A Mom's Selah Moment

Tips for new Grade 1 Moms (but can help with all foundation phase parents)

- At night get your child involved to help pack their bag for school the next day, it could help to use a check list. Place a schedule on your fridge of each child’s weekly schedule to guide you on what needs to be packed. Ask questions to help them check if all is packed for example: Is tomorrow a P.E day? What day is Library? Is your homework pouch in? What sport are you doing after school? As a Grade 1 teacher I often asked “where is your homework pouch etc.?” They would answer “Mom didn’t put it in” or “Mom forgot”. My answer always was but who comes to school? So helping them get this right from Term 1 will make the process so much easier.
- Let them help you to pack their school lunch the night before, then they can help to pack what they will enjoy and not sandwiches that will just come home the next day. If they help with the packing, then they are often inclined to finish their lunch instead of you having to guess what to pack. And on the topic of lunches, please try to keep it as healthy as possible. Use a Friday as a treat or tuck day but in the week pack food that will keep them sustained for the whole day.
- Get them to help you put out their school clothes the night before, that way no one is searching for clothing items the morning before school. Include shoes, sports bags etc.
- By getting them involved in packing their bag, lunch etc you are teaching them responsibility and independence which will make their school days easier when teacher gives them a task.
- Help them to practise doing their buttons, pulling up zips, tying their shoelaces, sharpening their pencils, putting their swimming costume on and taking it off etc. Another task we might not think about but a task that your teacher will thank you for. Just imagine having to help do buttons for 20 little grade ones at the same time?
- Train them at home already to put belongings in the same spot (bedroom at home and inside their schoolbag at school). Although it seems so simple for us, it requires training for them. Where do you put your shoes when you take them off? Where does your jersey go when you get hot? Although we think it should be natural it is not. If they are used to throwing their clothes on their bedroom floor, the chances are high they are going to forget to put it in the correct place at school. It is all about training, and I promise you the teachers do a lot of the training at school but with your help at home it will be much easier.

Hi Moms,
Trust you are all doing well and remembering to Selah and breathe in God’s presence in the quiet moments, even if it is not long moments, just meaningful ones. We as moms are often required to be the calm in our children’s storms. These storms are not always what we consider to be big things, but it’s the ordinary moments that feel real and big for them. Maybe they need to do their show and tell for the first time in big school or a presentation in front of their new teacher and classmates, they might not be sure who is going to play with them at break time. They could still be adjusting to their new school setting, teacher or maybe they are uncertain of their schoolwork. I know we can’t always solve and fix everything for them, although I’m sure you too have wished that you can bubble wrap them and protect them from getting hurt, but the one thing I am certain of is that I know we can be more present. My mom always said “How do you spell love to a child? – t i m e = time.” I read an article the other day that mentioned that if we are present in the first 9 minutes of our children’s mornings, their day will be off to a good start. It made me wonder why that’s the case. I think it’s because when they wake up and start their day, we should be their constant and their safety. For me one of the most special things is to make my girls breakfast in the morning, and to see them feel loved and cared for, to hear about what they are thinking of, what is on their minds and just to be there. Yes, we all have those mornings where everything goes wrong and we drop them off at school knowing the day did not start the way we wanted it to. But Moms lets work on being more intentional and more present. As I am writing it reminds me why it is in the same way so important to spend that time with the Lord, so we can fill our tanks that we so constantly need to pour from. Just like our children need those minutes in the mornings from us, how much more do we need to first spend those moments with our Father, where we just get to worship him, have tea with him and tell him what is on our hearts. I don’t know about you, but I remember as a child growing up, my dad’s arms were one of the safest places I could ever be, no matter what happened. How much safer it must be in our Father in Heaven’s arms? No matter how tired or good you feel, make sure that you spend time with him and invite him into the normal moments of your day.

