I don't know why I find it so amazing to see my oldest two learn the true lessons of high school. Maybe because they are becoming so much more aware of the impact of their decisions and their choices.
But all those lessons and choices really come down to one word: Balance.
The happiest people I know are the ones who have balance in their lives. They devote time to work and to play, to family and to friends, to responsibilities and to slacking off. If you procrastinate on a project or studying, the stress levels rise dramatically as your deadline looms.
It is far better to work on little bits of any subject each day than to try and cram weeks worth of new material in your brain the night before a test. Sure, it is fun to laze around on the couch all weekend, but then come Monday morning school begins again and that Chemistry test on Tuesday seems like a request to climb Mt. Everest. If only a few moments had been spent over the weekend reviewing that periodic chart....hmmmm.
Sometimes we have to dictate to them: GO AND STUDY.
Other times I ask them what they have going on over the next couple of days and point out how doing half the vocabulary today will lesson their load so they can do X, Y and Z tomorrow.
Time management skills are priceless and I hope they can get a grasp on that over the next couple of years. Of course, it ties back into the concept of balance.
The most important lessons in high school may not be found between the covers of a text book.
2 comments:
Reading your posts is so surreal to me - I feel like it is a window - or God - speaking to me telling me what to look forward to and to lighten up NOW. Thank you for sharing,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Elizabeth, it is so easy to worry about the unimportant things when it comes to raising kids. Doesn't it seem that we fixate on the minor things and the big things sometimes sneak up on us and blindside us?
Parenting sure isn't for the faint of heart!
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