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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Teaching my kids to fish (to be independent)



"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime" Chinese Proverb

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Being a mom is the best and most rewarding job of all! It is also the most challenging! There is so much that we as mom's must be and do and become. I love this Chinese proverb. It truly helps me keep perspective why I keep teaching in my home.

At some point, my sons will become a men and my daughters will become women. What kind of men and women will they be? My true task of being a mom is to help guide them to become confident, independent, responsible, caring adults that love the Lord and will be able to reach their highest potential in all that they do and are.

For lots of years, I started to write down all the things I felt were things my children needed to learn before they got out of the house and at what age was a good time for them to learn those things. With each new kids we found that we were having to add new things to our lists. For the most part, the timing has worked out, but we have rearranged them a bit as we have learned what was age appropriate (and not) and with each individual child's abilities. Teens have moved us into a new busier stage of life, even as we venture back to the baby stage with my youngest. It keeps my mind overloaded most of the time, so I love having this list to refer to. It is not set in stone, it is not law but it is very nice to have.


Age by age list of things to teach my kiddos:

PS After a while, i found a fabulous book on this very subject that helped with my list also.  The Parenting Breakthrough By Merrillee Browne Boyack.  Such a GREAT book!  Check it out!
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    4 comments:

    1. What a good, practical idea. I'm going to have to look at your lists, particularly the ages 12-18, since I have no experience with teenagers.

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    2. Christy! I *LOVE* this idea! I'm going to copy this and make adjustments for my own kids. This will really help me to help them. Thank you!

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    3. Your very welcome ladies. I have a horrible memory at times and this helps me stay on track with what I WANTED to teach my kids. One thing i have noticed it that this has to be tailored to each kiddo... some r ready sooner and some arent ready soon enough. it is funny how that works out that way. I am glad this helps!!

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    4. I have been looking for something like this as a starting off point. A friend and I are going to make a list together and you've given us plenty to discuss! Thank you!!

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