Learning through the lens of gratitude

Life is good.

It’s the mantra I try to live out daily and a perspective I strive to instill in my children. As a homeschooling mama, I have ample time to TEACH and SHOW them this. But regardless of how different your situation may look, as mothers, we each have a unique opportunity to show our children life through a lens of gratitude— to teach the younger generation the power of optimism. No matter what their learning style is or how their schooling method is structured, we each have a space to show this to our kids. Here’s what that looks like for me as a homeschooling mom.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Since I’m basically with my children 24/7, they see all the pieces of me. They see me when I’m high on life, and they see me when I’m overwhelmed and stressed. This gives me open spaces to share what we can learn from the pits of life and how rewarding it is to walk through the peaks of life.

Every night during dinner, we go around the table and do “highs and lows” where everyone gets a chance to share a highlight and a tough part of their day. Many nights, the kids don’t have a low, but the lows give us an opportunity to access the pain of situations and grow through them. So, we made a rule: You HAVE to find a low. The lows allow us to talk about what we could’ve done differently or what we felt during that experience. Oftentimes, the lows even bring us right back to our highs because we choose to view them as growing experiences. We view them through a lens of optimism.

THINKING POSITIVE THOUGHTS

With homeschooling, I’m always trying to find new ways to teach them about kindness and optimism. Throughout our lessons and playtime, I feel like I’m constantly reminding the kids, “Be kind. Talk kindly. Show kindness.” It’s a common phrase in the Yancy house. But I want that to be what fills the atmosphere. I want that to be a whisper they remember and act on because positivity is key.

Simply THINKING positive thoughts and going into new and stressful situations with an open mind can lead to better mental and physical well-being. Positive affirmations in our thoughts and words can have a direct impact on our brains, hearts, and belief systems about life. These are lessons I try to infuse into our homeschool curriculum and our daily tasks. Every day, I’m finding new ways to improve my routine and teaching style by adding gratitude, positivity, and optimism into everything I do.

LIFE IS TRULY GOOD

Truth be told, I have positivity plastered all around my home; signs of encouragement and inspiration grace our walls. I want my family to see good words of life infused all around them. I want them to read the words in each room they walk into so that the message becomes ingrained in their view of life— a view that embraces hope and joy and encourages them to believe that life is truly good.

That’s a big reason why I’m absolutely giddy to be partnering with Life is Good. With some incredible products that truly inspire positivity and encouragement, they are helping spread the mission of optimism in the world. I’m excited to share more about them in the coming weeks and months. For now, all the clothes you see us wearing in this post are from Life is Good, and I can tell you that even just wearing them serves as a great reminder to live for today and find joy in the now.

I would love for you to share #SomethingGood that happened to you today. I want to encourage you to start living in this mindset of optimism. Step by step, day by day, we can each make a difference for the next generation.