Heart Treasures

Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

How could Mary grasp the magnitude of her calling? To raise, nurture, train, & educate the very son of Jehova, to protect & prepare God in the flesh...and I thought the task of preparing my children for their unique calling was daunting! WOW! Twice the scriptures tell of her simply treasuring and pondering. This seems to be the "be still and know that I AM God" of motherhood!

We all have our interesting and complicated circumstances in which we bring our children into the world. God in His humor and wisdom never really lets us be "prepared". Besides, no matter how many trillions of humans have passed through the very same threshold or season before us, we have no way of knowing what it will be like to be there until we step through ourselves! Try telling a bride to be that her groom one day will not seem as perfect as he does now or a new mom to be about those late night feedings making her feel like she's lost her mind. You might as well be talking to the wall (remember when, ladies). Wisdom is lost on the young and inexperienced it seems, yet I suppose that wisdom is perhaps less a commodity to be obtained and more a taste to be acquired.

For all of the advice that is to be had about marriage, children, & homeschooling, it really is a right of passage we all must go through to find that "the way we do it" comfort zone. Who of us didn't Google "homeschooling" only to find a plethora of articles on educational philosophies, curricular approaches, learning styles...ad nauseum. Yet the best "educational" study you can do is to treasure and ponder the individuals God has placed in your safekeeping. Their one-of-a-kind personality will shed more light on what kind of materials, setting, and experiences each one needs to be prepared for what only God knows is in store.

I figure the things we can be relatively sure about preparing our children for is marriage, parenthood, church/community service, and work either within or outside the home. I have two boys at home so naturally we have a decidedly masculine environment that emphasizes those qualities that make for a godly husband, father, & leader. However, preparation thus far has been as night and day as my boys.

Morgan, my oldest is an outgoing, never met a stranger, artistic, bold, goofy "happening". He fills the room with his presence and is never at a want for something to do. Book smarts come easily for him and he is rather independent. Basically, I give him his school work, he finds a place to lie down, play some praise music, grabs a snack, and self navigates. He just needs accountability and materials. He was and is the perfect test child for curriculum!

Now for Brett, my youngest! He is so different yet equally amazing. The first time he smiled it lit up the entire room, and it still does! He is my cuddler, homebody, sweetheart. He likes me to be right there beside him all day for school and likes to talk about and interact with all that he learns. God knew exactly what He is doing when he gave me these boys in the order He did You see, severe learning delays run in both my family and my hubby's family and my darling youngest got it from both sides. I am so grateful to God that I had grown up with a father and brother who had similar struggles as my hubby and Brett and I am even more thankful that He persuaded me to homeschool!

The teasing, bullying, cruelty, and labeling that those so dear to me had to endure and that to some degree still scars them today is something my youngest has never had to experience! Sure he know that others his age and even younger read better than he does, we are your average overly social homeschoolers! Still, I have been able to sow into him that everyone is different, amazing, and made in God's image! Besides, there are 7 different kinds of "smart"; language, spatial, logic/math, body movement, musical, social, and self. Each of my wonders exhibit different kinds of intelligence.

Brett is amazingly detailed oriented and observant. My artistic doesn't like to and is not especially adept at doing dishes, vacuuming, dusting, or anything else that requires he be especially attentive. Brett, however, doesn't miss a thing and does a better job than his bigger brother! As we read aloud as a family, he has a vocabulary far above his age peers and never ceases to amaze me with the discernment and sensitivity he shows regarding others be it passers by or people we know.

I am so excited to watch him become the young man God has created him to be. He's 10 & 1/2 and beginning to have his own ideas and thoughts about how things should go. This stage scared me to death with Morgan as I worried that him having his own ideas was rebellion (thanks Mo for surviving yet another 1st child mom panic period).

Now, I am more at ease and in wonder of the steps that it takes a boy to become a man. Watching the gentle, loving spirit that is Brett blossom into more than I could have dreamed or imagined. This summer he uttered words that can only happen in homeschooling and that I will treasure and ponder always, "Mom", he asked, "do you know what my favorite subject in school is?" "Math", I said as it comes so much easier to him. "No, reading!" he said jubilantly. Tears still come to my eyes as I recall that miraculous moment. Brett reads at a 2nd grade level (right on target for the family delays) and I have seen my biggest job to make sure that he loves reading despite how difficult it is for him as it is the key to all learning. Many hours of cuddling, reading, helping, and comforting have paid off...perhaps more in the memories that I'll have of them than anything else!

Happy Heartschooling!