Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Grade 6, Grade 4, and Grade 1

Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Grade 6, Grade 4, and Grade 1

Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Grade 6, Grade 4, and Grade 1

I have always had an unschool mentality. I believe (and my kids have shown me) that people learn what they need to know when they need to know it and life is meant to be experienced and explored rather than dictated and directed. So why am I now talking about homeschool curriculum choices and learning cards?

Would you believe my kids asked for it?

They have made more and more friends who’s families have different homeschool methods and kids talk. My kids love learning and saw their friends learning certain things and getting new binders for the school year (love that my kids got excited about office supplies!) filled with activities and projects.

So I sat down with my older three and asked what kinds of things they are interested in. Between their requests (largely science, history, and Reading Eggs), and them agreeing to some additions of my own (like typing and All About Spelling) I made up a simple schedule and checklist for them and added them to our household rhythm.

I made these cards to be largely independent with the high hopes of doing 4 days a week. After about 6 months of using these “learning cards,” I can confidently say I over estimated the level of cooperation I would receive. But the kids still mostly enjoy them so we keep trudging along in an attempt to make them part of our daily rhythm.


How It Works

Each boy has Day A and Day B. We alternate them as we mostly complete them which means some weeks start with A and others start with B. Each boy also doesn’t complete theirs on the same day as his brothers so he may miss out on a subject, which I try not to stress about because they are still learning, regardless of completed cards.

We don’t technically stick to grade levels as my boys’ interests lead to their skill levels being all over the map. I also don’t tell them exactly what page or lesson they need to do as it is pretty simple to just do the next one.

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! (Prov 16:16)

Let’s Dive In.
(I have included some affiliate links here and, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Feel free to read my full disclosure.)

Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Family Learning Time

Morning Time

We are not very fancy here and just flip through a binder with a few Bible memory verses, a song that we are working on memorizing, the Lord’s prayer, a piece of memory work (currently working on “In Flanders Fields”), listening to a song or two on YouTube, and I finish off with reading a page from The Answers Books for Kids or another apologetics book. (We just finished Cold Case Christianity for Kids and it was a huge hit!) It takes us between 15-45 minutes, depending on how cooperative the littlest ones are.

For many families, morning time is a time of communal learning but I decided to make it more a time of Scripture and character study, apologetics, and a family devotion time. Character before academics is a belief that I have always held to and I was glad to see Kathie from the Character Corner, a mom with far more homeschooling and parenting experience than me, affirm that as her number one homeschooling tip in her post listing 10 things that helped her through 31 years of homeschooling.


History


We are currently going through Story of the World: The Ancient World. I’ll say upfront that this is not my ideal history book but I had been given a copy a while back and a friend had the activity book she wasn’t using so I thought I’d give it a try. We haven’t been doing the big activities and projects. I read a chapter and we do some of the review questions (mostly with the the 8 and 5yo as my 11yo has read the book several times on his own so he knows all the answers) and the older two do the map activity and coloring pages while the 5yo just gets the coloring page. I may need to start copying an extra coloring page as the 2yo often wants to copy his big brothers and I’m not sure how long a blank scrap piece of paper is going to be good enough for him.

Science

Apologia Young Explorers Botany text. I adore these books! The hard covers, bright pictures and diagrams, easy to read text, and tying it all back to God as the Creator. Maybe I’ll even invest in their actual notebooking journals one day!

But, for now, I printed off the free notebooking pages from their website and we read a chunk out of the book then the older 2 do the notebooking page or, if it’s really simple, the activity.

Sometimes, once I’m done reading, I print off an applicable picture for the 6yo to color and put in his science duotang. My boys love the nature walk activities and are always amazed at the variety of plants we have growing on our own lawn.

(The original plan was to start with the Astronomy book but it was spring so botany seemed more fitting. We might put that on pause now that days are getting shorter so stars are easier to study and plants are going to be covered in snow soon.)

