There were 147 noodles in my soup Friday night. While this may seem to be a strange and obscure fact to begin a homeschool blog, let me explain. It is a tradition in my family to have soup for Friday night supper. It doesn't always happen, but a good percentage of the time there is some kind of soup, fresh bread and salad for supper on Friday night. Our favorite is grammy's homemade chicken noodle soup.
When I was a little girl I grew up with all of my family in town. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents everyone lived nearby. When my mom went back to work, my grandmother would often invite us to her house for vege chicken noodle soup on Friday nights to welcome the Sabbath and give my busy mother one less thing to worry about. Entering the house you could smell the soup bubbling and find grammy busy cutting her homemade noodles with her fancy round pastry cutter. I loved to put the noodles into the boiling broth and would stand on a stool by the stove while my grandfather would stand stirring the broth and reminding me "one at a time Cindy, one at a time". My grandfather was Italian and was particular about noodles not sticking to one another or being over or undercooked. My grandfather passed away 12 years ago, but to this day when I make this soup on Friday nights I can hear his voice telling me over my shoulder "one at a time Cindy, one at a time".
So what has this to do with homeschooling? Much. My impatient nature was challenged by my grandfather's reminders to put one noodle in at a time. That lesson was gently taught to me in a very practical way and repeated over and over again so that I still remember it. It is a pleasant memory and always makes me smile. Homeschooling is a big undertaking! Some days are fun and sweet and full of memory making. Other days may feel like battles that we would rather forget. Whatever your day is like, remember the goal, that continued and gentle reminder in your child's ear. Be strong in the knowledge that you are taking full responsibility for forming their characters, and that it is the small continued lessons that make this possible.
So when I add my noodles to my soup I find myself counting as I go. 147 noodles. 147 reminders and memories. I encourage you to build traditions because traditions stick with kids. Whether your traditions are related to your school day or family recreational time, your kids will remember them and ask for them. If you have any special memories that were character building for you or your children please feel free to share. We have many new students starting out with homeschooling for the first time at the beginning of this new year! I wish you all many blessings!
