This last week or so my older two have stepped up a notch in being responsible for their own studies.  

 

Jessica has set goals for the next 6 weeks or so.  She followed a format that I had used previously.  She considered the study time available, and considered the study material we have provided and set goals for each subject.  She monitors her progress weekly.

 

Joshua has begun to start his studies as soon as he is finished his morning responsibilities.  In the past he has taken the mornings slowly, enjoying the freedom to read.  The last few weeks though he has realized the benefits of getting your responsibilities done early, doing your study and then having your “free” time in one block, in the afternoon.  

 

Both of them keep a record of their completed work in their diary; just a to-do list, ticked off by the end of the day (and transferring anything not done to the next appropriate day).

 

This is very exciting to see this coming together.  When you have younger children and you plug away at these things you do wonder if it is ever going to change.  Be encouraged – it does!

 

I have had to ask myself, what am I doing to set my younger two on this track?  Josh and Jess didn’t just start doing these things – it is a result of training, practice, and expectation.

 

 

• Daily Diary – the younger two need to see that it is important to know how you’ve spent your time.  A diary sets goals for the day, which even though I write up, they can read and motivate themselves through.   They need to see the diary at the end of the day so they can be aware if they wasted time or used it productively. The daily to-do list becomes the younger children’s goals, eventually they will transfer to weekly goals, and then goals for a study block, such as 6 weeks.

 

• I need to teach my children, that the to-do list isn’t the most important thing – it is a guide for when everything is going smoothly.  Heart issues come first and I need to talk to the kids when I make a shift in focus from my to-do list to a relationship focus.  They need to know that there was a reason, a higher reason, for not getting those things done.

 

• A regular routine.  Our day is broken into blocks and my children have routines for each block.  I can switch a block around and they will fall into routine for that block.  A habit of routine, will give the children something to hang their choices on later in life.