Reflecting on Foundations

·        This morning, I'm at the first day of our CC Parent Practicum and thought I'd reflect a little on graduating one child from all of elementary school! 

      Our family just finished seven years in the Classical Conversations Foundations program and our oldest daughter will be entering Challenge A this Fall. This has given me reason to pause and think back over the years of Foundations for truth and glimpses of beauty and grace to hold onto as we forge ahead. This could apply generally to elementary years whether you are in CC or even if you homeschool or not.

·         I’m way behind but have been working my way through printing out my blog and just finished the year 2013. One thing I’m struck with as I go back through the words and pictures that made up the days of our lives is that even though each day it felt like I didn’t do enough, have the right attitude or accomplish everything I wanted to with our children – there was the overarching theme of beauty, sweet memories and success as I looked through those pages. I felt so grateful that we had spent all of those moments together which add up to a legacy of a happy childhood. We took picnics, played games, went outside on nature walks, had tea parties, lit candles, celebrated the every day and learned together. 

·         When I think of Foundations – a few words/phrases come to mind:

o   Faithful

o   Trust the model, keep it simple

o   Embrace family time, enjoy childhood

o   Don’t compare to other families and question if you are doing enough

·         Over-arching word: Establish

o   This season is the season of establishing:

§  Home rhythms that bring peace

§  School habits

§  How to learn

§  Our roles as teacher, wife and mother

§  Our home as a place of learning and grace

§  Our family personality, what matters to us and how do we recharge

§  The goals we have for educating our children, why are we homeschooling, how will we homeschool, what results are we praying for

§  Their roots in God’s Word

§  Boundaries

·        
           Proverbs 24:3, “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

·         Psalm 90:17, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands.”

·         Isaiah 26:12, “O Lord, you will ordain {or establish} peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.”

·         Isaiah 61:3, “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

·         The word establish reminds us of our ultimate purpose, To Know God and Make Him Known. We have to establish who HE is to us, who He is to our children and why they need Him. Why does He need to be made known and how does the world need Him? How does He fit into education and how will we rely on Him to carry this mission out?

·         Five summers ago I went to a Practicum in the Savannah area and the number one takeaway I brought home was to set home hours. I put a note on my door, turned off my phone and made it a priority to be home and unconnected from interruptions during those hours. As my children have grown, I can check in on my texts/emails during the morning but still try to unplug our home phone and not answer the door in an effort to remain focused on the matters at hand: teaching and training my children. 

·        There are some great quotes for inspiration that you can find in your Foundations Guide and in The Core!  If I could leave us with one more word in thinking on the Foundations years it would be wonder. Cultivate the wonder of the world around us, the Creator who provided it and takes care of us, the natural joy of children. 

·         A fun Icelandic word Hoppipolla { hop-E-‘pod-dla Hoppy-poddla} means jumping into puddles. Let the Foundations years be this jumping in the puddles, the exuberance for life and exploring the world around us through the eyes of our children.

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