Whether your child is homeschooled or homeworked, it's a sacred parental responsibility to ensure that the child's mind is filled with noble stories. K-5 kids don't understand abstract concepts (like justice), so they're moral system is based on the stories they know. Fairytales, true tales of heroism, and the like are important for the child to align himself with proper values. If his mind is filled with stories of children sassing their parents and teacher, being poor friends, or telling white lies without consequences--his behavior will reflect that value system.
Here's how to choose good literature and television for your child.
- Characterization. A child may not understand the broad concept of a value, but he knows that he doesn't want to be the evil queen in Snow White. In a morally healthy story, the bad are bad and the good are good. Bad guys aren't the heroes.
- Consequences. The good are rewarded. The bad are punished. If the hero tells a fib in the course of saving the princess, there WILL be a comeuppance at the end.
Watch out for stories that show "good" consequences from bad choices. You see it in adult television. People have serial one night stands and experience no emotional damage. That's a lie. Live that way for a while and you know it starts to eat your soul. Duh. Same with these ridiculous stories where children talk down to adults or sneak around disobeying in the name of saving something...and there's no comeuppance. In some stories, that behavior is actually REWARDED. That's a lie. If your child tries to live that way, he won't be happy. So, while he's young, make sure he has good stuff going in.
So, it's important during these early years to fill the young mind with plenty of noble stories. Don't worry about whether or not there's magic in it as much as how the characters behave. The author's value system is communicated through the story's events.
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