How to create a love for learning

 Haven't written about homeschooling for quite a while, but wanted to write a few simple thoughts on the love of learning.  This can be applied to anyone!  Whether you teach your children at home or whether you send your children to any kind of school. 

(By the way the above picture is of my sweet oldest baby who is turning 13- VERY SOON!!!!)  Passing on the tradition of making yummy cookies! 

 There are many factors with how we can create a love for learning. 

 1)  You have to love to learn!  Yep, so if you hated school or still are hating school or the thought of learning new things.....or maybe it is at the bottom of your list of things to do.  We can not expect our children to wake up and somehow love it. 

 Now that may sound harsh, but if we hate the whole voting process....how can we expect our children to learn to vote?  Of course that is one example. 

 How about looking thing up?  Do you love to look things up that your kids have questions about?

 Or do you put them off and say oh well maybe someday we will learn about that. 

 2)  The best time to learn it- IS NOW!!!!! 

 I am not saying that anytime your child has a question you have to stop everything you are doing. 

 I am however saying that you do have to stop most of the time and look it up.  Find a book.  Rent a movie- or get one from the library.  Find a coloring picture about it.  Go to pinterest- there are a million crafts for every kind of question and study unit imaginable!!!!  GREAT RESOURCE!

 The problem is if we continually say- wait wait wait.  Our kids get frustrated.  Remember when you were younger and people said just wait?  Yeah....I remember not liking that so much. 

 But man can you catch your child's interest in so many new things if you get excited with them NOW and look things up and find things for them to learn. 

 ***Just as a side note:  Ummm.....I am totally NOT a #1 teacher, do everything right, and teach perfectly- AT ALL!  I try and learn with my kids.  Just so you know- I preach to myself all the time!

 3)  Figure out new ways to learn!  Remember those different ways we all learn?  Touching, hearing, seeing, and doing.  They are ALL so important!  I have really found that my kids need ALL of them to learn the best and retain the most. 

 So anytime you can- do not just talk at them.  Show them.  Remind them.  Find a book on it.  Read it together.  Talk about the book.  What is your favorite part of the book?  What is your favorite fact about it? 

 Let them share the facts and all about the books.  Don't expect to tell them everything and have them learn.  Let them make a model of it.  Let them share with their siblings or yourself. 

 4)  Let THEM do the work.  Oh man.  I am such a control freak.  I wish I were kidding.  I am not! 

 This is an area I struggle with.....a lot!  I want to do it all myself :) he he he.......

 The problem with that is we have to allow our children to do it.  To feel it.  To imagine it.  To read it.  To create it.  To ruin it.  To make a huge mistake over it.  To get it wrong.  To get it right.  To feel the pride that only comes with doing it themselves.

 When we take away that ability........we ruin the love of learning. 

 5)  The most important thing you can do as a parent is to?

 ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, and ENCOURAGE some MORE!

 When they get it wrong.  When they fail to get it right- what is your response?  Is it ugly? 

 Or do you smile and give redirection?  Yep totally failed at this before.  I have worked very hard however in helping my babes get through things that are hard. 

 This includes a lot of tongue biting!  Thinking before opening the mouth!  Something I am not good at.  ;)

 By the way is this little man cute or what???  LOVE to squeeze him!

 OK- so I was thrown in the deep end when we came to grips with dyslexia.  I hate that word!  I do not like the fact that any one of my children would have such a hard time with reading.  Because that would mean that .......ugh!  That would mean that this was going to be a loooonnnnnngggg road.  That I would have to set aside my excitement for them to get it all right now! 

 It would crush me.  Except- their spirit of continuous trying and trying and overcoming one step at a time!  WOW- that is when you as a parent learn wayyyyy more than they do!  Just sayin'. 

 This is where the rubber meets the road so to speak.  How can you continually encourage your child even when there is an obvious road block? 

 You have to have a resolve that no matter what- even if they never get it.  Even if the one million things you try- don't work.  You will continually keep working and trying and researching until you have exhausted everything in order for your child to succeed. 

 Let me tell you - this is so much easier said than done. 

 KEEP ENCOURAGING!!!!!! 

 Keep trusting that the Lord will give you all the tools needed to teach your children. 

 One thing that breaks my heart is when I hear parents say they couldn't do what I do.  The reason it breaks my heart is not because I expect everyone to homeschool.  It is because they think I possess some magical ability.  I don't!  I am pretty stubborn.  Not sure that is an asset or a set back? 

 Teaching your children is like loving your children.  You do your best.  At the heart of it...it is all about doing your best because you love your child so very deeply!  You would give them anything you can if it would help  them! 

I think EVERY PARENT can and should teach their children.  Some of us - it happens to be all day.  Some of us....it isn't.  It is our job to make sure our children are learning.  Maybe we can't help them with every "problem" or situation, but we can help them to the best of our ability and we can all ENCOURAGE our children as often as humanly possible to LOVE LEARNING! 

***HUGE PRAYER REQUEST:  For this horrible hurricane Sandy......and the devastation.  PLEASE PRAY FOR SAFETY!!! 

***Please pray for a sweet baby girl named Joy.  She is a few weeks old and was born with a heart condition.  There have been some amazing miracles happen, but she is in a very very severe situation and needs God's continued healing!  Thank You!

***Please also pray for our family....it is so crazy because I feel like change is our "usual" he he he....but anywho.  There is more change for us coming as well.