7 Keys: #7 - You, not Them

If you find yourself getting worried that your child isn't doing xyz, instead of pushing him/her to do it, do it yourself.  S/he just might become interested in xyz after all - although this will backfire if that is your sole purpose in doing it yourself - I speak write from experience here!

Where are your own gaps in your education?  We all have them.  No one can possibly know everything there is to know!  Start reading some classics.  Or maybe you just always wanted to learn to knit, or play guitar, or...you fill in the blank.  What better way for children to learn that learning is a worthwhile pursuit and that it never ends?

I have been reading some of the classic books that I had always heard of but never read.  I learned to knit a couple of years ago.  This year I also started working through Algebra I, and now Geometry, both of which I took in high school but remember almost none of.   My husband has been learning to make his own fishing lures and also how to fix his boat motor.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you ignore your kids.  The point of working on your own education is to improve yourself, yes, but also to inspire your children.  So share the interesting bits with them, and show your interest in their passions. The result will be a lifestyle of learning.