There are so many things I want my girls to learn. Reading. Writing. Money. Creativity. Responsibility. Business. How to finish what they start. And as a homeschooling mom, it can be very easy to think every new skill requires another curriculum, program, class, or resource. But lately, I’ve been asking myself a different question: What do we already know that we can pass down? I’m a proofreader. My husband is an artist. And our girls have imaginations that can come up with a story faster than I can get it written down. So we’re putting those things together. The girls are working on their first comic books. Not because we’re trying to create professional child authors. Not because every hobby needs to become a business. And definitely not because their first books need to be perfect. We’re doing it because creating one little book gives them an opportunity to practice something much bigger: Taking something from an idea to something they actually own and created. This Week’s Pearl 💎 Your skills aren’t just something you can earn from; they’re something you can pass down. I’ve spent time developing my proofreading skills because they’re useful professionally. But those same skills have value inside my home. I can help my girls understand how a story flows. I can teach them to read their own sentences and ask whether they make sense. I can help them notice spelling, punctuation, and word choices. Their dad can teach things I can’t. He can help them think about drawing, characters, visual storytelling, and illustration. And our girls bring their own creativity to the table. That’s been making me think differently about family stewardship. Sometimes we’re so busy looking outside our homes for the next thing our children need that we forget to look at the knowledge already living inside them. Create First. Correct Second. Being a proofreader creates one interesting problem when you’re teaching a child to write. You see everything. The misspelled word. The missing punctuation. The sentence that somehow started in Texas and ended in California. 😂 And because you know how to correct it, it’s tempting to stop them immediately. I’m learning not to. There’s a time to create. And there’s a time to correct. Those don’t always need to happen simultaneously. When my girls are trying to figure out what happens next in their comic books, I don’t want perfection interrupting imagination. So I’m practicing a very simple rule: CREATE FIRST → CORRECT SECOND Let them tell the story. Let them draw. Let them write the dialogue. Let them make mistakes. Then we can come back together and polish it. I don’t want my ability to see what’s wrong to make them afraid to create something imperfect. Their first book should reflect their first efforts. It doesn’t need to look like something created by a professional author, editor, and illustrator. That’s part of the beauty of it. One Project Can Teach a Lot This is one reason I enjoy project-based learning. Making a comic book sounds like one activity. But look underneath it. They’re creating characters. Writing dialogue. Reading their own work. Sequencing events. Drawing. Editing. Problem-solving. Designing a cover. Making decisions. And eventually... finishing something. That’s a lot of learning hiding inside one little project. And because they’re interested in what they’re creating, the skills have a reason. They’re not practicing writing simply because I told them to write five sentences. They’re writing because their character needs something to say. I love that. The Family Can Become Part of the Classroom This project has also made me look beyond my own skills. What does Dad know? What does Mom know? What could Grandma teach? What could Grandpa teach? What are our children getting good at that they could teach one another? Maybe nobody in your family is a proofreader or an artist. That’s okay. Maybe somebody sews. Gardens. Cooks. Repairs things. Takes beautiful photographs. Budgets. Organizes. Builds. Speaks another language. Runs a business. Plays an instrument. Writes. There is knowledge sitting inside our families. And some of it took us years to acquire. Our children don’t necessarily have to start from zero. We can give them access to what we’ve learned—not because they have to become little versions of us, but because part of stewardship is deciding what’s worth passing down. From “I Have an Idea” to “I Made It” This may be the part I’m most excited for the girls to experience. There’s a big difference between: “I want to make a comic book.” and: “I made a comic book.” The first one takes imagination. The second one requires imagination plus follow-through. That’s why we’re keeping their process simple: IDEA ↓ CHARACTER ↓ PROBLEM ↓ STORY / PANELS ↓ FIRST DRAFT ↓ POLISH ↓ BOOK We’re not starting with Amazon. We’re not starting with how much they could sell it for. We’re not worrying about author brands, websites, or building some giant children’s business. First, make the book. There will be plenty of time to teach them more about publishing, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and creative ownership. Right now, finishing something they imagined is enough. Raising Creators, Not Just Consumers I don’t believe everything our children create needs to make money. That’s important to me. Creation does not always need to become monetization. Children should be allowed to make things simply because creating is good. At the same time, I want my girls to understand that they aren’t limited to consuming what everybody else creates. They can read a comic book. And they can create one. They can enjoy someone’s artwork. And learn to make their own. They can love someone’s characters. And invent their own. They can read someone’s story. And discover that their own stories are worth writing down too. That’s the beginning of creative ownership. Reflect & Lead This week, instead of immediately searching for another activity, curriculum, or program for your children, take inventory of your own family. Ask: What do I know how to do? What does my spouse know? What have we learned through work, school, business, hobbies, or life? What could our children learn by doing something alongside us? Then don’t turn the answer into a twelve-week curriculum tonight. 😂 Choose one small thing. Teach them something. Make something. Practice something. Let them try. Faith in Action Deuteronomy 6:6–7 gives us a beautiful picture of teaching our children as part of ordinary family life. It isn’t a passage about comic books, entrepreneurship, or family business. But it reminds me that teaching our children isn’t confined to formal lessons. It’s woven into life together. There are things God has taught us. Wisdom we’ve gained. Skills we’ve developed. Mistakes we’ve learned from. Experiences that changed us. Part of stewarding those things well may be making sure they don’t stop with us. Something to Think About What’s something your family knows how to do that you could learn from each other? And don’t only think about what Mom and Dad can teach the children. Our children have things to teach us, too. 🪶 Resources We’re Using I’m keeping this project intentionally simple. You do not need special supplies to help your child create a book. Paper and a pencil are enough. But if you’re curious about some of the tools you see me using while I write, proofread, plan, and teach, I’ll keep them here: ✒️ My fountain pen: joylink.io/acrylic-fountain-pen ✏️ Apple Pencil: joylink.io/delightful-latest-pencil 📱 iPad Mini: joylink.io/apple-a17-pro-ipad-mini Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I only share resources that we actually use or that naturally support what I’m teaching. 🤍 Support Thrive — Buy Me a Pearl If these Pearls are helping your family build with more faith, peace, wisdom, and structure, you can support the work of Thrive with Ebony through Buy Me a Coffee—or, as we call it around here, Buy Me a Pearl. Your support helps me continue creating Pearls of Wisdom episodes, Substack reflections, and practical family stewardship resources. Buy Me a Pearl: buymeacoffee.com/thrivewithebonysade No pressure. I’m grateful you’re here reading, learning, and building alongside our family. If you’d like to hear the full conversation and see how we’re helping our girls work through their first comic books, the podcast episode is linked below. 🎥 [WATCH/LISTEN: How to Teach Your Kids to Write Their First Book] Faith. Family. Structure.One Pearl at a time.Until Next Time….. Keep Thriving Get full access to Pearls of Wisdom at thrivewithebonysade.substack.com/subscribe
