We enter life curious. We wonder about the world around us, but as the years unfold that natural curiosity for life and learning can fade. So, how can we cultivate curiosity in our children?
In this episode, Connie talks with Cheryl Bastian about how to cultivate curiosity in our children.
How do you remain steadfast?
Be flexible
Foster conversation
Be specific
Be inviting
Let go of our expectations
How to become a student of your child?
Be willing to change
Listen and discern
Show interest
Get on their level
Observe what they spend time doing?
Focus on the clues they give by watching them
Note what excite them
Give margin in your day for discovery
Curiosity fuels learning. Therefore, we must be intentional to cultivate our child’s natural curiosity throughout their childhood. Don’t let the daily schedule keep them from exploring the world of possibilities.
“Our family is a learning family. We’re in this together.” – Cheryl Bastian
About Cheryl Bastian
Cheryl’s home education journey spans twenty-seven years with eight children, ages thirty-one to five. Her vast experiences allow her to journey alongside families at many stages of learning. As an author and speaker, Cheryl encourages parents to be intentional, real, and relational as they raise life-long learners. Her resources are available at www.cherylbastian.com.
Do you ever feel like you don’t have enough faith to do what God asks you to do? Or that God isn’t big enough to help you? If you answered yes to either question, you’re not alone. Even Abraham and Noah also struggled when God gave them instructions!
We need to remember that it’s not about having faith in ourselves. God isn’t interested in the amount of faith we have when we start, but it is the faith we place in God that matters. Faith in ourselves doesn’t impress the Lord.
Throughout scripture, God commends people who obeyed Him despite their lack of faith. We start our race, and as we obey, our faith in God grows.
Our faith is a response to God’s leading, not how much faith we can muster up before we start. God gives us the grace to grow when our faith feels small. So it’s time to stop focusing on “me” and start focusing on God. It’s not about having faith in faith, but faith in God.
We can’t allow our false to stand in the way of God using us. God remembers our faithfulness, not our flaws. He initiates, we respond. As he leads, our faith story unfolds. Just like in the days of Noah, it won’t always be easy to follow the Lord. Our faith will fail us, but our God never will.
Big God
What would your relationship with God be like if you believe Jesus:
wants the pleasure of your company?
cares more about you than your performance?
designed spiritual growth to be an ongoing journey, not an instant change
delights in who you are becoming and isn’t put off by your weakness?
Don’t allow your lack of faith to hinder you from doing what you know you are being called to do. Debbie’s book Little Faith, Big God helps you put off your superhero cape for a dynamic relationship with a God.
Remember, God chose to use Abraham, Noah, and Jacob despite their flaws. They were picked before they were born. So are you, my friend. What is God asking you to do?
God’s grace is amazing, and when we live in response to His grace, our faith grows.
Points to Ponder:
Are you living what you believe?
What is God taking you through now?
Are you living in a way that others see the Lord at work in your life?
Little Faith, Big God reminds us not to focus on the size of our faith but to keep our eyes on the size of our God. Tune out the noise in the world.
About Debbie W. Wilson
Drawing from her personal walk with Christ, 24 years as a Christian counselor, and decades as a Bible teacher, Debbie W. Wilson helps people—especially overachievers—give themselves a break and live in God’s grace so they can enjoy fruitful and fulfilling lives.
She is the author of and Little Faith, Big God. She and her husband Larry founded Lighthouse Ministries, a nonprofit ministry offering counseling, life and relationship coaching, and Bible studies. She is an Advanced Writers and Speakers Association certified speaking and writing coach. Her ministry assignments have taken her across the USA and overseas. Debbie enjoys exploring new places, reading a good mystery, eating dark chocolate, and laughing at the antics of her two standard poodles.
Homeschooling is too hard! Where do I start? I could never do that! Are common questions parents ask when considering if they should homeschool their children.
I frequently thought, “I’m not qualified to teach my kids. I don’t have a teaching degree. I don’t know phonics or Physics.” The cool part is I didn’t need any of those to homeschool. I needed the Lord to lead me, a willing heart, a desire to figure it, and the resolve to stick with it. And, my friend, that’s what you need too! You don’t have to have a degree to teach you children either.
