Preparing More Than a Backpack: Preparing Your Child’s Heart for a New School Year
- Tearri Rivers
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
A new school year brings a lot to prepare—new clothes, school supplies, routines, teachers, and classrooms.
But there is something even more important to prepare:
Our children's hearts.
School readiness isn't only about knowing letters, numbers, colors, or how to follow a schedule. Children also need to practice listening, sharing, using kind words, solving problems, receiving correction, helping others, and working through disappointment.
These are heart skills.
As parents, we have an opportunity to help our children prepare their hearts to give and receive biblical love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
We can practice this at home through simple everyday moments:
Encourage your child to listen before speaking.
Give them opportunities to help and share.
Teach them how to receive kindness and say thank you.
Talk about what to do when someone hurts their feelings.
Remind them that making a mistake doesn't mean they have failed.
Help them learn to apologize, forgive, and try again.
Most importantly, remind your child that they are loved.
They don't have to be perfect to be loved.
They don't have to know everything.
They can ask for help.
They can learn.
They can grow.
And they can begin again.
A New School Year Can Be a New Beginning
A new school year isn't just an opportunity for our children to learn something new academically. It can also be an opportunity for God to grow something new in their hearts.
Maybe He is teaching them patience.
Maybe kindness.
Maybe forgiveness.
Maybe confidence.
Maybe how to care for others.
We don't have to know exactly what God is going to do. We can simply help our children remain open to Him.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. - Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
So as you prepare the backpack, prepare the lunch, and prepare the school supplies, take time to prepare your child's heart too.
Talk about love.
Practice listening.
Practice kindness.
Practice giving.
Practice receiving.
And remind your child:
God is with you, and He can do a new thing in your heart this school year.
What if preparing our children for school isn't just about preparing them for what they will learn—but preparing their hearts for who God is helping them become?
🎥 Companion Reel: A Conversation With Moxie About the New School Year
In this simple conversation, Moxie and I talk about getting ready for a new school year. Moxie shares some of the things that can make starting school feel uncertain, and together we talk about listening, asking questions, being kind, making mistakes, and trying again.
The conversation reminds children that preparing for school is about more than getting a backpack ready. We can prepare our hearts too.
Moxie also explores the idea that a new school year can be a new beginning—and that God can do something new in our hearts.
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