Thank you for continuing to join me as we reshape our family, its values, and celebrate with us as we move forward to fulfill our family mission.
Today I’m sharing with you our morning routine — our morning routine with character.
Just like it’s easier to go along with the norm in behavior, it’s easy to pick up the character flaws that run amok in society today. We talked on Monday about living in an “entitlement” society.
When someone feels they should get something just because they want it, they feel entitled. The problem is, life doesn’t work that way, yet children today are being raised to believe it does. I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve met who don’t do regular chores at home. Who expect to get the newest $150 Lego set because they saw it and liked it. Who think you’re crazy for even suggesting that they earn the money to purchase it.
And friends and family don’t always help. There was a time when parents knew best. Their rules and wishes were respected by others because they were the parents. Now, we have aunts and uncles slipping candy to our over-hyped kiddos right after a grandparent or friend gives them the expensive {and inappropriate} video game you already told your little ones they couldn’t have.
After all… nobody wants your kids to feel left out, right?
I do want my kids left out.
- I want them left out of the belief that they deserve whatever they want simply because they were born.
- I want my kids left out of the race to get the latest and greatest time-sucking video game because everybody else has it.
- I want my kids left out of the childhood obesity epidemic because they want to eat the high-sugar and artificially-flavored and colored things that dance their way across my television screen.
When it comes to these {and other} examples, a little deprivation can be a good thing.
Again, it’s possible to raise kids today who don’t want these things. It’s tough–but possible–to breathe contentment into their lives with a bit of prayer and focus.
So we reinvented our mornings.
Remember this part of our Family Mission Statement?
These virtues are taken straight from the We Choose Virtues program that we love.
While we read through all of the virtues each day, we focus on one per week. I post the card related to our current virtue and we spend time “catching” each other in the act of that virtue. {Note: It is very motivating to a child that struggles with, say, self-control, to get caught exhibiting that very thing by and parent or sibling. All of our kids love this part.}
Each morning we:
- Do our individual morning chores, showing up at the breakfast table clean, groomed, and ready.
- Pray together over our meal.
- Read through our Family Mission Statement and virtue list.
- Revisit the virtue of the week.
- Talk about and pray over our day.
- I work on the breakfast dishes {and have another cup of coffee} while the kids finish clearing and wiping the table, then play together for a half hour.
- After 30 minutes {give or take–I need to make sure the coffee has kicked in}, the kids gather back at the table for hot chocolate and Grapevine Bible Studies.
On the way out to the bus, we’d stop in the doorway and put a hand on one side of the door, and hold our other hands together. I’d tell him one character trait {virtue} I’d like him to think about throughout the day and we’d pray. I’d say a small prayer for him aloud, then he’d say one for me. We both parted only after praying for one another.
And that should be celebrated.
Join us tomorrow as we wrap up this week with a focus on the consequences for positive behavior. When kids work hard, and hearts are changing, celebrations are called for. And we love to celebrate!
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- Delight Directed Homeschooling and Your Gifted Child - January 11, 2021
- 10 Things I Love About Homeschooling: A Gifted Kid’s Perspective - January 4, 2021