It’s almost time for the new school year to start! Are you ready? I learned over 31 years of homeschooling that the most important way to be ready for the new school year was knowing what my homeschool priorities were, and planning our daily schedule accordingly.
If you don’t KNOW your true priorities, you will be easily overwhelmed.
Fortunately we have the Bible as our guide book, and it makes it very clear what our priorities ought to be as we we teach and train our kids.
In II Peter 1:5 it says, “….add to your faith virtue (or character); and to virtue knowledge.”
This should be the order of our priorities according to God’s Word:
1. Build their faith.
Our first priority ought to be building our children’s faith, by teaching them about God and His Word. Planting God’s Word in their hearts and minds is the secret to success in homeschooling, as well as life!
Be sure to read God’s Word with your kids first thing in the morning. Memorize some Scripture with them. Get them excited about God’s Word by talking about it, sharing what God is teaching you from it, and making it personal and applicable to them.
2. Train them in character.
This takes work and time, but it is our job as parents so we need to make it a daily priority.
I would much rather my children have the character quality of wisdom, and lack a little bit of knowledge, than the opposite. (Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.)
Wisdom is just one of the many character qualities we should be trying to teach and example to our children. We need to remember to have a plan to purposefully work on their character daily.
Character lays the foundation for academic success.
“Development of character is critical to the proper growth and maturation of a young child. Home educators are returning to the crucial development and nurture of character. The most important task of the educator is to prepare his students for life. And the best way to prepare a student for life, is to teach, model, and promote the development of godly character. Character training is the most important and most laudable activity for a teacher to be engaged in. If a student is taught nothing else save character alone, he will be better prepared for life than those who are taught pure academics but no character.” –Ray Ballman – The How & Why Of Homeschoolng
3. Academics or knowledge.
As homeschoolng parents I think it’s vital that we give our kids a good education. However, we also need to remember that academics should not be at the top of our daily priority list.
According to the Bible, academics should be THIRD on our priority list – not first. Often as homeschooling parents we get caught up in the curriculum and lesson plans allowing them to take first place in our day.
Why not start your day with the things that GOD says are important? Before beginning the academics, spend time with God’s Word and have a character lesson.
When you give God the first part of your day, He will then bless the time that remains for academics. You will also be teaching your kids what you really value, and that God’s Word should have first place daily.
Keeping these priorities in place is something we need to always be working on. Occasionally check how you have spent your time during the week, and see what your time usage indicates that your priorities were. Make sure you don’t let other things take first place over what God says is most important.
Kathie
Latest posts by Kathie (see all)
- 10 Time Management Secrets Every Homeschooling Mom Should Know - October 26, 2024
- 4 Keys to Homeschool Success - October 26, 2024
- 7 Tips for When You Feel Like A Bad Mom - October 26, 2024
- Three Homeschool Priorities - October 26, 2024
- 4 Tips For Frustration-Free Discipline - October 26, 2024
Leave a Reply