(This is the second part of a two part series). To parent well you need principles. But principles can only take you so far if you don't know who you're applying them to. Do you know your child? Do you know their likes and dislikes? Do you understand why they do the things they do - why they respond the way they do to you? Regardless of whether you do (or think you do) every parent can benefit from becoming a student of their children. The more you study and the more you observe, the deeper your appreciation for them will grow along with your ability to reach their heart for good.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

To parent well you need principles. But principles can only take you so far if you don't know who you're applying them to. Do you know your child? Do you know their likes and dislikes? Do you understand why they do the things they do - why they respond the way they do to you? Regardless of whether you do (or think you do) every parent can benefit from becoming a student of their children. The more you study and the more you observe, the deeper your appreciation for them will grow along with your ability to reach their heart for good.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

There's no denying that the journey of parenting is arduous, the question is, how far will we go? All along the way there will be naysayers, doubters, scoffers. "Why are you doing this?" they'll ask (it's a question you'll pose to yourself on occasion as well). This question is a "checkpoint" of sorts, a mini-test. To pass you have to provide a reasonable answer, or at least one that you remain satisfied with. You can boil the question down to the first word - "Why?" Your answer is absolutely critical and will ultimately determine the nature of the sacrifice you're willing commit to as a parent.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

There are many, many different kinds of parents out there, but among parents who are conscientious about how their children turn out, there are 3 predominant groups - Right Side, Left Side, and Center of the Road parents. What are the characteristics that define each of these groups and how can you ensure you're in the right one? That's the topic of today's episode.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

If you want to steer a ship, you need control of the rudder. If you want to steer your child, you need control of the heart. But how do you gain this control and how much control are we talking about exactly? This isn't as easily answered as you might think. Many parents believe the way to the heart is through the will, and so they set out to "break" or "conquer" their child's will as if it were some hostile defense opposing their righteous crusade to gain their child's heart. But neither your child's heart nor their will should be conquered - it should be consciously yielded, and that to one who has proven themselves worthy of the privilege.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

Here are some things we know - for most of (in some cases, all of) our children's time under our roof we are bigger, stronger, smarter, richer, and more experienced than they are. These are all traits or characteristics upon which authority may be established, but terrible conditions from which it should be maintained. Furthermore, relationships founded exclusively on authority are often cold, repugnant even. Good parents, while respecting the authority they have been entrusted with, know that humility does far more to build trust and commend them to the heart of their child.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

I think many parents (understandably) would very much like it if each one of their children came with their own instruction manual - like the ones you might find in the glove box of your car or that come included with IKEA furniture. Fortunately, they don't, because if they did we would miss out on one of the most profound experiences of being a parent - the experience of seeing the world through their eyes. But their remains, and has only ever been, one way to do that. You have to "go where they are" and for us as parents there is simply no mere mechanical way of doing that. It requires sacrificial love and humility - something no manual could ever impart.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

⁠The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner ⁠

⁠Character Badges ⁠ - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

⁠Chalk Full of Design⁠ - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the No Ordinary Days podcast! This episode is all about laying the groundwork for all that's to come. Why are we doing this? Why the name? Why now? The short version is, we feel passionate about parenting, about children, about family. I've been talking about these things for years at live events, but it's time (past time) to speak to a broader audience. The long version? Well, you'll have to listen. Enjoy.

Mentioned In This Podcast:

The Well Ordered Homeschool Planner

Character Badges - Character and Habit program for children ages 3-13

Chalk Full of Design - Handcrafted, Educational chalkboards for children! Enjoy screen free learning!