setting an example

God has given each of my children an amazing set of gifts, skills, talents and experiences that shape who they are. I love watching each of them become who they were created to be. Each one has a calling, and for each one it is a unique dream for the future. Each path begins the same, here in our home, but I respect the reality that they each will pursue different futures and goals. Even in our own home, their pursuits and dreams will shape their early lives uniquely.

I pray that we would lay a sure foundation, and that our mission would be to fully equip each one to become whatever it is that they should me. They will not follow my dreams or walk long on my path, they will not hold my hand the whole way, so I pray that my life would simply be to them an example of faith, courage, and integrity.

I don’t expect them to do what I have done, I don’t want them to fall in line with my mission in this world. I want to understand what it is we can do, as parents, to catch their visions and invest what God has given, that they would each be able to shine as they walk bravely into the callings that God whispers into their hearts and minds.

I don’t want to waste a moment of their childhood on worthless things that are irrelevant to their future. So I let go, I set them free. And that looks different from the ordinary idea that each child should have a fair, equal, same, common experience and education. I pray, each day, for the wisdom it takes to let each one learn to handle the responsibilities of their liberty to become….

In my earlier years, I spent some time modeling. You can read about it in my biography, Windows to Our World. Now, I spend a lot more time modeling in a different way, enjoying my passions and studying my interests and doing my projects. I invest more time in modeling than I do trying to compel my kids to do their school work. I just model a love for learning, a passion for projects and show them what it looks like to live life to the fullest.

I am fully alive and totally focused on pursuing things that I am excited about. I invite them in to be part of my interest, and they invite me to be part of their learning. Anything I want to encourage them to do more of, I do myself in relation to my own interests.

I have a life, and I have adventures, and I enjoy projects and activities that have nothing to do with my kids. This is the essence of Mom-Schooling! My children see that I am a very passionate learner and I am living dreams right in the middle of raising a family. I share my accomplishments and struggles, and they share theirs.

I am curious about their learning and pursuits and they are just as interested in mine. Because I am enjoying life as a learner, they do too. I have done so many things in my life that my kids can learn from. I entered an election and became vice president of the town council. I wrote for newspapers and magazines. I made new kinds of foods and put on parties. I read books and listened to audio books. I tried to build a village, and failed. I invested, I won, and lost. I show them what fun it is to be a wife and mom. I teach them that it’s okay to eat chocolate in the morning and fill up journals with poems. I make tea for myself and some for them, and they make tea for me. I plant trees and research strange animals. I travel. My husband makes music and fixes computers and plays Pacman… We do a lot of things that we love, and we have fun. They can join us, copy us, learn from us, ignore us… and when they are gone we will still have each other and our hobbies and interests! This is Mom School!

There are a lot of things I don’t do to make time for what I love, and what I love the most… family.