Moms of Littles – Elementary Part 1

Woohoo! Spring break has officially started for me!! Basketball ended a couple weeks ago, so I have been enjoying a slower pace. No more “overtime” as I call it. I love coaching, but it is like I have been working overtime for the last 7 months. Now I get to come home after school and relax (or do homework ☹) for a few minutes before it’s time to make dinner. Speaking of dinner, I’m starting to think of Harley’s upcoming graduation and how she will be off to college in the Fall. Cooking for two again will be quite different. I’ve already adjusted a lot this year with only Chaz being gone. I just have a hard time imagining it…

Anyway, my extra time is allowing me to get back to the Moms of Littles series. I envisioned an elementary age post, middle school age post, and a final high school post when I started. Let’s just say that life got in the way and slowed my pace. I’ve been working on the elementary age for awhile now. If you didn’t get in on the beginning of the series, I’d encourage you to go back to the beginning so you can get a sense of my heart for writing these posts. I just want to be a help and an encouragement to moms, so let’s get to it…

The elementary years are very important in your efforts to teach your children your core beliefs. These are impressionable years. They are watching you and forming opinions and beliefs about the world and the Lord. Be intentional.

It was difficult to narrow my focus for these tips, but I finally settled on some that I feel are the most important. And sense I’m always a little “wordy,” I am dividing them into two posts.

Get Your Priorities Straight

If your core beliefs are similar to mine, in that you want to raise your children to love the Lord and serve Him with their whole heart, you need to be prioritizing God in your own life. They need to see you reading the Bible, praying, and going to church. They need to know that you aren’t going to skip church because it isn’t convenient or there is something “more fun” to do. Your children will most likely be bombarded with invitations to events or opportunities to participate in activities that conflict with church participation. Take a stand. Say no. They may be disappointed at first, but that is okay. You have just opened up the opportunity to teach them to put God first in their life.

It’s Okay to Say No

I eluded to this in the previous one, but it is worth a closer look. Children are bombarded with activities these days, and they do not need to be involved in everything. They need time to just be kids! Not to mention, parents are running themselves ragged chauffeuring their kids from sports practices, games, club meetings, and lessons. Kids come to school exhausted and unprepared. All of these activities take over family time and church involvement. Oftentimes, marriages begin to suffer because there is rarely time to make that relationship a priority.  

Stop it.

Yes, they want to be involved in everything. But it’s okay to say no.

Set some boundaries. Maybe that is one activity or one sport at a time. You will need to determine the right boundaries for your family, but make sure it includes some free time at home. That is where you will have the most success teaching them your core values.

Structure and Routines are Your Friend

Children need structure and routine. They do not need chaos.

Put some routines in place for before school, after school, before bed, etc. and then stick to that whenever possible. It helps them learn about responsibility and organization. It also helps them have a calm morning before you send them off to school. If you wake up late and rush them around, their stress level goes up and that affects the rest of their day. Believe me (13 years in education, remember?).

A few practical ideas for this…

Buy them an alarm clock and teach them to use it.

Set clear expectations for the morning. Some of ours were bed made, room tidied up, pets cared for, and sitting down for breakfast at a certain time.

After school, take a few minutes for a snack and asking about their day. I always asked, “Best and worst?” The kids knew that I wanted to hear what was the best part of their day and the worst. It opened up a lot of discussion! Then take care of any homework, signing planners, etc. If you teach them to do this early in their elementary days, you will be able to release the responsibility to them in later years. You should not have to be telling them to do their homework (do any teachers require that anymore? I know it really is not a thing in my district anymore…unless kids don’t get done with work in class) when they are in second grade or later.

Set bed time routines as well.

Start teaching them to spend time in God’s Word. Find a devotional you can do together or get something they are capable of doing on their own. Help them create a daily habit of having a devotional time with the Lord.

That wraps up Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2. And thanks for following along as I write this series for Moms. 🙂

Part 1 – The Baby Years
Part 2 – Core Beliefs
Part 3 – Terrible 2s or is it 3s?
Part 4 – Discipline
Part 5 – Setting Expectations
Part 6 – Confronting Attitudes
Part 7 – Off to School…Or is it Homeschool?
Part 8 – Homeschooling Tips