Celebrating Siblings: Friends for Life
Homeschooling multiple kids together comes with its own unique set of benefits and challenges for the entire family–not the least of which is fostering the relationships your children have and build with their siblings. Homeschooling, by nature, will result in your children spending more time together than they likely would if they attended separate schools or classes. While time and shared learning brings with it the opportunity for deep bonds, it can also result in frustration and conflict.
May 2 is National Brothers and Sisters Day. Take the opportunity for a special family day focusing on brothers and sisters and their relationships. This Homeschool Living features fun ways to celebrate brothers and sisters, ideas for helping siblings appreciate each other, and advice on teaching them how to resolve conflict.
Incorporate one of these fun but simple activities to celebrate brothers and sisters day. Bonus: you can participate along with your kids in celebrating your own siblings! Check out these five ideas for celebrating your siblings long after childhood.
If May 2 doesn’t work for you, don’t let that dissuade you from creating a special event for your kids to celebrate each other. This mother blogs about starting a tradition of “Brother’s Day” to allow her sons time and opportunity to strengthen their bond. One of the best parts of their celebration is that they already talk about how they will carry the tradition into adulthood. If you have young children, how beautiful would it be to start a tradition that they will carry throughout their life?
Siblings–especially ones who spend a lot of time together–will inevitably learn how to push each other’s buttons and struggle with jealousy and competition. Learning to cooperate and get along with each other in the heat of an argument is an invaluable skill. Calm the Chaos shares free downloadable posters that can be used as key reminders of how to handle tense situations–before, during, and after.
Teaching Siblings to be Kind
Teaching kids to be kind to their siblings is not a short endeavor. (Check out this blog post on why siblings fight.) Leading by example and reinforcing positive, kind behavior are two of the greatest tools you have at your disposal. Check out this tool as well: 15 surprising things to ban to raise kind kids. Every home finds its own rhythm and family creates its own unique bond, but some of these things are excellent blanket rules to incorporate into your household to encourage respect and appreciation for each other and prevent hurt feelings and damaged relationships.
You’re probably familiar with well-known sibling athletes like Venus and Serena Williams, or the classic writings of the Bronte sisters, but do you know about Mozart’s sister, Maria? Or Wilbur and Orville Wright’s sister, Katharine? Take the opportunity to learn about some famous siblings throughout history, starting with these ten famous siblings who conquered the world.
