Summer reminders about parenting

I have subbed at the boys’ elementary school two days a week for the past three and a half months. For the most part, I’ve loved it. It’s been a joy to know those kids and help support the teachers. I have also been reminded of things that I want to teach the boys as they grow up, and that’s a great place to be rolling into summer break. 

-to leave a place better than they found it

-to respect their tools (whether it’s a shovel, a pencil, or an oven)

-to learn skills (how to sweep a floor, weed a garden, use a push mower, bake cookies, etc)

-to persist: not to quit when it’s hard or they don’t figure it out right away or someone else is better than they are 

-to answer people well

-to be kind

-to name their emotions

-to say “no” firmly and how to proceed based on what happens next

-to see the world and their place in it communally

-to find and do good work

-to accept responsibility for themselves, not for what they cannot control

-to love creation

-to be quiet: when others are already talking, sure, but also to be comfortable with a quiet within and around themselves

Is this extensive? Of course not. There are so many other ways of being in the world that I want them-and myself-to practice. But this list is a good reminder of what I care about as a parent. 

(No one freak out that this doesn’t mention Jesus. The majority of these are tied to the fact that I believe Jesus rose from the dead and is King of the world now. There’s also a reel on IG that talks about how we are attempting to disciple our kids in other ways.)