HOMESCHOOLING BEGINS WITH HOME
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Yes, one of the underlying, hidden homeschooling benefits of your decision to homeschool your young child is that you, Mom, will also grow through this season as you develop the parenting skills that will strengthen your character and draw your child’s heart to you. |
Obviously, very young children need to learn to walk and talk—useful skills that will serve them all their lives.
Begin your homeschool preschool, Mom, by training your youngster to develop relational skills that will serve her and others.
Most moms teach their children to say, “Please” and “Thank you,”—healthy relational skills that they must learn through repetition so they develop that relational competency.
Moms also come alongside their young children to help them develop personal habits such as brushing their teeth, combing their hair, and dressing in clean clothes.
so why even talk about them?
Because many moms stop there, believing that they themselves are not competent to educate their children beyond the basics. They turn to the “experts,” relinquishing God-given authority over their preschoolers which begins to weaken the fledging relationship they currently have with their young children.
Let the Lord renew your mind! Instead of emphasizing subject content when your children are little, focus the foundation the Lord is building in your home, your children’s lives, and your own heart.
During the homeschool preschool years, you yourself will grow in wisdom as you resolve to
- exercise
Godly authority—not carnal control—over your preschoolers and, therefore,
- use the bulk of your time to develop the tool of home through training your young children in three key skills areas:
- Relational (listening, serving, practicing a good attitude)
- Personal (caring for their bodies and environments)
- Moral (honoring and respecting others, obeying God by obeying parents)
The greatest advantage of homeschooling during the preschool years is the child-training you embrace as you…
rather than if the child is completing the task perfectly.
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The bulk of the homeschool preschool years centers on child training, like in this example—both your child’s training and your own.
Let’s say your young child is cheerfully (not silly or goofy) submitting to your instruction to unload the dishwasher.
Oops! The child breaks a cup by accident.
What should you notice? How should you respond?
Well, there are two broad things you can choose to notice and two broad ways to respond:
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Learning to discern between the child’s heart/attitude and the preschooler’s childishness will serve you in later stages of homeschooling your children.
As you continue to relate to the Lord moment by moment through abiding, practice discernment through questioning. Using the above example, ask yourself:
Was my child developing healthy relational, personal, and moral skills?
The answer is Yes!
- Relational skills: He listened and served with a good attitude.
- Personal skills: He was stewarding his environment.
- Moral skills: He honored and respected you through obedience.
Let’s examine a little more closely the two broad ways to respond to the above example:
Response 1.
If you chose to respond by noticing the broken cup—letting your anger control you as you demeaned your child for his mistake—your manipulation of this circumstance will cause the child to experience unnecessary guilt for his mistake.
As one mom told me, “This kind of reaction leads to instilling fear in our children”—fear that leads to resentment towards mom and, if mom continues this practice, resentment that leads to rejection of mom and perhaps all authority.
This same dear mom (who is being released to love and is changing the way she relates to her children) added, “We deal with this with our second son to the point that he will fear a reaction for something done wrong and will at times lie about it (to avoid our response).”
behind your response to your children
and the effects your actions will have
on your relationship over time.
If you are a mom whose older children are developing resentment towards you because of such reactions, don’t lose hope! As you repent, Christ will change you and His love in you can draw your children to you. Love never fails!
Response 2.
If you chose to respond to his skills development through dialoguing with him about the above aspects of his growing character, you exercised grace in the process as you loved him unconditionally and cheerfully cleaned up the area…together… without disapproval of the broken glass.
Two other possibilities may have occurred related to the above example where you can exercise Godly authority
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for the homeschool preschool years |
relational, personal, and moral skills development
parallels your own during the homeschool preschool years.
- Your Relational Skills Development:
Getting to know the Lord through personal discipleship- Sharpen your spiritual ears—your listening skills—as you begin to
hearken to His Voice and
pray unceasingly for discernment about your particular relationships and circumstances.
Why?
So that you develop your own relationship with the Lord of your life Who will fill you with His love to overflowing. Then your conduct before your children will draw their hearts to you because they know you love them unconditionally.
- Exercise Godly authority—not carnal control—over your children’s external behaviors as you allow God to become the ultimate Authority or Head of your life.
- Sharpen your spiritual ears—your listening skills—as you begin to
hearken to His Voice and
pray unceasingly for discernment about your particular relationships and circumstances.
- Your Personal Skills Development:
Stewarding Your Environment- Use the powerful and often overlooked tool of home to create a refreshing oasis environment in which to train your young children in skill development.
- Your Relational, Personal, and Moral Skills Development:
Training Your Preschooler and/or Early Elementary ChildAs You Train Your Children in… At the same time, you can… Relational Skills stewarding their relationships
steward
your relationships
before them.
Listen to them,
serve them and others,
and have a good attitude.Personal Skills caring for their bodies and environments
care for your body and environment—
through diet and exercise,
choosing modest clothing,
establishing home routines and
carrying them out faithfully.Moral Skills honoring and respecting you and others
model
honor and respect
towards them and others.Obedience
to you, their authorityobey the Lord,
your Head!
You and your children will strengthen these three homeschool preschool skill areas throughout the next seasons of homeschooling as well.
relational, personal, and moral—
will benefit your home atmosphere throughout the years.
They will also affect inner character—
your children’s and your own—
which will release you to love.
Continue with Part 2, Knowledge Acquisition during the Homeschool Preschool and Early Elementary years
Additional articles related to the theme of Scholarship:
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is the
key to this treasure.
~Isaiah 33:6
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