  

Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Individual Learning

11 year old

Bible: He had been following a Bible reading plan but always read ahead so now he just reads at least one chapter of whichever book he is going through. Soon I’ll expand his Bible time to include a journal of some sort but we’re just starting with reading.

Math: He is a big-time reader so Life of Fred has been a great fit. He is “behind” for his age group but is cruising through the lessons. Understanding mathematical concepts is not something that come easily to him so both he and I love having the option to choose something that falls more in line with his learning style.

Copywork: He is working through some free stuff I found online but is nearly finished. I think what I’ll do next is give him some lined paper and ask him to write a Bible passage from his daily reading. He does this in cursive, which comes a lot easier to him than printing.

All About Spelling: While he is an avid reader, his spelling hasn’t caught up. Just not the way his mind works I guess. I found the books for All About Spelling level 1 and 2 at a local curriculum exchange last winter and it has been a great fit for him. He appreciates all the rules and explanations as to why words are spelled the way they are. I have to be honest and say that I’ve enjoyed it too! I’ve always been a pretty intuitive speller but knowing why words are spelled a certain way has been enlightening.

Typing: He does about half a lesson at Typing.com I like this site because you just need a login name and don’t need to sign up with an email address or anything. It’s pretty simple and straighforward and gets the job done. Plus it’s FREE. Always a nice perk.

Spanish: We use the Duolingo app for this. He decided he wanted to learn Spanish a couple years ago and was just picking away at it sporadically. So I put it on his learning card and he’s making decent progress.

Read to Asher: This is my sneaky way of getting him to practice reading out loud as well as taking the toddler off my hands for a while so I can focus on something else (usually helping the 8yo do his AAS lesson without little fingers swiping magnets).

Sidenote: You can see I’m not a perfectionist with these cards. He really wasn’t enjoying piano (and is kind of rhythm challenged) so I removed it. He also felt copywork each day was too much so he negotiated that off too by saying he makes cards with writing and does his All About Spelling writing regularly so that should count as writing practice.

8 Year Old:

All About Spelling: He and his brother started level 1 at the same time but he skipped several days and his brother doubled up on some of the early lessons so now they’re in different books. He is a much more intuitive speller (he can remember complicated words because he read them a couple times) so he doesn’t think he needs this. We often skip building the words with magnets and he goes straight to writing them down. He can do more of the building in his head so, when he actually does his lesson, he flies through it.

Math: He’s a weirdo and actually asked for a workbook in math. We just use a Canadian Curriculum book we got at Costco and alternate with workbook one day then a Mathseed lesson the next day. (I’m not an affiliate there but I’m thinking I should be and you really should check them out because everyone I have recommended it to loves it!)

Copywork: He or I choose a Bible verse for him to copy and he (sometimes) draws a picture. (Don’t tell him but I don’t really care about the picture but he thinks he’s rebelling by not drawing it. He likes to have that control and I’m willing to make sure he feels it.) He does not do cursive yet but, now that I think about it, he has asked if he could learn so maybe I’ll get a workbook for him for Christmas or something.

Reading Eggs: He does a Reading Eggs lesson on the off day from copywork. He is reading beyond the skill level of this but we’ve paid for the subscription and he really enjoys it. It’s kind of a reward for him after he has done some stuff he’s not as fond of.

Typing: He also uses Typing.com

Piano: I play piano so he asks me for advice but mostly he does this by reading the blurb in the Alfred’s Basic Piano Book and winging it. This will work for a while but I have a feeling I’ll need to assist more as he progresses. He really enjoys it and seems to understand music a bit more than his older brother.

Read to Asher: Same as before: reading aloud practice and a way to keep the toddler occupied for a while.

5 Year Old

 

He’s too young for anything formal (he will be 6 in a few weeks) but he loves it so who am I to deny the boy his workbooks? He does a workbook page every day and a Reading Egg or Mathseedevery day.

He did ask to tweak his learning card so he does a math workbook page the same day as his Mathseed and his letter workbook the same day as his Reading Egg.

