7 Tips to Get the Most out of the School Year

Another year brings another round of new experiences for our children. Ultimately, children are not at school to compete with one another, but to more fully discover who they are. They mature at different rates, and their learning arcs vary. As a parent, I want to walk alongside my children’s unique journeys and give them every resource and tool in their own becoming. To that end, here is a checklist of new adventures that I hope school children might tick off this year:

1. Investigate sparks. Discover something interesting about a subject that you didn’t know before which sparks a desire to learn more outside of school.
2. Get to know someone you’ve never really spent time with before, teacher or student.
3. Find a special spot on campus. Realize what makes it special to you and return to it.
4. Embrace character growth. Look out for an example of a sacrifice or tough choice you’ll make but that you feel proud of.
5. Try a new food. (For some kids, this might be the hardest adventure of all!)
6. Look for a new leadership opportunity. How can you use what you enjoy or are good at to help others by being a leader?
7. Set a growth goal for yourself and later demonstrate how you reached it!

A friend of mine said that she was going to print this list out and challenge her children to do each of these things this year. I plan to do the same and hope you will too! For a specific prayer to pray for your child, check out this post. Cheers to a great new year!