May 25, 2009
Work Ethic
Curriculum l Home l Meal Planner l Homeschool Planner l Articles
Welcome to the May 2009 of A Living Education E-zine!
In the business world there are turns of phrase like “work ethic”, “work competencies”, “employability skills” and other terms that all boil down to a set of characteristics that employers want in prospective employees.
I have been reading through the book of Proverbs again with my children and so often I am struck by how relevant this age old wisdom is for the Christian parent who is preparing their child to serve God and be a vital member of the world wide economy, either by being employed or by working for themselves eventually.
Charlotte Mason
Considering the above I have been thinking about what Charlotte Mason has to say about this:
Her educational motto was: “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” In this ezine’s context I feel it fair to interpret it to mean that the parent creates the atmosphere and leads the child to embrace the discipline of learning work. The outworking of both of these is a life given to diligence, service and excellence. In a phrase – a good work ethic.
When we look at the Bible, there is so much to be said about a good worker, a trustworthy steward and a faithful servant. To me, this is the standard for our homeschool. The Bible is the most useful source to teach us these truths and as we abide with the Lord He will teach us how to lead our children towards these character traits.
But there are some practical issues about sowing those seeds that will produce good fruit in our children’s lives later on. Read on...
Family Relationships
The family is the perfect unit to learn valuable life skills. I fear I may bore my readers if I talk about the importance of chores again, but this does need to be stressed in this context. When our children of any age are taught to do their jobs well, even when they don’t want to, we teach our children to embrace tasks that they may not choose to do in the normal run of events.
When we come alongside our children and help them overcome a tough school time task, we help them develop character in persevering through something hard.
When we deal with unsavory attitudes in a firm, gentle and biblical way we engage their hearts. The heart is what we want to reach...we are not just wanting behavior modification.
All of this goes to teaching, training and guiding our children towards maturity. It is not something that is always measurable in the short term, but as we diligently do what we are called to do, we will begin to see fruit.
Organizational Tips
Talking about unsavory jobs and good attitudes…Summer is here in the Northern Hemisphere! Did you manage to do your spring clean? If not, don’t worry...you can do it a little late.
Each year over our long holiday in December we have a summer blitz. I like to spread it out over the duration of the break and intersperse it with fun things. At the beginning of the break I ask my children to write down 3 things that they really want to do. (3 things X 4 children is 12 adventures fitted into our holiday!)
These are not things like visiting friends, but rather more special events that they don’t normally get to do like ten pin bowling or visiting the science centre.
I also write down some fun things for me, to make sure I don’t get to the end of my break feeling as tired as when we started!
Once these are planned in we focus on one room at a time and blitz it over a week, or less. We empty out drawers, cupboards, sofa dive, polish, repack and then dispose of the unwanted items by throwing away, recycling or returning.
Your Marriage
As I have been pondering what work ethic means to a Christian homeschool mom I have been asking my husband for his input. We have been talking about the world economy slump, people’s job loss, starting a company from scratch and what characteristics he used to look for when employing people.
Not all men are great talkers, and my husband is one of these. Sometimes it’s hard to get more than one sentence from him on a topic. But on this topic he had many pearls to share. I have learnt to listen to him and take his advice over the years :-)
Two and a half years ago my husband was retrenched. He has in the last two years built a successful brokerage business. We obviously give God the glory for His providence in our lives. But we also acknowledge that it was due to my husband’s ability to embrace difficulty and rise above it.
All around the world main bread winners are being retrenched…it is a terrible situation. My brother in law has been without work for 7 months and my father in law for the last two months, thus we know the struggles families like this face.
We will do our children a favor by leading them to becoming a good worker...as my husband says: “Give them heart!” Whether they are self employed one day, or an employee, either way – it starts in the home, as they do their chores and at the school desk.
Quote
“What is worth beginning is worth finishing, and what is worth doing is worth doing well." Charlotte Mason
“The attitudes and attributes that make a good employee are the same attitudes and attributes that make a good kid.” Christine Fields
Book Reviews
Story books to encourage young workers:
Tomas Edison – a wonderful look at the life of this inventor. My children were greatly encouraged by his life story.
Carry on Mr Bowditch – against many odds Nathaniel Bowditch never gave up and due to his tireless efforts he saved many lives.
Books to read together or parent alone:
Money Matters for Teens is a book that I am currently reading with my 14 year old. Written with humor, Larry Burkett gives some wonderful background information to money and how it feeds the worlds economic system. Biblically based, it concentrates on stewardship and how God speaks about money and its usage.
Lifekskills for Kids by Christine Fields is a book that I cannot recommend highly enough for homeschool moms. If you have not already purchased this gem of a book, make sure you include it in your homeschool curriculum budget for this coming year!
51 ways for a 13 year old to make money is an eBook I had the privilege to review just before its launch. I think the title is a little limiting as there are many jobs and work ideas that can be done by children younger than 13 in this book.
For the price that it is, it is worth every cent. Purchase the eBook and you will see how many ways there are for your younger child to get started earning an income to save towards their future goals.
Homeschool Curriculum for Life News
I have been busy with a new website adventure and as such have not added much new content to this homeschool site. But I have been converting my previous ezines into a series of quick tips for homeschool moms. Be sure to check them out.
If you are still planning your next year’s curriculum be sure to consider my top picks for a Charlotte Mason education!
Got horse loving children? In December my 14 year old daughter began her website. Jessica has created a wonderful website for children where they can learn about horses. There is lots of information on horse breeds, markings, communication as well as book reviews and fun pages. This is a work in progress, but do make a turn to see what she has already achieved and bookmark it for future visits.
Take care until next time,
God’s richest blessings to you as you homeschool,
Wendy
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