How do you inspire writing?

As I write, R is doing her writing by herself.  She is sitting at a little end table in front of our family room TV which is hooked up to my personal computer.  Everyday she types into a word processor the words she wants to write, (I downloaded a special handwriting font,) and then she copies down her sentence with a pencil and special handwriting paper.

To be honest, I'm in awe.  She is doing this happily -- without me begging or even needing me to persuade her.  She's doing it because she WANTS to!  This is a huge advancement from only a few weeks ago when doing our writing each day was very much a challenge.  We often had to stop because I was losing patience and she was becoming frustrated.

So, what happened?  I'm not totally sure, but I'll give you my guesses.

For one thing, I think R has a pretty flexible nature.  She may resist things initially, but with enough prompting she'll easily jump on board.  I guess the best way to put it is that she's mold-able and easy to inspire.

I think another thing that helped was that I tried really hard to think outside the box about different ways to practice our writing.  (In the beginning I was tempted to do all letter drilling.)  I kept it light and fun.  I experimented with lots of different approaches until one in particular stuck with her:  writing notes.  She LOVES writing notes to her daddy, grandmas, and friends.  She also likes using the type of writing paper that has space at the top to draw a picture.

Writing has also been better since I stopped sitting right next to her and trying to tell her how to form each and every letter.  That was just too much pressure.  I have started sitting back and mainly praising, only giving a little bit of advice here and there.  I've been surprised by how quickly she has corrected certain mistakes without me having to tell her again and again.

I've learned to be largely flexible myself, letting little things slide, picking my battles, and letting her take the lead in her writing choices.  It's hard sometimes, but in the long run it's been refreshingly freeing.

What matters the most in all of this -- and this ABSOLUTELY applies to all homeschooling -- is that she is inspired and excited and enjoying what she's doing.  I feel strongly that this is the main key to seeing the best progress and educational development in children.  I know that when I feel interested in what I am doing, and when I really OWN it, I do far better than when I feel forced or pushed into things.

What does intentional parenting look like? And what does it have to do with homeschool?

Well, we've been plugging along and having a really wonderful time in our homeschooling adventures.  I haven't blogged for a couple weeks, not because I haven't had anything to say -- I always have something to say about homeschooling.  :)  Rather, I have been learning first-hand just how EXHAUSTING homeschooling can be!  It really takes it out of me.

The truth, though, is that it's not really homeschooling that is so draining per se.  It is intentional parenting that takes everything you've got.  And intentional parenting is the only kind I believe in.  In my world, it is synonymous with homeschooling.

Here's what intentional parenting has looked like for me in the last several weeks:

It means that when the girls wake up, I greet them with a smile and lots of loves.  It means me choosing to be chipper, optimistic, and enthusiastic about our upcoming day.  It means lots of listening, even when the story is unintelligible (with C) or nearly unbearably random (with R.)

It means sitting at the kitchen table with my girls during meals so that we can talk and connect in a casual and comfortable way.  It means taking time to do a little mini-gospel lesson with them during breakfast so that we can start our day on the right foot -- thinking and talking about God.

It means including them in the clean up and consistently holding them to their responsibilities, which at R's age consist of simply getting dressed, making her bed, and tidying up.  It means letting them help me even when it means it might take a bit longer.  It means saying yes whenever I reasonably can and should.

It means being ready to follow through with commitments such as "Yeah, I think we could do some painting this week."  It means jumping on as many little opportunities for growth and learning as I can handle.  (For instance, taking the time to explain -- really explain -- what power lines are and what they do when R asked me on our drive this morning.  Far too often we want to give a pat answer and be done with it.)  It means being seriously creative and innovative in my attempts to inspire R to want to do the things that I think she should be learning and working on now.

It means enduring consistently in my love and enthusiasm right to the very end of the day, right up to those last goodnight kisses and hugs.

It means sacrifice and lots of it.

But isn't that why we became parents in the first place?

I definitely don't succeed in this type of intentional parenting everyday.  (Frankly, I'm not sure I could honestly say I really succeed entirely on most days...)  But I have had many really good days, and that's what I aim for.  I strive for it with everything I have because it makes me feel so fulfilled.  It is without a doubt my purpose in life, even though it leaves me feeling completely beat at the end of the day.  I find myself releasing a HUGE sigh of relief when I finally close their bedroom door each night, and for the last couple weeks I haven't even had the energy or desire to hop online and write a blog post about all the fun we've been having.  But we have still been homeschooling, and loving it.