He’s actually a kinesthetic learner (which I’m totally NOT and was a bit nervous about) so he comes to me while playing Lego and tells me “Mom, I know what 3 groups of 2 is!” or “I know what 7+7 is!” So apparently Lego can be used to teach math. He also just has an inherent understanding of “building” words and often uses magnets or letter tiles to build words that I’m pretty sure he hasn’t reached yet on Reading Eggs.

He occasionally takes 45min to write one page of Os and the next time will cruise through 10+ pages of his workbook in one morning. I’ve stopped trying to understand his methods and just go with the flow.

 

I hope you can see that our learning cards are not intense and we have a very relaxed homeschool. Our homeschool curriculum choices are simple and mostly independent. The stuff that is more parent intensive requires time but requires minimal prep work. I don’t make a big fuss if we only do 1 or two days per week. (Though I have a feeling it will be a bit easier when the snow flies and kids can’t escape to play outdoors.)

 

We are slowly working back into all of this after taking time off for my final stages of pregnancy and our newborn survival phase. My primary goal is to get the boys to do their High 5 and then we will begin to work on Morning Time. Do you have a bare minimum that you and/or your kids can do to make it feel like your day is a success?

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Disclosure

*This post may contain affiliate links. If you follow the link and choose to make a purchase, I may receive a small referral commission, at no extra cost to you.*

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has been something I’ve known about since I was a teenager. It wasn’t until I was quite a bit older, however, that it became more clear to me how I can deal with the effects of this. So I’ve put together some of my favorite tips for beating winter blues.

1. Artificial sunshine: You let the energy light lamp

shine on your face for 15-30 minutes during the morning or afternoon to give you an energy boost. This is a method that I have not actually used yet but loved ones have found it extremely beneficial. I just added it to my Christmas wish list for next year. It will come in handy next year when the baby doesn’t nap as frequently as he currently does. His less frequent napping schedule will limit my napping opportunities and lack of sleep leaves me with little energy to stabilize my emotions. Update Jan 2020: I recently bought this SAD Light and have been using it this winter. I love it! I use it in the morning and right after lunch and find it helps with feeling more refreshed in the morning as well as mostly avoiding the after lunch energy slump.)

2. Sunny people: Spend time with fun friends. I’m a more serious person by nature so I find others who can bring a little bit of sunshine into my life. Being married not only means I am accountable to someone with my mood (i.e. it’s not fair for him to come home to a moping wife every day), but one of the things I love most about my husband is that he can make me laugh. He lightens me up. I have been blessed with friends who lighten my mood. I also have a few sons who can “turn his goof on,” as we like to say, and can have our whole household cracking up. Laughter is a wonderful medicine.
3. Sunshine in a bottle: Vitamin D3 supplement

can be a huge help. There is not a lot of sunshine during the winter so giving yourself a vitamin boost can have some big benefits. Another wintertime supplement that can make a difference for mood stability is omega 3.

4. Go outside: Fresh air, sunshine on your face, watching your kids play in the snow, exercise. All of these things help boost your mood. After being cooped up inside during the cold snaps that occur during much of the winter, I really appreciate going outside for even a few minutes just to breath. There is also something healing about being outside in direct contact with God’s creation.
5. Countdown: Remind yourself that there are only about 2 months left of winter. It will probably be less for some of you, depending on your location. Maybe even less for me as I’m further south than I have lived in the past. I countdown until I can start my garden seeds. I count down to Easter. I count down to my oldest son’s spring time birthday. Little stepping stones that keep me pushing forward toward sunshine season.
6. Music: There are summertime songs, and there are wintertime songs. Play some summertime music and dance like no one’s watching. My kids LOVE this one and they take turns being my dance partner. It can be a lot of fun to let loose once in a while. Here’s a list of some of the ones that my family has been dancing to lately:
  • Cotton-Eyed Joe – Rednex
  • Walking on Sunshine – Katrina and the Waves
  • Uptown Girl – Billy Joel
  • Kokomo – Beach Boys
  • 500 miles – The Proclaimers
  • Hey Mickey – Toni Basil
  • Wannabe – Spice Girls
  • Angel – Shaggy
  • Whenever Wherever – Shakira
  • Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
  • Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
6. Foundational Habits: The best thing anyone can do is to establish a good rhythm of self care. Establishing habits before you are in the thick of seasonal affective disorder is ideal but anyone can start with something as simple as working on gratitude. In my Self Care Series I share how I begin at the bottom and work my way up anytime that I notice I’m slipping into seasonal affective disorder or depression.
Do you suffer from seasonal affective disorder or winter blues? Please share your favorite tips beating winter blues. And drop your email in the box below and I’ll send you my free Habit Workbook and Habit Tracker. It will walk you through how to set habits fo various areas of your life and give you the tools you need to begin setting that foundation of habits where better lives begin.
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Tips for Cabin Fever When You’re Stuck at Home With the Kids

