Finding Buried Treasure

When I brought my kids home to begin their home education, the first thing my husband and I discussed was setting our home up to look like a school. Then as we continued to read about homeschooling, our minds were changed.

I recently went to a friend’s house who has been homeschooling for twenty years! The front of her home reminded me of The Walton’s home in Virginia. The Walton’s is one of my favorite television shows and I miss it terribly! As we entered her home, we saw shelves filled with books, the walls covered in family portraits that seemed to span many, many years, and a playroom off to the left of the house. As we entered the kitchen I saw a very large island covered in egg cartons, cookie trays, and flour. Yes, indeed I felt like I was at The Walton’s home!

Not one part of her home looked like a school room. It was a home that gave the impression of a lovely family who loves to learn. Their abode was decorated with all sorts of paintings, coloring pages, and maps, but it did not look like a school. It was evident that they made education a lifestyle of learning, rather than a rigid schedule of lectures.

Educating at home has many advantages, but one that I’d like to share today is that learning is a lifestyle that spans for a lifetime. I wonder what happens to the school student who despises learning, graduates from high school, and gives up on educating themselves for the rest of their lives. I can’t imagine life without learning something new each and every day. Every little bit of information that I learn each day is like discovering a treasure box filled with jewels.

Can you imagine what it would be like if you uncovered a treasure box in your back yard? Have you ever imagined what it would be like if you discovered oil or gold on your property? Wouldn’t we be so excited!?! We’d want to tell our friends and neighbors all about it! When your children read about science or stories from their books, do they get excited to tell you what they read? Do they ever say to you, “Hey mom, did you know….?” They’re finding treasure!

Some days may be harder to learn than others. There are days when I am an avid reader, digging deeper and deeper into a book or a web page for research, however, there are also days when I’d like to close the books and turn off the computer. Our children feel the same way!

When you’re children are grown and moved away from home, what will they remember about you? Will they look back fondly on the days you sat down and taught Algebra or Biology? Will they be compelled to tell their friends and spouses about the week you taught multiplication or phonics? Now don’t get me wrong, our children need their education, but what kind of memories do we want them to have of homeschooling?

Aside from my children growing up to say that their mom taught them to read and write, I’m looking forward to the days when they’ll tell their children about the days when grandma skipped in the rain, made play dough flowers, and spun in circles at the park only to fall down dizzy and laugh together. Even these fun moments can be inspiring! When you form play dough flowers discuss who made all the flowers on the earth. While spinning dizzy at the park make memories of conversations about God created the earth to spin on an axis. Running in the rain and getting soaking wet is so much fun, but even better is the time afterwards when you’re curled up with cups of cocoa and talking about the Great Flood and Noah’s Ark.

There are so many ways you can educate your children and still have fun! Making memories and combining education can be a loving way to share your love and knowledge. Children will, no doubt, remember what you’ve taught them when it’s done with love and positive attention. Rain drops and roses and whisker on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things. Now why do you think that Maria sang about those little things? Why would her character in ‘The Sound of Music’ find joy in those memories?

Perhaps it was the way her mother educated her.

Children remember things that appeal to their senses. Anything that catches their minds through sight, smell, touch, or taste can draw them in to what you’re teaching them and that’s how they’ll remember. What do you think of when you smell the aroma of fresh baked cookies? What memory comes to mind when you taste apple pie? How do you feel when you see a rainbow?

Now here’s a challenge for you. Pray about what you’re teaching this week. Ask God to show you ways that you can incorporate one of the five senses into your day. Make it fun! We’d love to hear back from you!

Deuteronomy 6:7, “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”