Homeschoolers have a proven track record of successfully homeschooling their children.
Make Homeschooling Easy!
The one tool you should have is Everything You Need to Know about Homeschooling: A Comprehensive, Easy-to-Use Guide for the Journey from Early Learning through Graduation by Lea Ann Garfias. Lea Ann created a complete reference guide to help you with everything you need to successfully tackle homeschooling in your own style, filling your experience with confidence, grace, and the joy of learning.
Homeschooling is an educational option worth serious consideration. Don’t let fear or doubt stop you from embracing the homeschool lifestyle.
Homeschooling doesn’t have to be hard! It can be made easy with the right tools.
About Lea Ann Garfias
Lea Ann Garfias is a homeschool graduate, a homeschooling mother of six, and the author of four books, including three on homeschooling. She and her husband, David, live in Dallas, Texas. Besides “author,” she holds the titles of “professional violinist,” “French-press owner,” and “friend.”
Is school driving out your child’s creativity? Is a formal degree the only way to a fulfilling or financially rewarding career? Is your child’s degree making your child unhirable?
After fifteen years of teaching college students, Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang quit her job as a professor.
Kids are taught they need a college education to enjoy a fulfilling or financially rewarding life. But that isn’t true! Dr. Ai believes we might be doing a disservice to our kids by telling them college is the only way to succeed or that college education might be making them unhirable in the real world.
Today’s kids need permission to do everything. Kids are so afraid of making a mistake or not getting an “A” that don’t try! They don’t know how to think on their own. Our current educational system is driving the creativity, innovation, and curiosity out of our children. And we need to change that.
Tune into my conversation with Dr. Ai we discuss the loss of child creativity.
Is School Driving Out Your Child’s Creativity?
Where does the best education begin?
What can parents do to give their child an excellent education, not a quality one?
Why do we have to teach our children to be learners?
What should the purpose of education be?
Where does the best education begin?
Should everything be based on academics?
What can parents do to give their child an excellent education, not a quality one?
It’s not uncommon for employers to unschool college grads so they can unlearn and relearn how to be creative.
What Can Parents Do to Maintain Their Child’s Creativity
Stay informed.
Stay critical
Remember, the teacher doesn’t always know best.
Embrace Failures
Let our kids try and fail.
About Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang
Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang is an educator and an entrepreneur. She received her MA and Ph.D. in Communication from Syracuse University and the University of Maryland. Ai is the founder of Classroom Without Walls, an alternative school to future-proof the next generation. Ai is also an Adobe Insider, Adobe Education Leader, and HubSpot Academy Instructor. Dr. Ai additionally serves as a SEMrush Webinar guest and host.
Parents know the public educational system is broken, but most don’t know what they can do about it. Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang was a college professor for over a decade and knew firsthand what was happening in the classroom and why she walked away from her teaching job to pursue something better. What can you do about the broken education system?
In this episode, we discuss why the system is broken, and practical things parents need to know so their child can obtain a superior education that focuses on learning, not test-taking.
The Broken Education System
Why kids are falling behind
How the system focuses on theories, not on the application
How parents can foster a love of discovery and learning
Why kids need practical experience to learn concepts
What parents can do to give their child a superior education, not a quality one
Why kids need to questions their teachers
How the learning process really happens
Conclusion
Parents can’t rely on a broken education system to provide a superior education for their children. My goal is to help you learn what you can do with your child at home to foster a love of learning that will continue throughout their lives.
About Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang
Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang is an educator and an entrepreneur. She received her MA and Ph.D. in Communication from Syracuse University and the University of Maryland. Ai is the founder of Classroom Without Walls, an alternative school to future-proof the next generation. Ai is also an Adobe Insider, Adobe Education Leader, and HubSpot Academy Instructor. Dr. Ai additionally serves as a SEMrush Webinar guest and host. Dr. References and Links
