Spending time with family is very important. Not only does it build relationships but we get to nurture them and guide our children for life.
Note: This post was written by my husband who attended the 2-day seminar here in Bacolod by the School of Tomorrow (SOT-Phil). It was an educator's convention and it also included homeschoolers in the province, to which we were invited. This is NOT sponsored by NIDO. So this is Papa's story on his homeschooling seminar. Please read on.
For two days, I have attended the School of Tomorrow’s Educator’s Convention here in Bacolod City. The theme for this year is For Such a Time as This.
Two Life Questions
The theme made us look at our lives in the context of our time, including our opportunities and priorities. We had a group dynamics session where we were asked two questions. The first one is this:
1) What are the things you want to achieve at the end of your life?
Then we were made to answer and share our answers. Many big, amazing, and inspiring answers were given. Then the second question was thrown:
2) What are the things you want to achieve if you only have one year left to live?
The goals started to change. Almost everybody had to make some adjustments to their goals. And almost all have now included being with family and spending time with family as a priority.
I don’t want to make this statement as boast, but I have made my family a priority that sometimes I do feel that I am overdoing it. Then sometimes I also feel like I am not doing enough. But that group dynamics made me realize that many want to make their families their priority but when asked to search their hearts, they really aren’t doing it or wanting it so much.
Include the Kids in What You Do
We don’t have to drop everything that we are doing to prioritize our loved ones. How about we include them in what we do now? This is also one reason why our whole family goes to almost all blogging events that my wife and I attend, as long as the kids are allowed. We try to ask permission if they are ok with having the kids around.
If not, we make arrangements for the kids’ care so that we can leave them at home. I apologize if this offends some or make you uncomfortable. Most of the blogging events we attend are the ones where the whole family can go to anyway, filtering some that are not suitable for the kids, while we still accept a few where only my wife can go.
Enjoy the Kids While They are Young
Many people I meet would tell me, enjoy the kids while they are still small. But I wonder how many would really do that? We sure are enjoying our kids in every stage. We are not perfect but we are learning along the way, which is why we are homeschooling in Bacolod.
It is not that we like it, but we are forced to learn because each year, they develop new skills and interests and even show different behaviors that our actions and responses towards them also differ over time. Since we are hands-on parents, we notice more things about our kids and we try to cope and adjust with whatever we notice about them.
If those who have kids have a bucket list, I hope they also have an “Amazing List”! Please take time to watch the video below. It was made by Nido but it strikes a point.
Give them the childhood they deserve.
(Also access this link after watching the video: https://lakingamazing.ph/)
We all have different stations in life. We also have different endeavors that I cannot even fully imagine. But if we search our hearts and make our families our priority, I know that we can work around what we have. And we will find that spending time with family may not be as hard as you thought it would.
I pray that God will guide you in this endeavor–whether you are homeschooling or not. ~ Papa Dennis Lo