What Do We Want for Our Kids?

 What do we want for our kids? In our most earnest dreams and desires, what do we wish them to aspire to?

This is what I would think about as I was raising my own two children.  And as I am blessed with having an active role in helping to nurture my grandchildren, my mind has not slowed one iota.  In fact, it is on overdrive as I interact with my little ones.  I think:

What can I do so that I stay out of the way and let them explore their surroundings?  In what ways can I set up the environment so that they can move independently and safely and assume a sense of ownership; take responsibility? How can I ask a question that will require them to think more deeply?  What can my role be in helping them realize their sense of power? Will they hear me, and learn to speak up for themselves, when I tell them that they have rights? What can I do to model my reactions to possible stressful situations so that they come to see that they have choices? How can I encourage them to appeal to their Inner Wisdom without sounding preachy? What are my actions telling them as I encounter challenges or circumstances that could potentially inspire fear? As I engage with another, what are my words and intonations saying to them about my regard for the other person?

As parents, grandparents, caregivers and/or educators our job is to set the stage, insure safety, help set and reinforce reasonable boundaries, provide resources that encourage exploration, inspire creativity, plant their roots deeply into the fertile soil of independence and then…get out of the way! Let them fly. Let them learn. In a Socratic manner, answer their questions with higher-level questions to that they unearth their discoveries of knowledge. Speak less, listen more.

These beliefs are the fertile ground for which I am developing the series, THE ADVENTURES OF THE COURSE KIDS!™ The first book out of the gate is THROUGH FAITH AND GRACE, which is now available on Amazon.com.

So who are the Course Kids™? In my most earnest dreams and desires they are:

Brave yet know when to ask for help

Patient and willing to listen for the Answer

Confident as they turn away from fear

Loving as they to join their heartstrings with others

Strong as they remember their Power Source

Get to know Grace, the first Course Kid™ I’ve introduced to the world. You’ll find her waiting for you at: 

http://www.amazon.com/Through-Faith-Grace-Teachings-Adventures/dp/0692330755/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

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