Saturday Links

In the past couple of weeks I have come across a few encouraging, challenging and interesting reads.

Here is my selection for you this week:

6 Homeschooling Misconception Erased:

"The next morning every reason I had to avoid homeschooling stared me in the face. So did my kids. They were eager to learn on their own terms."

What Makes a Gifted Child:

"Being gifted means a student has  that enable them to think on their own without help. Many people have good memory, the ability to interpret ideas and data, are creative, are practical, and interested in many things, but this does not make them gifted alone."

Saying No to Social Media For Our kids:

"Our children need our protection, wisdom and discipline. I think a lot of parents cave into social media for their kids because "everyone else is doing it". And let's face it - it keeps the big kids quiet and occupied if they can stare at their phones and be connected 24/7."

Parenting: The Joyful Impossibility:

"That night I began to find joy in the impossibility of it all. The task is way bigger than our ability as parents, but we're not our children's messiah, and we're not left to the resources of our own character, wisdom and strength. Our children have a Messiah. "

Parenting is Hard for a Reason:

"I couldn't wrap my mind around it all. When parents seek to raise their children in a godly way, how can parenting still be so hard? But If I believe that God is sovereign, then I must believe he is sovereign even over all the challenges I have with my children. If they have a rough day, whine, complain, and don't get along, it is not outside his control."

The Invisible Mother:

"Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??  "

Motherhood: It's What God Gave you Time for.:

"But these children ARE my agenda! In the tiniest moments of the day they are learning and I am teaching. Everything from teaching them how to stir a pot of spaghetti sauce without splashing it to helping them develop important habits of character and ultimately to showing them their desperate need of a Savior because they can’t just “be good”, is my most important job as I act as helper to my husband and keeper of my home."

Homeschool Daily Schedules: A reflection on this quote from the Charlotte Mason Companion page 93: "Every lesson must have its own time, and no other time in this world is there for it. The sense of the preciousness of time, of the irreparable loss when a ten minutes' lesson is thrown away must be brought home."