Food for the Mind--and getting your kids to eat it!

"A home is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the soul."
Margaret Fuller

This quote sums up one of our main goals as parents and homeschoolers--to provide fuel for the fire of curiosity and for learning. Many times, the best thing I could do for my kids was introduce an idea. Sometimes in the form of a book or video; sometimes in a suggestion or observation. Then my job was to stand back and let the wind of inspiration (and the Holy Spirit) do its work.

I can tell you, this works! The secret to inspiring your child's natural curiosity and fanning the flame of their natural gifting is to have a hands-off approach. You must trust God and your child to take hold of the idea and run it with it! The difference between saying, "You will read this book on Gooey Science Experiments you can eat" and putting it on the table with a casual "this looked gross, but maybe you'll like it."

I challenge you today, to practice stirring the embers of your child's interests in a subtler, gentler way and see what happens.