I parent two children and I’m confused....
Would you like to join my club, or may I join yours?
As I understand it, my job description as a mother lands me the following duties: Chef, chauffeur, nurse, doctor, homework checker, social director, entertainment-provider, sunblock applier, wardrobe coordinator, laundress, sock sorter, dirty-sock retriever, home-school liaison, keeper of the calendar, and dietician---to name a few.
But, the most important job title I hold as a parent is “teacher.” Now, there’s a whole other set of duties that falls under that category. Naturally, parents should teach empathy, manners, responsibility, sharing, ABCs and 1-2-3s. But, by the time our little ones begin kindergarten, we might think, “Whoa! Hey, there we go! Now someone with actual training has the responsibility of teaching my child academics. Whew!”
Only, I’m not finding that sense of relief.
On the contrary, I feel more pressured than ever before to teach my kids to LOVE learning. I don’t feel the average school does an incredible job of that. It’s not that they don’t try. In fact, my kids have had some wonderful teachers. However, there are lots of personalities with many different learning styles in any school. It just doesn’t seem possible to get all the visual learners, auditory learners, hands-on learners, etc., on the same page with the same rigid curriculum. Especially when it seems that test-taking preparation ranks higher than learning part of the time. Some parents tackle this belief by homeschooling.
Personally, I believe there are parents out there who excel at homeschooling. They are conscientious, patient, intelligent and creative enough to succeed. But, FULL responsibility for my child’s education? That’s not something I feel confident or patient enough to do. I also have to work part time.
Other folks send their kids to private school—perhaps a Montessori or Waldorf-type environment where learning is more individualized. I’d love to do that, but the money involved just isn’t there.
Have you, too, felt that your kids are capable of learning a lot more than they do? The notion was nagging at me all the time. So, I’ve found a happy medium: I send my kids to public school AND I attempt to enrich their learning and challenge them at home on top of it. Kind of like "going halfies" with school.
Pastor and writer Ralph W. Sockman once said, “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.” If we apply his words to children, Sockman paints a beautiful scene: There goes your child along an infinite shoreline in search of knowledge, each intriguing little shell leading her to seek yet another.
If we want our kids to love learning and yearn for more, we should look for teachable moments in everyday life to spark natural curiosity and challenge their minds. However, in today's rush-around existence, sometimes we need to MAKE teachable moments rather than wait for them to saunter along in front of us. What is involved in creating teachable moments? Research and time.
Yeah, that time thing. Just what we crazy-busy parents need: More work. More thought. More time.
Well, the mission of this blog is to help parents inspire their kids academically. As the writer of over fifty published articles on tips for families, I’ve done a lot of research and can’t stop myself from doing more. So, I want to share the fun, on-line opportunities I’ve found to nudge my own kids toward a love of learning. Finding interesting "Nuggets of Knowledge" is half the battle.
What sorts of topics will you find here? Well, my kids enjoy science, nature, writing and reading. So, you’ll find links to websites, articles and book suggestions on animals, the earth, space, global warming, archaeology, dinosaurs, fantasy, fiction, history, various arts, etc. I will also be sneaking in math and English opportunities.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