Sometimes we get stuck at home for illness. Sometimes it’s due to a vehicle breakdown. And, every year, we get stuck at home during winter. I currently have 5 kids in a small, 120 year old farm house. How can I stay sane with the kids at home when we all end up feeling a bit of cabin fever?

I’ll be upfront and say that some days at home with the kids are easier than others but I have found certain things help our whole household run more smoothly. 

  1. Stick to a Household Rhythm
  2. Plan for Phyical Activity
  3. Creative Open-ended Toys
  4. Planned Screen Time
  5. Daily Quiet Time
  6. Positive Attitude
how to stay sane as a mother through winter with a large family in a small house
Bears prepare for hibernation by filling their bellies and finding a nice cave to hunker down in to sleep the months away. Beavers don’t hibernate but they do prepare for winter by gathering food and repairing their dam as they are much less active during winter. Dairy farmers prepare for winter by silaging (a form of harvesting) and covering the crop to ferment to be able to feed it through the next year, repairing cattle water heaters, and stocking up on bedding to keep the cattle warm.

What can we, as mothers, do to prepare for those seasons when we know we are stuck at home with the kids?

We homeschool so large stretches of time with my kids is something I’ve always experienced but I know that isn’t typically the case for people. I’m also an introvert so we take extra time at home just out of preference too. I still love being with my kids and, most days anyway, manage to get through without too much chaos or frustrations. So today I’m sharing some of the things that I’ve learned.

Most important thing to remember is that our kids are still just kids and don’t need us dictating and directing their every waking moment. Mystie Winkler from Simply Convivial turned me on to interval planning and taking every 7th (or so) week off from homeschooling. This doesn’t mean you take the week off from life but it does mean that you take time to set yourself up for success.

Bears prepare for hibernation by filling their bellies and finding a nice cave to hunker down in to sleep the months away.

What can we, as mothers, do to prepare for winter?

how to stay sane as a mother through winter with a large family in a small house
Some things that keep me sane as a mother through the winter with 5 children in 1300sqft:

Regular Routines and Rhythms



Helps keep the kids from getting bored. And helps keep us all from getting stressed out and overwhelmed with the house mess. This includes daily rhythms, housekeeping rhythms, and even food planning rhythms. Less thinking needed means more time for creativity and less time for stress. If you want some help getting started, you can pop your email address into the box below and I’ll send you a copy of our super simple morning routine. It is easy to follow for my toddler and thorough enough that even my tween and I still use it!
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    Physical Activity

    Even though we’re stuck at home all day and the kids aren’t always able to get into the backyard to play, we don’t want to forget to take care of our bodies and minds by getting active.

