Let children alone-…the education of habit is successful in so far as it enables the mother to let her children alone, not teasing them with perpetual commands and directions – a running fire of Do and Don’t ; but letting them go their own way and grow, having first secured that they will go the right way and grow to fruitful purpose.
~Charlotte Mason
With a strong resemblance to Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it,” this quote reminds me to stay the course, especially with the little ones.
Lax discipline comes much easier in the short term. Intentional training takes consistent effort, but reaps immeasurable dividends in the end. As I work with my four and five year olds, I cannot let up. Not with harshness, but working with kindness and compassion, I need to capitalize on the teaching moments that erupt throughout their days.
Humility, obedience, gentleness, self-control, attentiveness, diligence. The lessons they have to learn far outweigh the Algebra that will come soon enough. They will eventually learn about great personages of history, but for now, I cannot neglect their life lessons. Now I must model and instill in them the faith that will give them the backdrop for all of that.