The husband of one of my really good friends asked her this week, “What is your vision for our kids?” When I heard her tell me that, I thought, thank God he didn’t ask me! What would you say?

Having had a little time to think about it now, I would say that for my kids, my vision is for them to spend time playing outside, learn Russian, and grow in their faith and knowledge of the Bible. They don’t have to walk in a straight line, but they do have to be kind to other people. I want them to know if they aren’t kind, there will be meaningful consequences. I also want them to feel free to ask questions even though I feel annoyed by that sometimes. I want them to know it is okay to make mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

Practically speaking, I want to play with them outside at least half an hour every day (right now, we spend hours outside every day with Mitya, but I am thinking when school starts, I need a more realistic goal).

I want to speak to them in Russian when they wake up, at least half an hour every day, and have Russian class with them at least once a week (probably Wednesday). I know this sounds easy, but I actually speak English with them almost all the time. I think in English. I mainly talk to them in Russian when I am frustrated with them. However, if I know I only have to do it for half an hour every day, I think I will actually do it versus speaking to them in English and then wondering why they don’t speak in Russian.

Finally, I want to continue to read the Bible and pray with them every day in the evening. I would also like us to pray in the morning for at least 2 minutes. Again, I am going for realistic here.

And I am also thinking about my students. I want them to feel welcome. I want them to feel like the work is relevant to them. I want them to feel celebrated. I want to have an International Day for them in the fall, and I want to get as many people as possible involved (please let me know if you want to help!).

In the long term, I want to have a speaker series (internationals and folks who care about the world and want to share their lives with ESL students). I want there to be a relationship between our school and the trades school close by.

In the short term, I want to have a mindfulness classroom. I want to start each class with breathing exercises. I want to implement Whole Brain Teaching strategies (I’m looking at you, Ms. Dimond. I want to practice together!).

Finally, I want the students to know that I don’t have all the answers, but we can learn together. I want us to be curious about our world, and I want us to know mistakes are okay because we get to learn from them. I want us to reflect every day at the end of every class about what we learned and what questions we still have. I want to continue to partner with the wonderful teachers at our school. Just like I’ve found in my experience as a mom, teaching kids truly takes a village!

So that’s what I would say if someone asked me, “What is your vision for your kids?” I would love to hear what your vision is for your kids. 🙂