We Were Mamas First

By -



As we continue in our series of posts using the word HOMESCHOOL as an acronym, we come to the letter M. I hope these thoughts can encourage you on your own homeschool journey. 

What I’ve Learned About HOMESCHOOLing:
We Were Mamas First

I am known by many names: Mrs., Auntie, Sis, Beth—but one that is beyond precious to me is that of “Mama” (even when I hear it 20,000 times a day). Ever since I was young, I dreamed and prayed that one day I would be a mother. My journey to motherhood was not an easy one. There were many tears and times of great fear as we wondered if we would even become parents. However, God has blessed us with two beautiful children and I could not be more grateful.

Those days of babyhood, now long past (they are currently eight and ten years old), are sweet memories for me—baby snuggles, first steps, silly songs, bedtime stories, all those moments we spent simply playing together... How could time have gone by so fast? 

Now that my children are older, it is easy to forget to cherish this time we have with each other. This can be especially true when it’s time to do our schoolwork. 

 See, I am a Type A, list-driven kind of girl. I love the feeling of marking things off of my to-do list as I go throughout the day. Sometimes I find myself in this “get it done” kind of mode when it comes to our school day. I feel an urgency to move onto the other items on my list and I don’t want to linger over our school lessons.

This past year I have really been challenged in this area. (Perhaps because my oldest hit the decade mark?!?) The days are passing quickly and I don’t want to rush through moments that will one day be only memories in my heart.


I must never forget that I was a mama before anything else. Before I taught them how to read, before they learned about the Civil War or 2 + 2, long before they had handwriting or spelling—I was their mama.

  As important as being their teacher is, I do not want to lose sight of our relationship as mother and child. I need to make time for those extra questions and tangent moments. I need to relax and enjoy their snuggles while reading together on the couch. 

 I want to relish the sound of their voices as they describe the stories inside their heads. I want to be all there, connecting in my heart with these little ones I call son and daughter.

Sometimes we forget to appreciate the great opportunity we have to spend each day with our children—to watch them learn new things, ask us their multitudes of questions, join in as they explore and discover this amazing world, simply being together….

 These days of childhood, will all too soon be past, and will only be sweet memories. 

 I don’t want to miss a single one!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Music Lessons?

By -
           Whether it’s knowing how to answer your children when they ask, “Why do I have to take music lessons?” or answering family members who ask, “Why are you wasting money on piano lessons?”, we hope the following list of reasons may give you some ammunition against music-lesson-skeptics:   Music lessons really do build character and instill diligence and a strong work ethic in the participant.   Music lessons give a child an appreciation for music that merely listening to it will not afford.   Music lessons have been determined to reduce anxiety, depression, and attention problems in children because they change the cortical thickness in the brain.   Increased cortical thickness in the brain also allows a student to improve memory skills, organizational skills, and attention.   Music lessons improve a child’s ability to solve complex math problems, comprehend reading passages, and use his verbal skills more effectively.   A child who takes musical lessons tends to ma
Read more

Never Stop Learning!

By -
Image
As we conclude our series of posts using the word HOMESCHOOL as an acronym, we come to the letter L.  What I’ve Learned About HOMESCHOO L ing: Never Stop Learning- No Ruts Allowed!  I just told my husband yesterday that I think I know my math facts better now than ever before. Why is that, you may ask? Because I am reviewing flashcards every day, doing facts practice pages, working through multi-step math problems… all with my children!   It never ceases to amaze me how much I am learning while we homeschool. Things I never knew (or understood?) when I was in school are so interesting to me now. I love being in on this learning process with my kiddos! Just as we are constantly learning new things in math, science, and grammar, we need to be willing to keep learning in other areas too. I tend to be a “rut” kind of person. If it works, why bother changing it? However, this isn’t always the best approach to life or schooling. Sometimes we should improve in an are
Read more

My Best Time of Day

By -
             My husband is a night owl —accomplishing some of his best work after 10:00 P.M. I am a morning dove (yes, I know that’s spelled incorrectly; work with me for the pun’s sake), getting up around 3:30 A.M. so I can have some alone time to get my best work done. Others would be like hummingbirds, who can work all day long. Okay, let’s get away from the bird similes and go to the point: u se your best time of day to accomplish your most important work ! Whether it’s creating lesson plans, grading, reading lesson instructions, having devotions, spending time with your spouse, working on scrapbooks, or whatever else is significant to you, use the best hour of your day to do that work . Determine what is most important to you or most necessary to you, and then accomplish that work when you are freshest and most alert. So, if it is within your power, use your best hour of the day to do your best work—in terms of productivity or in terms of quality of production.         
Read more