    I have two busy and bouncy little boys. (The older two are not quite as energetic.) A few years ago I decided to give up precious floor space to a rebounder. (tip: get a good quality one like this rebounder to minimize annoying squeaking.) It was primarily for health reasons for myself but it has been well used by my busy boys as well as numerous energetic little friends who make a beeline for it first thing when they come over to visit. Even the older boys are occasionally instructed to do 20 jumps when they start getting antsy. We have a very strict “one body at a time” safety rule and the kids (usually) take turns like champs. They count jumps, sing silly songs, and launch off into piles of blankets. It takes up a ton of floor space so sometimes we put it on its side by a wall or in front of a bookcase but it has been worth its weight in gold for this mama’s sanity. Another fun and simple way to get rid of the wiggles is to blast some music and dance. I am a pretty quiet person by nature and I don’t do well with lots of loud noises but sometimes it’s good to just turn it up and move. And even Mama can get into the groove. Make a point to dance like a total loser to see if you can entice your kids to join you or perhaps even challenge you to a dance competition. There are no rules other than to get up out of your seat and move! Okay, one rule: don’t only play little kids songs. Make sure you throw in some Smash Mouth, Bruno Mars, Abba, Bruce Sprinsteen or Panic at the Disco. Have some fun with it!

    Creative and Open Ended Toys

    So. Much. Lego. We started out our parenting journey with a healthy helping of the stuff from my husband’s youth but it has been a great gift suggestion for grandparents and aunts and uncles. We also have a couple Lego Ideas books and a bin of crinkled building instructions. (They used to be nicely organized in a binder but…. kids. /sigh) This isn’t just about Lego though, it is about any long-lasting creative toy. For example, we received these sets for Christmas last year and I’m continually impressed with how creative the boys can be with what seems like such simple toys. They got this set this Christmas so they’ve been getting consistent playtime, though they prefer to mix in some Lego minifigures while building.

    Planned Screen Time


    Scheduling it cuts down on the constant asking because the kids know that it is coming. And, if they do ask, it allows you to point at the clock and say “not yet” and you aren’t continually having to offer extra reasons or think about whether now is really a good time or not.

    Find a time that consistently works for your family. For my family, we do a tidy time at about 4:30ish (they tidy all the messes they made through the day) and screens can turn on at 5pm, but only if they’re done tidying.

    Then I get to make supper and do my own thing with minimal interruptions until we turn screens off and have our family supper at 6pm. A clear start time and starting requirement, a clear end time, and something to transition to has made the screen time struggle almost non-existent in our home.

    Quiet time



    This is often largely seen as being important for Mama and the littlest ones, but there comes a point when the older kids need a break from each other too.

    After lunch, when everyone is spending their energy digesting, we have nap & quiet. The boys have learned (by me being half asleep and growling at them or shushing them) that they need to keep it down so I can rest. They often still play together during this time but try to whisper. This is not a routine that can be established overnight but it is something that is work persisting in.

    And if they end up fighting, I send them to different corners of the house with a book or something until they are ready to be quiet or until I’m ready to wake up.

    Positive Attitude


    I am going to be honest and say that I’m not always a big fan of being stuck inside my home. Especially since I would prefer a bit more space with more than one bathroom and more corners for kids to hunker down in during quiet time. But we don’t currently have another option so I spend a lot of time thanking God for the blessing of a home that keeps us warm and dry.

    An attitude of gratitude can make a world of difference in how we perceive our situation. It can be the difference between misery and joy.

    I find encouragement and comfort in knowing that God understands and He is the one who is holding us in this situation. I don’t understand why but I am willing to trust His plan for us and attempt to be content in all situations.

    “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

    Philippians 4:12 NIV

    Recognizing that there will be sun again can go a long way in helping everyone stay sane during a season of being more housebound than usual. If you have any other ideas, please leave a comment below. I’m always open to more ideas on how to deal with cabin fever when I’m stuck at home with kids!

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    One of the biggest things I have learned over my years as a mother is that we are two imperfect people raising imperfect people in a world that often works against us.


    This can sound like a sober realization and a hopeless proclamation but I’d like to take the opportunity to explain why it is actually a huge encouragement for moms who are overwhelmed or discouraged or who just feel like God made a mistake when He made them responsible for such tiny creatures. 
    encouragement for moms who are overwhelmed and discouraged. we're all broken
    We were not designed to be broken. Our world, our bodies, our souls, were created to be pure and in perfect harmony with the Creator. A phrase I was taught at a youth retreat a couple decades ago is that “God doesn’t make mistakes.”
     

