Spring is here!

And with it come catalogs, turning the garden soil, and prayer (ticks too, but we won't go there!). I love getting my Sonlight catalog, every homeschool catalog really. I flip through all of them and am reminded why we chose Sonlight, all those great books!

Spring is a great opportunity to pray specifically for each child and his or her particular needs. This has really helped me to see the areas we should concentrate on in the upcoming year and ideas I can use to encourage that child.

We all have strengths and weaknesses, that will be true throughout our lives. I think part of my educational "job" is to help strengthen the weaker areas and continue to encourage the strong areas. Work with your child, at his level, whatever it is. It's easy to see that if a child is very strong in writing for example, you wouldn't say, "Wow, that's great, you don't need to write anything for 3 years." Of course not! By the same token, don't expect a child that is struggling in a subject to jump up to where he "should" be.

As you plan for next year, remember what it's like to work in the garden. You turn the soil, fertilize it as needed, weed it, water it. You provide conditions and care that will maximize the God-given ability to grow. You invest your time and energy to enjoy a future benefit, much as you are doing with your children!