Character Training

I usually tell people I'm not a list girl.  Truth is, I am.  I love seeing a list with items crossed off at the end of the day.  It feels complete and fulfilling to see the productivity that was made by the time I am finished each night.

Each morning I sit down and quickly make a list for each of the children.  It's a list that contains the school work I expect hope they finish by the end of the day.  Sometimes, however, that list just does not get completed before daddy gets home.

I'm quickly learning that each list isn't always going to be complete.  I'm not just a teacher to my children each day.  We have other things we have to work on besides just our academics.  One thing that often gets in the way prevents us from completing our tasks is Character Training.  

As parents, it is incredibly easy for us to expect our children to know they shouldn't hit their sibling, lie, argue, throw a tantrum, be disrespectful, etc.  After all, most of us have been going over the same issues with our children for years.  It  can easily leave us feeling as if we are beating our heads against a wall.  How frustrating it can be to repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Why does it have to feel like a never ending battle?

As homeschooling parents, we have a unique opportunity that parents of children in modern education do not have.  We have the ability to see how our children act in so many different environments every day.  We don't head off to a parent teacher conference and find out our child acts a different way than they do at home.  We don't feel surprised one way or the other.  We already know how they act because our relationship with our children really is that different.  We are not over bearing, helicopter parents.  We just have a unique relationship with our children that we should each be thankful for.

That unique relationship allows us to opportunity to truly train our children in character development.  Instead of looking at the repetition of teaching character training as an interference with our homeschooling endeavors, look at it as a blessing.  YOU get to be the one to train your child in the way they should go.  Society doesn't have as strong of a grip on our kids.  These precious little ones are not left to figure it out on their own or by the standards of the world.  How can a teacher of 30 students pay attention to all of the character traits that need developing, and then deal with them out of love for each child?  Our children are not left to learn valuable life lessons from their peers, who are also learning from their peers.  

So as your child disrespects you for the millionth time, remember, it is YOUR calling to teach them.  Repetition does not always feel like our friend, but it IS always our friend!  Over and over again, God is standing with you guiding you to teach your children the character traits they so desperately need to learn.  So stand strong parents!  The academics WILL get completed, but not at the sacrifice of teaching our children the character traits God calls us to teach them.  After all, that is far more important than the academics!