Our family values education in school and life. That is why we made the decision to start training early with our Princess. We also will be doing this with our Little Man too. The tag line for this blog, “Train up a child… Proverbs 22: 6”, is not just a tag line, but something my husband and I really believe in. Training our children is not just about education but also social and moral training as well.
The following are 5 ways we train our children:
- Modeling correct behavior
- Introducing the Bible
- Books and flashcards
- Social interaction
- Routine
Modeling Correct Behavior:
Correct behavior is something that our children have to learn, and the best place for them to learn it, is in the home. The way my husband and I act, how we communicate, how things are said, what we do – those are ways for children to learn. That is why I have asked a few times for you to pray for me. I freely admit, I need more patience. Now that we have two children, I really need more patience. My tone, my attitude – these are things that I must control and I pray daily for. So first, we need to watch how we as parents model behavior – start training early in the home with parents.
Introducing the Bible:
This is also important in our family. We want our children to understand the importance of Jesus in our home and so we have children’s Bibles, story books, family prayer time, and we also make church attendance a priority. Our church has a class for babies to 3 – Beginners 1. My Princess, when she turned 4, moved up to Beginners 2. I want her and my Little Man to see our behavior and interaction as well as see us make God and the Bible a priority so they can make better decisions and hopefully become better adults one day that want God and the Bible in their life.
Books and Flashcards:
Since our daughter was a baby we have had books for her. We read to her, and she loves books and story time now. We also have various flash cards that she loves to play with, look at, and learn from. Starting education at a young age is good for children, stimulates their brains, and makes learning something fun and exciting. My daughter loves school time and now that I have a Teach My Baby Kit and all the things left over from when our daughter was a baby, I cannot wait to start sharing this with my Little Man.
Social Interaction:
Life on the road can make social interaction difficult but it is essential for our children to learn how to socialize and communicate with other children and adults. We have church classes (as I mentioned above), nightly kids meetings at our seminars, we join local pools, go to local libraries, and recently we have placed our daughter in ballet and tap class. Thankfully, when we are home in Washington we have family and friends nearby to make play dates with. Training children early also includes training them how to interact with others in a proper way. (That is not always easy for a four year old!)
Routine:
Routines are essential and difficult, at least in my home. Kids work well with routines though so we do try to stick to one. It seems easier on the road to stick to a routine but when we have time off and are home we are often out visiting with family and friends and routines fly out the door. Do you have a great routine that works for your home?
For more posts related to this one visit:
- Good Mommy
- Parenting a Toddler
- Teach My Baby Kit Review
- Homeschool Preschool
- Top Ten Preschool iPad Apps
Disclosure: As a member of Clever Girls Collective, I was selected to participate in the Healthy Habits program sponsored by Kimberly-Clark and Colgate-Palmolive. The content and opinions expressed here are all my own. #healthyhabits #cgc
These are all great ways to bring up children!
Social interaction is so important to teach! I have been in contact with quite a few children who simply didn’t know how to introduce themselves or say hi back when someone says hello to them. Children need to be taught the basics of how to interact with those around them, and it’s best to start as early as possible.
Great information! It’s so important to start all of these things early on.
What great information! It is so important to start education early!
Great ideas! I actually do most of these with my son, I just didn’t even realize it. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
love your ideas – even before school starts there are so many things that children can learn.
What a great post 🙂 Values are such an important part of raising your child. And I definitely agree about the books! We started with Bubbles as soon as she was old enough to be held up to look at the pictures. Now she spends hours every day sitting in her “reading chair” and flipping through book after book. I love to see her so engaged; I hope she carries it with her throughout life.
I have been thinking about homeschooling my 3 year old and I like some of your advice.