“As StoryAthletes we know that we’re always at war with our Lesser Self. It’s wise for us to look to those who came before us to glean examples of heroic traits that our Heroic Self can learn from. But it’s important that we never put all of our stock in any one hero. The X-Men are strong because each character brings a unique strength to the table. Wolverine, Storm, and Xavier all have heroic attributes. But if you try to fuse adamantium to your skeleton to become like Wolverine, you’ll probably die in the process. So we must not waste our energy trying to reproduce any one storyline. Like a patchwork quilt, we adopt the qualities that inspire us, and build up a character that is uniquely our own.”
A few days ago I was cleaning and organizing the ‘homeschool room’. I put those words in quotation marks because, although that’s what we call the space, not much homeschooling takes place there. The room is packed with cardboard boxes that have never been unpacked since we moved here 4 years ago, with tons of toys, learning tools, games, papers, you name it. I was procrastinating on doing my taxes and decided to start finally making progress in this room.
One of the first boxes I unpacked held a treasure!! A kindergarten curriculum I have been searching for a long time. So I sat down and began to type out my ideal kindergarten schedule to use with my newly turned 5 year old girl.
There were three columns. First, the time we would begin each new activity. Second, the activity. Third, the character trait(s) to be developed with that activity.
For example:
Checking the quail eggs daily, and at the end of 17 days, watching them hatch. Patience.
Candling the eggs. Attention to detail
Free play. Imagination
Learning to read. Persistence
Science experiment. Curiosity.
My Father’s World kindergarten curriculum. Appreciation and love for God’s creation.
Feeding/watering the chicks, rabbits, goats. Responsibility
And on…
To me, it’s more important that my children graduate from homeschool with a love for Christ and a strong character than if they excel in the subjects they studied. Although, after over 18 years of doing this, I am finding that when we take care of the former, the latter follows.
These days, I am proud of the young men my 3 older sons are becoming. All three have their issues, setbacks and problems, as we all do. But overall, they display some beautiful attributes. When you have a strong character, a learning spirit and a strong walk with Christ, you can take on just about anything that life throws at you.