Harvest Your Child’s Strengths ~ For Any Age ~ Episode 506

Harvest time calls to mind many things, but this is a perfect time to work on your child’s strengths and develop them more fully. Each of us has gifts and things we do well. This podcast discusses how you can encourage your children to achieve.

This show is a celebration of our ten-year podcast birthday. The Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network has undergone some name changes, and we are still here and better than ever, with wonderful presentations for the entire family. Enter the giveaway.

Each child has a strength; some you can easily distinguish, and others may be hard to find. Finding your child’s strengths is our topic today.

I recently listened to a presentation by a speaker who shared that we all have an anointing, a gift from God. When we work in this anointing, we feel empowered at enthusiastic. However, when working outside of our anointing, that blessing and grace from God, we feel tired and down, as if a weight is on our back, and we trudge along having to do whatever “that” is in our life, but not doing it happily.

This happens to all of us, doesn’t it? Think about something you enjoy doing.

Do you enjoy homeschooling? Doing faith-filled activities? Doing crafts with the kids? Do you like to bake? Are you organized? Do you enjoy spending time with your family? Taking the kids outdoors to explore? Are you good at finding unique books or topics to study? Do you make school fun? If your answer is no, no, and no, don’t worry! The idea here is to find something you enjoy and think about the why.

1. What activity or hobby do you enjoy?
   
2. Where did you first learn you had a gift (or anointing) in this area?
   
3. Why do you enjoy an activity or hobby?
   
4. How often do you do this enjoyable activity?
   

I believe it is the same with our children. When we work within our talents, gifts, or anointing, it does not seem like work; in fact, we highly enjoy it and are motivated to do it often.

You may enjoy these activities to help you find your child’s strengths.

Building Relationships with Your Children 

Great Gifts Kids Can Make

Celebrate Fall Baking

Stress Free Fall Activities

So, how do we harvest their strengths? First, by observing.

1. What types of activities does your child enjoy? Musical? Academic subjects? Art? Activities such as crafts. Physical activities such as sports?
   
2. How does your child exhibit their strengths?
   

(Coming soon – a freebie we are putting together to help you print off quick checklists.)

I created a list that might be helpful; look at this as a springboard to consider what your child does well. Once you consider their strengths, you can discuss ways to enhance them and perhaps encourage new ones. In fact, you can have them. See the following PDF for your personal use.

 

1. Character -honest, responsible, persistent, works hard, gets along with others, reasonable self-control, thinks about others over self, etc.
   
2. Communicates – storyteller, communicates thoughts and ideas well, listens, articulates, and is persuasive, etc.
   
3. Social – has a way with people, an extrovert, has good friends, is polite, has leadership abilities, works well with others, plays and shares, follows rules, has good relationships, and is well-liked, etc.
   
4. Emotionally mature – has good common sense, is a half-full rather than a half-empty person—sees the good in things and others, is able to handle disappointment, is empathetic, has good intuition, etc.
   
5. Academic – does well in school, reasons well, has good memory, can multi-task, is focused, likes to read, writes well, enjoys a particular subject, etc.
   
6. Logical – can figure things out, good at problem-solving, has an interest in math, science, computers, or engineering, etc.
   
7. Hands-On — is good at fixing things, can do puzzles or legos (building) well, strong visually, etc.
   
8. Physical or hands-on — good at sports, active, enjoy playing active games, physically strong, has good flexibility and balance, physical endurance, likes to exercise, likes the outdoors, etc.
   
9. Fine Motor — good at details, creative and enjoys crafts or building things, good hand-eye coordination, etc.
   
10. Empathetic – has a good sense of self, sympathetic to others, has a strong or growing faith, understands and senses when others are hurting, etc.
    
11. Musical or Artistic or Creative— Musical: can sing, understands rhythm, can play a musical instrument(s), enjoys practicing; Artistic: is creative, artistic, has good eye-hand coordination, can draw what they see, has an eye for beauty, etc.; Creative: has a good imagination, has great ideas, dramatic and creative, good memory and original, etc.
    
12. Technical— computer savvy, good at coding, analytics, good at research, and learning with hands-on and trial and error.
    
13. Spiritual — understands there is more than what we see in this world, realizes that faith is an integral part of humanity, knows that God exists, bases their world-view on Judeo-Christian principles, has a good philosophy on life, and is empathetic.
    
14. Hobbies – various
    

When your child exhibits or demonstrates any of these strengths (and I’m sure I’m leaving out many), they are normally energized and focused. Why do they enjoy movie night, but it is a struggle to get them to read a book or do an assignment? We can’t always work within our strengths, but we can recognize them and address those that need work.

My granddaughter is good at crafts; she taught herself to knit and crochet, and she still enjoys this activity as a seventeen-year-old. Yet, I found she had an aptitude for working with her cell phone and on computers. What does knitting have to do with computing? She is organized; knitting is creative but sequential. You get one stitch wrong, and it messes up the entire thing. Similar to computing. I taught her audio editing and graphic design. She already had an aptitude for creativity and technology, so it was an easy fit. Perhaps she has a future in web design or more.

This gives you a quick idea of how to use a child’s strengths, even something they enjoy, and helps them develop it into something more. If your children are little, you can help them develop in more minor ways. Giving them time to explore their interests. Children are often overwhelmed without time to develop their gifts. Be sure to pray and ask the Lord for help in this area; you will be surprised at what you find.

This show is a celebration of our ten-year podcast birthday. The Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network has undergone some name changes, and we are still here and better than ever, with wonderful presentations for the entire family.

Be sure to enter our special birthday giveaway here, which includes a $250 cash giveaway!

Sponsors of Harvest Your Child’s Strengths

This podcast episode: Reading Eggs

Sponsors of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network’s 10th Birthday Celebration:

Number One Homeschool Podcast Network

 

 

 

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