    He didn’t make a mistake when he made you a mother. On the contrary, He gave you the exact children that you were meant to have, in the exact amount, and with the exact personalities He wanted for them. None of them were accidentally put into your heart, home, and family.

     

    That is one aspect of this concept. The next is the acceptance that we will never be able to raise perfect children. We all have our own childhood issues from when our parents raised us that we need to deal with, some are more traumatic and some affects us less but they are all part of our story and who we are today. Our children will also be affected by their childhood, for better or worse. 

     

    I have met amazing parents whose teenage and adult children chose to follow dangerous or heartbreaking paths. I have met parents who neglected or abused their children whose children found healing and hope and have gone on to become incredibly stable and hope-filled adults. 

     

    Does this mean that parenting doesn’t matter? Absolutely not. When children grow up with a stable, consistent, and loving caregiver, they always remember what security and safety feel like, no matter the direction they take in life. 

    Down to our very soul, God made us in His image to be amazing and world impacting people. His original design and desire for us is to worship Him in wholeness.

    encouragement for moms who are overwhelmed and discouraged. we're all broken

    Down to our very soul, God made us in His image to be amazing and world impacting people. His original design and desire for us is to worship Him in wholeness. Unfortunately we are attacked on a daily basis by the broken world we live in. We believe the lies that tell us we’re not good enough. That we are worthless because we don’t measure up to an arbitrary standard or because we are terrible sinners.

     

    I will admit that I am not a thorough housekeeper. I don’t enjoy it and often do just the minimum to keep my house respectable. After 15 years of keeping my own house, I still haven’t found a way to actually enjoy it. (I’m guessing many of you can relate.) Does this make me any less of a person? Not in the slightest. We would never say that someone is worth less because they can’t manage to keep all the laundry cleaned, folded, and put away! Some days it is a struggle just to keep it all in the house! (Please tell me my kids are not the only ones who leave socks, shirts, and muddy jeans outside under the swing set.)

     

    What you do (or do not do) does not define who you are.

     

    Whether you struggle with minor things like math or laundry, or with more life-altering habits and sins, what you do does not change the fact that God did not mess up on you. The devil’s trick is to make you believe the lie that you are not enough. It is the same lie he will tell your children through their lives.

     

    Do you remember when you first looked on your child? Born into this world and full of beauty and innocence. Potential. Wholeness.

     

    All of that is still there.

    As someone who is constantly battling the devil whispering in my ear and telling me that I’m not good enough, as someone who has been pushed down and trampled on by brokenness too many times to count, I can still confidently say that the world may break me but God still owns me. He is still the foundation, the core, that I am built on. And He keeps rebuilding me. I beg Him regularly to keep rebuilding me.

     

    That same core is built into you and your children. We would never say there is such thing a worth more or worth less when it comes to our children so why do we believe the lie that there is such a thing when it comes to God’s children? 

     

    Knowing this lie will attack our children, are there any measures we can take to prepare them? 

    The number one thing we can do as parents is to fill up our hearts with so much Truth and Love, to allow ourselves to accept that we are broken but can be built up, that it can’t help but spill over into our children. They need us to fill them up with so much of God’s perfect Love that they can reject the lie that will be whispered to them, shoved at them, and sometimes even shouted from the rooftops, throughout their lives. 

     

    No matter what way I look at this parenting gig, it always cycles back to my childhood song of “read your Bible, pray every day.” Always back to starting with good, faith building habits.

     

    “We’re all broken but we’re all in this together.

    God knows we stumble and fall,

    But He so loved the world He sent His son to save us all.”

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    How to Become an Ideal Mother: Is it Possible?

    I have been working on establishing the same morning routine with my kids for 6 years. 

