in front of the computer.
With a heavy sigh, I asked, "Jordan, what are you doing?" He sweetly answered, "I'm reading Daily Miracles for an hour."
I froze... yes, that is EXACTLY what I would want him to do. After all... I do write these stories for my posterity. This was a great blessing to see him thoroughly enjoying the stories and miracles of God's hand in our lives. This was definitely a success!! How could I have assumed otherwise?
(By the way, the red notebook in the picture is the one that Jackson was searching for frantically. All will be well, and he will have it for tomorrow's classes.)
Every day has the potential to be fantastic and full of success- no matter what silly things try to discourage us.
Just because the first hour of the day started out crummy, does not mean that the remaining hours until I sleep have to go wrong. Just because one child made a mistake, does not mean that I have to assume the worst from that child's following actions or anyone else's actions either.
I am going to assume and expect the very best from everyone around me today... even if another notebook is lost at an inopportune time. God wants success for each of us!!
So on a homeschooling note.... What happens if they don't get their work done because they don't govern their time accordingly? How do you keep them on task?
ReplyDeleteOh I wish you were in my family room again, so we could chat! :-)
DeleteKeeping my children on task and motivated to study the things I want them to study has always been a struggle because they are LEARNING how to govern their time. ...but I believe the struggle will be well worth it in the long run.
We change up our methods often depending on their needs. :-)
Right now, I make a list for each child every day of the things they need to accomplish before the day is over. They can't play until they finish their work. If they finish all their assigned work, they get to stay up for an extra half hour with Abe and I to do something fun. A couple of nights we played games. Another night, we put on a play, and another night we made goofy home videos on my cell phone. For the first few nights, we had a couple of stragglers who had to go to bed earlier because their work was not done. It was really sad, and we tried not to rub it in. We just strongly encouraged them to join in on the fun the next night.
At the end of the week, if they have accomplished all their assignments throughout the week, then they have the opportunity to do free study. Since most homeschool children actually LOVE to learn, that is a special treat, right? (They usually study about animals. :-)). My older boys go to the public school for a few classes. Even the school's guidance counselor approached me to tell me she had been watching and feeling impressed that my boys were reading and studying on their own as they waited outside for school to start. She didn't know they were the HOMESCHOOLED boys until later.
Your children are AMAZING!! You are doing a FABULOUS job with them. I love them and their energy so very, very much. I am just taking things as we go, and I'm always tweaking our methods.
I forgot one more thing... If the children want to participate in the nighttime fun event, they have to treat each other kindly all day. If they talk rough to each other, they get a strike. Three strikes and they're out. Sometimes REALLY good behavior will clear their strikes for the day. If it's a rough day, I am sometimes tempted to start taking off strikes for the following day, but we have decided that is against the rules. :-) Each day they start off fresh. :-) That's our plan for now, and it seems to be working because they LOVE the nighttime fun event. Love you tons!!
DeleteI know you are super busy so thankyou for responding! It means a lot and your passion for homeschooling shines through - I love it. Good motivating thoughts they will give some things to ponder on with our schedule.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny! It seems we were writing our comments at the exact same time. :-) Love you!
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