Holy Habits: A year of intentional character building

 

As I've shared before, our intentions with homeschooling go far beyond just education. For us, the most important thing in this world is for our children to come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. In other words, if our children have doctorate degrees but fail to know Jesus, it will have all been for nothing. We build our homeschool around God, with our #1 goal being to point our children to Him. Everything else is 2nd.

 

With that being said, character building is a huge part of our daily curriculum. And if you have a child who's older than 1, you already know that this is the most difficult part about parenting.  Sorry, the diaper changing and night time feedings are a breeze compared to this!  Some days, I have to admit, when it comes to opportunities for building character in my children, I operate from more of reactionary mode, rather than a training or building up one.  

 

That's why I was thrilled to find some creative help in this area via someone whose already done the leg work for me. :)

 

Her name is Jessica and she's a fellow homeschooling mom.  Last year, she created a year's worth of intentional habits for her kids.  She focused on one habit each month by using activities, games, stories, and scripture to reinforce that month's habit (or as I like to call them, virtues).  I love that it doesn't take a whole lot of time and it's not even something you would necessarily do everyday.  The point is to get everyone in your family onboard so it becomes a collective and intentional move towards progression (and not the reactive sort of parenting most of us find ourselves doing at some point). That can get exhausting... fast. 

 

Even though this year is well underway, I introduced this idea to my family this morning and they were more than excited to get started.  Below is a rough schedule for the rest of the year.  I may tweak some of these habits as I see fit but for the most part, I think it's a great outline. 

 

February – Listening to What is Being Said
March – Encouraging Others
April – Getting Rid of the Clutter
May – Pay Attention to Others Needs
June – Put Away Things Without Being Asked
July – Keeping Your Word
August – Speaking Well of Others
September - Working Heartily
October – Responding Cheerfully
November – Serving Others
December – Mean What You Say      

 

So far, we've talked about why it's important to listen and why God gave us two ears and only 1 mouth. :)  I've made a game out of giving them specific instructions to see if they accurately listened.  And, we've played Simon Says. 

 

Each month, I plan to write a recap of what worked for us.  I'll share any resources, activities, or games that really helped the girls grasp the concept. 

 

For starters, I can already feel a sense of change in me.  It's made me much more fun and intentional.  It's lightened me up and made me better. 

 

It's funny, the girls seem to be almost "looking for" opportunities to practice the habit of the month. 

 

Our goal, of course, is not necessarily to master these virtues by the end of the year but to have a frame work and better understanding of what it actually means to live them out.

 

Frankly, some of these habits may take a lifetime to master but hopefully, spending some time focusing on each habit will lay the foundation for stronger character. 

 

So thankful for moms like Jessica who are much more creative and intentional than me! :) 

 

I'll share an update at the end of this month. Stay tuned!