Big Rocks

In his book "First Things First," Stephen Covey shares an illustration given during a seminar on time management. It begins with the instructor giving a quiz. "He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar. He set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. 'How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?' he asked. After we made our guess, he said, 'Okay. Let's find out.' He set one rock in the jar...then another...then another. I don't remember how many he got in, but he got the jar full. Then he asked, 'Is that jar full?' Everybody looked at the rocks and said, 'Yes.'

Then he said, 'Ahhh.' He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Then he grinned and said once more, 'Is the jar full?' By this time we were on to him. 'Probably no,' we said.

'Good!' He replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went in all the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he looked at us and said, 'Is the jar full?' 'No!' We all roared. He said 'Good!' and he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got something like a quart of water in that jar. Then he said, 'Well, what's the point?' Somebody said, 'Well, there are gaps, and if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life.'

'No', he said, 'That's not the point. The point is this: if you hadn't put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?' We're always trying to fit more activities into the time we have. But what does it matter how much we do if what we're doing isn't what matters most?"
Do you know what YOUR "big rocks" are? Do you know what you are trying to accomplish in your homeschool and where you are going? If you don't know what your “big rocks” are for your homeschool and your family, there will be that nagging feeling that something isn't right. You don't seem to be able to stick to a schedule. You're always feeling as if you haven't accomplished anything or you don't feel good about what you are doing. Often, it's because the "big rocks" haven't been put in first.

So what are the "big rocks" that you need to include in your homeschool plan for next year? That’s for you and God to decide. If you are a Christian, you can look to the Bible for those answers. Ask God to show you, through the Bible, what the “big rocks” are for your family. Most likely you will find that character training, service, and worship are high priorities on God's list.

I went to a conference where the speaker asked me to write down four of the most important things in the world to me on separate strips of paper. Then she "Throw one of them away." So I looked them over and threw one away. Then she asked me to throw another one away. This was getting harder but I crumpled one up. She said “On these two pieces of paper are the two most important things in the entire world to you. Now throw one away”. That was a toughie. One was what should be important and one was what really wasimportant in my life at that time. I chose the high road and picked the piece of paper with what should have been the most important thing in the world to me.

She said “Now, look at that piece of paper. How much time do you spend on the most important thing in the world to you?” I was floored. I sat there in shock. The most important thing in the world to me was the very thing I spent the least amount of time on. It had a real impact on my life from that day on. If you try this exercise before you make your homeschool schedule or plans for next year, you might find that the one thing you really want your children to learn or to do or to be is the one thing you spend the least amount of time working on. Stephen Covey also said “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” The Bible says it this way “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Your Assignment:

• Spend time with God asking him what the "big rocks" should be for your family this next school year.

• Start looking for curriculum, books, activities, projects that line up with the "big rocks" that God has shown you.

• Put these in your schedule first. Like the gravel, sand and water, you will fill in your other homeschool curriculum and activities around these "big rocks."

Copyright © 2005 Collegedale Area Homeschoolers/Angie Lippard, Copyright Notice - To copy, to republish, to post on servers, to redistribute to lists, or to use any component of this work in other works, requires prior specific permission and/or fee. What does this mean to you? You cannot place a copy of a CAH article online or in print without requesting permission. You must obtain permission of CAH articles to distribute at support group meetings or to reprint an article in your support group newsletter. Submit requests to teacher2mykids@aol.com or Angie Lippard, 4319B Katy Kim Lane, Ooltewah, TN 37363

Photos

Motivation

About Us