Monday marks a big change for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Monday is the first day of the new curriculum “Come Follow Me.” Over the years the church has changed and adapted the curriculum they use many many times but 2019 marks one of the biggest changes. We are moving towards emphasizing learning at home and having church leaders and teachers support parents efforts. I know!! Its a big deal and I can’t wait to get started.
As homeschoolers, we are already used to learning in our home but we will still need to adapt to bring “Come Follow Me” into our daily lives. Already I have seen religious vocabulary and a change in our attitudes as I have been studying the manual. I have also been on a bit of a planning roller coaster when it comes to implementing the program. We haven’t even started yet!!
Stage One
I first thought that I needed to have a specific plan for each day including printables, activities, music and coloring sheets. I set to work. I drew up plans myself. I wrote out lists and spreadsheets and researched til my eyes were exhausted. I wanted everyday to be amazing and I soon realized that I couldn’t keep up with that pace. I am already a busy mom of four and we homeschool and I generally like to have the laundry done. Putting so much emphasize on bulking up the manual was not going to end well for anyone. I was going to burn myself out by the end of January and my kids were going to get wrapped up in the fun and forget about the reason before this entire change, Christ. The constant extra’s wouldn’t help us grow closer to Christ.
Stage Two
I am a planner at heart. I love pretty things and I love when planning and beauty come together. I realized that I clearly don’t have the time or ability to make my dreams come true. I turned to Pinterest and Instagram. Oh, my, GOODNESS!!! They are a lot of amazing resources people have put together. I love them all! Seriously, they is something for everyone. I dove right into the deep end. I have no problem spending money on things that will benefit my family so I searched high and love for something that was appropriate for us. I scored major time. I subscribed to a great service, I plugged in my printer and got out a stack of paper. I was ready.
My “Come Follow Me” binder started to fill up with amazing plans. Oh yes! Every day I could do something amazing for our devotional. The kids are going to love this and we will have a blast. I printed, labeled and slide papers into page protectors late into the night. I was basically in planner heaven.
Stage 3
Stage 3 was unexpected. My hubby brought in the mail and in between our bills and junk mail was The Friend, a children’s magazine. Now I usually just chuck it into our church bag to let the kids read during Sacrament meeting but instead I flipped though it. Wham!! Just like that I realized that The Church has given us all the materials that we need to make Come Follow Me a success. All I need is the manual, my scriptures and a magazine.
Seriously, that’s it. I have blown this new program way bigger than needed. I have let my planning get in the way of following the Holy Ghost and letting the small and simple things lead us as we start this new journey. Oops. Lesson learned.
Stage 4
I set aside my binder and I just looked at the manual. It is gold! There is nothing wrong with simply using the manual. We don’t need the shebang everyday and we certainly don’t need to color everyday either. We need printables some days and some days we will color. I need to get down on my knees alone, with my hubby and as a family. Together we will listen to the Holy Ghost and come up with a plan for the next week. Not three months down the road because we simply aren’t there. We are here and need to focus on the present time.
Now that I understand more of the purpose behind this amazing new curriculum and what we NEED to be successful I feel much better using the fun and pretty things when I WANT to. When it will benefit us instead of just taking away more of my precious time and effort. Yes, I still have my binder and I will still print things off. My binder will become a resource that I can turn to when my kids have questions or we need more. I will have what I need ready to go so that when the Holy Ghost prompts me to find something I will know where it is and will not get trapped in Pinterest. My binder will not become my master, it will be a tool.
Come Follow Me is meant to bring Christ,
peace and faith into your home.
I am almost certain that your family will go through different stages until you find what works for you then change it all again. Now hold on tight and enjoy the journey.
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