This paradigm is how traditional classrooms are set up, but it is easy to see that this system is failing many of our children.  You may have chosen to homeschool to get away from this one-size-fits all mentality.  But even within the homeschooling community there is often pressure to conform to a pre-determined schedule of learning.  How many times have you been asked if your child is working “on or above grade level” in a certain subject?

God did not create us using a cookie-cutter.  Knowing that, how can we expect our children to learn in a cookie-cutter fashion?  Within families, you can find several different learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses.  As parents, even more as homeschooling parents, we should seek to know our children well enough to nurture their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.

One of the more significant benefits to homeschooling is the ability to tailor an education to each child.  If you have an auditory learner, audiobooks may become a daily part of your lessons.  With a kinesthetic learner, hands-on activities are a must.  Visual learners may enjoy drawing illustrations to solidify their lessons.  You do not have to conform to one set way of teaching your children or of having them express that they have learned.  Children are individuals and are meant to be treated and taught as such.

God created us with our own particular strengths and weaknesses that are suited for His perfect plan for our lives.  While our strengths are usually seen as our biggest asset, sometimes our weaknesses can bring even *more* glory to God.  In our weaknesses, we can more readily see His hand at work.

While we help our children improve in their areas of struggle, we cannot forget to utilize their strengths as well.  Do not let those gifts from God grow stagnant in the wake of hours spent trying to bring their struggles up to an average level.  Set them up for success as often as possible.  Go deeper in the areas where they excel.  Allow them to dig as far into a topic of interest as they want to go.  They may surprise you with their tenacity when given a task they enjoy.

You may have a child who has so many struggles you are beginning to think that they don’t have any strengths at all.  Take heart and give him some time and space to discover his God given passions.  He may be so worn down from his difficulties that he doesn’t know what would be a pleasure to him.  She may have a schedule so full of athletics, arts, church events, and social activities that she doesn’t ever have an opportunity to entertain herself and discover what she enjoys.  Each child has passions from God deep within them.  We have to help them find those passions and it takes both time and space.  Be thinking about that when you sit down to plan your “school.”

We did not design our children.  God did.  We must look to Him as the ultimate guide as we facilitate our children’s education.  He holds the plans in His hands.  He knows what they need and He cares for them even more than we do.  Let us not forget our ultimate goal is not necessarily to have the most intensely educated children, but to have children brought up to fulfill the goals that God has for each one of them individually. Start with God, work with God, lean on His wisdom.

My name is Kathy Butryn, and I am so delighted to be able to meet you at the Creative Living and Learning on-line Conference. I just know our time together at the conference will be motivating, inspiring and encouraging!

I just received the conference schedule last week—and guess what? I’m the very first speaker.

Wow! What a big responsibility.

Then I remembered…I am among friends! We are in this “learning-and-living-life-creatively-thing” together.

I am so looking forward to learning from you—and I’m excited to be able to share what God, in His grace has taught me about how to cultivate a peace-filled pace in a hurry-up world.

So drop by for my session. We are going to talk about how we often look for peace in all the wrong places—and don’t even recognize the peace-stealers of our daily life.

Oh the freedom we experience when we learn how to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart…” Colossians 3:15a.

Meanwhile, come and visit me on-line at my website http://www.TheHeartChangePlace.com or my blogs http://www.TheHeartChangePlace.blogspot.com and http://www.DevotionalLifestyleMoment.blogspot.com.

God bless you my friend…talk with you again at the Creative Living and Learning Conference on February 11^th!

kath

When our children were young (1,3,5,7,and 9) Fred and I were starting a church. As you can imagine living on one income as a church starter meant that we did not have money for ‘extras’ like beautiful decorations. But God had given us hand-me-down furniture etc that we were so grateful for. Was our house beautiful and inviting? One night a few people came over to our house for a prayer time. I had straightened up the house some, lit a few fragrant candles, set the lighting to a pleasing level, and had praise music playing softly in the back ground. I was not feeling stressed or anxious in my spirit about what people would think about our house but was eager to have them come and join in prayer. Just before we began to pray, one of the men asked if he could share something. He said that from the moment that he walked in the house he felt peaceful and welcomed. He wanted to thank me for such a beautiful place to have our prayer time. I remember this event because God had been working in my heart about my attitude toward what He had provided and how a viewed what He had provided. I was rereading The Hidden Art of Homemaking and trying to think creatively about our house and not ‘magazine beautiful house”. God used a man who had a beautiful “magazine’ house to encourage me to see beauty the way God sees it.

Conference Flier

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Joyce Herzog

Kathy Butryn

Jill Novak

Cindy Pitts

Barb McCoy

and others are still responding.

It’s shaping up to be a great time of encouragement and renewal as we look at God’s Transforming Beauty!

Faith and Courage,

Lori Lane

I have to admit that I’ve been struggling lately.  Looking at people and circumstances around me instead of focusing on Him….on the one whose character and beauty completely transforms those who gaze on Him.  I hope that as we continue to prepare for the conference all of us preparing and speaking and planning will be transformed by His beauty.  I pray that as you pray about participating in this conference and as we begin sending out pre-conference devotionals on this theme, that you will be drawn to gaze upon His face and see your own life transformed by His beauty.

Faith and Courage,

Lori Lane

I hope you will join us as we begin to talk about and discuss this year’s theme through our conference newsletter and blog postings leading up to our conference in February.  You will hear our various speakers blog and write about Transforming Beauty.  What a great topic to dwell on, to meditate on and to lead us to living lives that truly are lives that have as their goal: Knowing God and Becoming More Like Him.  IF we do that, we truly will be pictures of HIS Transforming Beauty.

Faith and Courage,

Lori Lane

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When we reflect God’s character, we have found a basis for TRUE beauty and creativity.

Join us as we study God’s character and beauty and its affect on our  lives in the areas of relationships, creative expression, marriage,  the arts, education and so much more.  Principle based practical  applications will be shared in these very important areas of The  Creative Living and Learning Conference.

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