“As my grandpa always used to say, _____________________.”
Did your parents or grandparents have any phrases they would repeat over and over as you were growing up? Family mottos?
The words we say to our children become the soundtrack of their childhood, and those words will play on repeat throughout their lives.
The words we say to our kids become their inner voice.
What words are we saying to our children? What words will they remember us saying to them?
In an effort to be more intentional with our parenting, we created a list of key life phrases to teach kids. These phrases prompt intentional conversations about their meanings and applications.
They’re phrases that give us a common vocabulary to use as situations arise. Phrases that we can remind them of when “teachable moments” happen in our home.
My husband and I have been quote collectors our entire adult lives — from books, speakers — and we’ve compiled hundreds of quotes. So, we went to work pilfering through years of highlighted pages, Evernote, and notebooks. It was a great trip down memory lane and we were reminded of some great truths we’ve learned over the years! In the end, we came up with 36 phrases that best communicated things we want our kids to know.
If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.
When confronted with a challenge, look for a solution — not an escape.
Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.
Each week, we have one Words To Live By phrase that we focus on.
We keep them visible in our daily life.
I sometimes see our kids “zoning” and staring at something in the room. We figured it might as well be something beneficial for them!
I designed our Words to Live By into some printables that fit in an 8×10 frame. We keep this on display on the shelves where we spend most of our day.
We discuss them during our Morning Time.
We spend time together each day called Morning Time, and one of the activities we do during Morning Time is discuss our Words to Live By. Here’s our current routine:
We review them.
During our copy work time, our sons use them as handwriting and cursive practice each day, and our daughter write a little about them in her journal each day. By the end of the week, our kids have them memorized and the Words To Live By become part of their vocabulary.
We try to “catch” them living out these words.
Our kids seem to find themselves in “teachable moments” quite often! We try to catch them either living out our Words to Live By, or find moments when they can apply one of the Words to Live By. These phrases have become a common language for our family. By saying one of these Words to Live By to our children in a key moment, we’re really reminding them of all the discussions, examples and encouragement that comes with that quick phrase.