     

    I can’t remember where I saw the high 5 idea first but I looked back in my photos recently and saw a picture of my now 11 year old in front of the high 5 poster we still use today. Except he was 5 in the picture.

     

    I have always said that consistency in motherhood is challenging for me. I am starting to believe that may not be the case. 
    Encouragement for mothers who feel overwhelmed by motherhood and like they'll never measure up. You were made for this!

    6 years of pushing for the same routine (that still doesn’t happen every day or without a decent amount of prodding from me) is kind of the definition of consistency. Or maybe it is closer to persistence.

     

    Persistent motherhood.

     

    Morning High 5 routine for kids

    Maybe you have changed up your routines every few months trying to find something that works. You’re still persisting. Trying, even if you don’t see massive success is still trying.

     

    I have been watching videos and reading books lately about re-framing your limiting beliefs and mindset. This isn’t a new concept by any means. I learned about this process years ago, before I had kids and was working in a fast paced financial services company. Re-framing and visualization and positive self talk are things used in the business world all the time.

     

    I have also learned a bit about cognitive behavioral therapy in order to understand and work through some of my depression and anxiety issues. Add to that using ideas of positive parenting for raising my children.

     

    But re-framing myself as a mother is something that I have just recently started exploring.

    I think that we, as mothers, are very hard on ourselves. I know many mothers compare themselves to others, whether on social media or their friends or even their own mothers. We have this ideal for what a mother should be like and do and how she should interact with the kids, keep her house, and love her husband.

    I think it is pretty common knowledge that positive self talk and affirmations are good for our minds. (If it’s not something you’re familiar with, please let me know and I can go into more detail about how and why this works.) So why not apply this to myself (or yourself) as a mother?

     

    I think that we, as mothers, are very hard on ourselves. I know many mothers compare themselves to others, whether on social media or their friends or even their own mothers. We have this ideal for what a mother should be like and do and how she should interact with the kids, keep her house, and love her husband. I have learned not to compare myself to others but I still have this ideal of what kind of a mother I want to be. 

     

    A mother should be consistent in her homemaking routines and the discipline of her children. 
    A mother should be patient with listening to her children and in her reactions to their misbehavior. 
    A mother should encourage her children and use positive parenting techniques to build their character and self worth.
    A mother’s home and schedule should be organized to provide a peaceful environment for her family and allow for the best use of her time.

    A mother should be energetic enough to accomplish her tasks, teach her children their routines, and still have energy to devote to her marriage and her own passions.

     

    Do any of those sound like thoughts you have had? Those are some of the expectations that I have for myself. The ideal mother. 

     

    My children and husband would be quick to point out that I don’t fit those descriptions very well.  I’m inclined to agree.
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     But what if they’re wrong? What if I’m wrong?

    What I mean is, what if that mother is inside of me, just figuring out how to make herself known? This is where re-framing coming in. There are some skills I need to learn and practice but why couldn’t I become this kind of mother? There are many moms with different personalities who are achieving the basics of ideals. Why not me?

     

    God didn’t make me any less of a person. Sure, I have different challenges that many of you won’t have (depression, my husband’s heavy work load, health related energy issues, large family in a small house, low income, homeschooling, etc) but God allowed each of those challenges into my life so He knows about them. 

     

    I can’t remember where I heard it first but we can see throughout scripture that God does not call the equipped. In fact, the people He uses in some big ways also have major struggles against sin (Abraham) and temptation (King David) and their flesh (Paul). 

     

    God equips the called. 

     

    He has called me to be a mother. He has put some of those ideals and desires into my heart. How could I ever think He would leave me alone to struggle through this journey? 

    I AM a mother who is consistent, patient, encouraging, organized, and energetic, even if I’m still a work in progress. 

     

    Who do you want to become? What are you doing to get there? Comment below with some of the ideals that you feel are inside you and waiting to come to fruition. 

    If you want some guidance in how to work toward these ideals, be sure to sign up for my weekly post summary for regular encouragement and get a free printable guide that will help you choose and follow through on life changing habits!

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