The Most Important Subject We Can Teach Our Children

photo by Focx Photography

As our children’s teachers we know that we are responsible for teaching our children not only the basics of education but also the more indepth subjects. We may or may not feel comfortable with some of these subjects. I have had many people ask me how I intend to teach my children the higher level academics that they would normally be exposed to in high school. Thankfully I feel very comfortable and knowledgeable enough to teach any subject that my children might be interested in taking. Normally I turn the question around to those asking and I ask a simple question, “How are you teaching your children the most important subject that your children may not be learning at school?”

Most of the time after posing this question I get some very puzzled looks. “What do you mean? My kids have the opportunity to learn just about any subject they want at school. What could they be missing out on?” They are normally taken aback when I reply, “Only the most important subject of all!”

What might be more important than AP Algebra or AP History or French or woodshop? Could there be something that many kids are missing out on in schools that they desperately need when they enter into the “real world”? The answer is yes.

In the past week we have heard about the tragedy in Haiti following the earthquakes that happened there. We have seen suffering on a scale that is almost incomprehensible. Most of us will never experience that sort of devastation ever. Thankfully so! However, the human suffering in Haiti has brought to light something that I feel we need to be teaching our children, something they should be learning whether they are homeschooled or if they are in traditional school. Along side our traditional schooling we should be teaching our children how to serve others and how to make a difference in others’ lives. This past week we have seen so many people step up to help out and while this is a tragedy we can also use this experience to better serve our children – we can teach them that putting others first is a very valuable lesson to learn and implement.

Not everyone can jump on a plane and go to a foreign country to help out. Not everyone has money they can donate. How can we teach our children to serve others when perhaps our own resources are very limited? There are so many ways that we can help, both on a small scale and a larger one.

• Choose a charity and make a donation. It can be big or small but donate! Choose a charity that has meaning to you. Our son suffers from kidney problems. When we had a car to donate we chose to donate it to the National Kidney Foundation. They restored the car and donated it to a needy family.

• Work in your local soup kitchen. Seeing the people who you are serving is a very sobering reminder of not only the blessings we have in our own lives but we can see the good in those who have so little as well. We are not so different after all.

• If you are unable to make a donation on your own to a charity, collect money for that charity. If they have an annual walk or run, get people to sponsor you and participate! Not only will you feel good about your involvement but you will be making others aware of the charity/need as well.

• Donate blood. Contacting your local Red Cross to find out when and where they are doing blood donations is a wonderful way to help. There is always a need for blood! If you don’t feel like you can donate or you can’t donate for medical reasons, volunteer to help out!

• Adopt a child. I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials for children oversees who you can help by donating a small amount a month. As a family adopt one of these children. Write to your child and keep his/her picture in a special place. Know that you are making a difference not only for that one child but for all those in his/her community.

• Can’t or don’t want to adopt a child oversees? Adopt one in your community. Often times through churches you can find families who might need a little extra help. You can donate anonymosly or you can be active in their lives. But helping someone right in your own town or at your own church allows you to have a very intimate relationship with the people.

• Visit a retirement home. Volunteer if you can. There are many elderly people in retirement homes/care facilities that don’t have families. Adopt one of these people and spend time with them. Sometimes we learn the most we will ever learn just by listening to our elders. What better way to make history come alive than by hearing stories of days gone by. I promise that both you and your adopted “grandparent” will benefit from the interaction!

• Volunteer at a local humane society. Washing, feeding and playing with abandoned animals is healing for not only the animals but for us as well!

• If you see someone in your neighborhood that needs help in the yard or running errands or just to have someone sit and talk for a while, be that person! Even the smallest acts of kindness can help someone get through the longest day.

• Adopt a mile. I’m sure you’ve seen the signs… “This mile adopted by —–” Be the people who adopt that mile and keep it clean. Don’t want to do it alone? Get a group together (maybe your homeschool group!). Doing it as a community project not only benefits the greater community but those banded together to do the work.

• Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity or a similar organization. Our kids went last summer to Knoxville, TN to do communtiy service by cleaning up neighborhoods, helping in homes of both the elderly and disabled fixing things, painting and helping them in whatever areas they needed help, volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, working in schools to help revitalize them and by working in the soup kitchens.

Of course, this is just the beginning of what you can do! The list is unending and can be tailored to not only your physical abilities but your time constraints and your monetary ablities as well. The important aspect is teaching our children, preferably through our actions, that putting others before ourselves is not only an admirable quality but a vital one as well!

We can school our children in the basic areas of education. We can even teach our children higher level subjects that will help them get into college easier. They may even succeed in college coming away with an amazing degree. But if we don’t teach our children this basic lesson – that life isn’t just about us, that we need to put others first, then we have failed them. We want our children to do well in life, we want them to succeed and have the things perhaps we haven’t been able to provide for them. But most importantly we must want them to be good people, to be empathetic, loving, caring and kind. If they are these things then they have already succeeded no matter what they go on to do with their lives professionally.

While some schools may be teaching the children that grace their rooms to give, we all, homeschoolers or not, as parents and our children’s first teachers, should be making sure that this lesson is one of the first our children learn. It’s not a one shot deal. It’s a lifelong lesson that we should be experiencing alongside our children. By continuing to learn and practice this important lesson we grow as individuals and as communities. What a wonderful education to provide for our children!

How do you teach your children this important lesson?

Michelle can be writing about her ever-growing family at her blog Pass The Flu Bug Please. Stop by and say hello!

If you would like to donate for the relief efforts in Haiti please contact The American Red Cross, Unicef, Habitat for Humanity, or contact your local news agency to find a list of reputable agencies who are helping in Haiti.

Related posts:

1. Getting Older Students Involved in Teaching Every quarter, my daughter Coco (13) has the chance...
2. Organizing and Displaying Children’s Artwork   The homes of many who have children are...
3. Subject Matter Click through to read posts from each topic: ...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tagged as: adoption, charity, donate, Habitat for Humanity, helping, Michelle, Red Cross, service learning, tragedy, volunteerings, world view