That "New School" Attitude

I have a serious problem.  I have some friends that understand this problem, but so many people I know think that I am just beyond hope.  The problem started a long time ago when I was just a child--I am in LOVE with learning and with school in general.  I love this time of year.  I love the time of year when all of the stores have prominent displays of school supplies.  Have you ever seen that old Staples commercial with the father going through the school supply aisle, joyously tossing supplies into his basket as the background music plays "It's the most wonderful time of the year. . . "?  That is one of my favorite commercials.  I just LOVE school! 

However, this love is not something, sadly, that can be inherited by my children.  Yes, they look forward to the new supplies, the new clothes, and yes, maybe for a moment, even the new books--for a moment.  Here we are several weeks in to school and the duldrums of mundane school work have set in.  I have worked hard to make the classroom look fresh and new with new posters, time lines, fresh new maps, sharpened pencils with our really cool new electric sharpener, encouraging Bible verses printed on brightly colored paper and hung everywhere, but it is the same old school. 
Finally, last week, sitting at my desk and taking a nice deep breath after a particularly dull day, I realized something--we don't need any new pencils, visuals, curriculum, etc.  What we need is a new attitude.  Hmmmmm. . . .I am pondering this one for a while.  How's my attitude?  Tired, run-down, routine.  Well, should I expect anything more from my children then?  How can I change this attitude?  What is it going to take to get back that love of learning?  It was then that I realized that while I am trying to do the right things like read my Bible, start each day with prayer, plan our next day or week and prepare each night accordingly, what I am really doing is putting these important things on a list and making them. . . .routine.  Yes, routine is a good thing when you want to make sure that things are getting done, but is it enjoyable?  Is it fun?  Are we really learning anything other than to do things on time?  I have to be honest and say, "Not really."  I have gone from loving learning to fulfilling routine. 
So, we are taking the NEW ATTITUDE challenge in our classroom this week, and I would like to encourage those of you who read this to do the same.  This week, I sat down with my girls and we talked about what would make our day more fun.  Oddly enough, our ideas all lined up with something we had learned a long time ago--the fruits of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.  We all agreed that our day would be so much more fun if we had those things in our day.  So, we are challenging ourselves this week to change our attitudes to reflect love, joy, peace, etc. in every thing we do. 
Like the song in the commercial said, this really is the most wonderful time of the year because we are embarking on yet another year of getting to educate our children (and they are getting to be educated) in the way our Heavenly Father has led us.  What could give us more joy than that?  Rather than just reading our Bibles to check that off the list, we are going to LOVE His Word and LOVE learning from Him.  From these first two, we hope to gain peace in our day and to keep the peace with each other even when we have asked or answered the same question more than twice.  Then, maybe, we will challenge ourselves again next week, and then the next, and then. . .who knows?  That love for learning just may return after all!  It's the most WON-der-ful time. . .of the year. . . .:-D

--Kimberly Lepone