Hi Moms,
I am sure I am not the only Mom that feels like this year has kicked off at full steam. I don’t know about you, but I already feel like I need another holiday. And even though I know our journeys may look totally different, I am sure you also have moments where you feel overwhelmed and you ask the question, why? Maybe its not starting a new business like I am or helping your youngest adapt to a new school environment or even helping your young adult start university (and oh my gosh does that take a lot of planning too). Either way our worlds are all real for us and dear Mom, I hear you and our journeys are maybe different but at the same time similar in the one fact ,WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE. But that is when God whispers. either quietly or shouts at me loudly by a sermon, a video clip or even through my children and husband, that I am not in control and I shouldn’t be. Once again, I feel depleted and hit my head hard when I try and do it all on my own. The same message that comes up repeatedly is TRUST. It was Pastor Joshua McCauley who reminded me today on one of his posts that “You don’t need perfect clarity to walk in God’s will. When you stop needing to understand everything, you make room for God to do anything.” So, Mom I want to encourage you today while I am encouraging myself, that God’s got us and thing WILL happen that we don’t always understand and you know what? We don’t need to. We need to make sure that our hearts are right and allow God to be God and TRUST. Joshua McCauley later on in his post tells us that “Trust positions us for favour and that surrender aligns us with heaven” and is that not our hearts for our husbands and children. So tonight, my prayer is that God will help us as Moms to know that it’s okay when we don’t always understand everything or have everything under control, WE NEED TO TRUST and surrender. So tomorrow morning I will try again and Selah when things feel hectic and remember to surrender and TRUST and lay each one of my children and my husband at the Lord’s feet. I will be sharing some tips for our new Grade 1 mommies in posts to come, so keep a look out.

Hi Moms,
I am sure I am not the only one that feels like the school year has started off with a BANG! It is so easy to feel overwhelmed. Tonight, it was my youngest that needed me to lie next to her for cuddles at bed time and I was reminded again that I need to Selah and put down my list of things that needs to be done before I go to bed and lie next to her, as all she needs is my presence. And just like that I am reminded again that, that is exactly how I feel when I’m overwhelmed and although I so could do with my mom’s cuddles, that is the time I need to come spend time in Gods presence as that is when I am reminded that I cannot do it in my own strength. Psalm 46:1 reminds me that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” and Nehemiah 8:10 “The joy of the Lord is my strength”. So, Moms if you are feeling tired at the start of the new week, remember to get quiet at your father’s feet and know that you cannot do ANYTHING in your own strength, so don’t try to take the wheel by yourself as that is when we feel like it is all too much. So, Mom’s tomorrow morning I will wake up again earlier and make sure that I Selah and have my cup of tea with Jesus before I wake my child up and try again to have a better day than I had today as my strength will come from God’s presence and not my own.

Hi Moms,
I am sure I am not the only mom exhausted. The first week of school is not for the faint hearted. How did your child manage their first day of school? Lots of emotions going around? Are they happy in their class and with their friends? How did they react to their teacher? Is it the teacher they wanted? How did you react when you saw which class your child was in? Was it the teacher you had hoped for? It is much easier to remember to Selah and to remember Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” when things go the way we want it to. But Mom, when things are not going the way we want it to or we don’t have the control we thought we had, it makes it so much harder. One of the best gifts you can give your child during their school careers is to have a good relationship with their teacher. And that is not always easy but DEFINITELY doable. I was reminded this week again by my almost 19 year old how important this is. She told me that growing up and going through the grades 1 – 12 the one thing that she will never forget is how I always sent my girls with a chocolate for their teacher on the first day. And in her wisdom, she told me that I knew how important this was as I was a teacher myself. It made me think again about how important that relationship with a teacher is and why I did that for both my girls every year. Maybe because I knew that teaching is a calling and not just a job. Maybe because I am aware that my child’s teacher spends more or less 6 hours a day with them, and moms that is a lot. So the least we can do as Moms is show her/him that he/she matters and that you are in her/his corner. Does that mean that you will always agree? No. not necessarily but it is vital that you handle them with respect, as teaching a class and especially one in Foundation Phase (maybe I am a bit bias) is hard. They love our kids when we are not there at school. I also often would remind the parents in my classroom that “I won’t believe everything your child says about you, if you remember not to always believe what they tell you about us as teachers” because Moms I am the first to tell you that there are always two sides of a story and it is important that instead of making our own assumptions, we rather make an appointment with our child’s teacher and go find out what is the truth. And be incredibly careful to never talk about being unhappy with your child’s teacher in front of them, as this will definitely affect their relationship with their teacher. So once again Moms it is up to us to maintain and cultivate good relationships between our children and their teachers.

Hi Moms,
I am aware that this is a week with many changes, good and bad. Your child’s world will be changing this week in some way – new teacher, new grade, new classmates and maybe even a new school. Maybe your child is transitioning from preschool or play school to a more formal school. How do we help them meet these expectations? If your child has not met their teacher yet, how do we help them if it’s not the teacher they wanted? What if the friends they wanted are not in their class? How do we manage the disappointments with the anxiety as well as the positives like the excitement, meeting new friends etc.? Well Mom firstly we make sure that we Selah, that we pray according to God’s word and fill our tanks with those moments where like the song I mentioned before says “Breathe, just breathe, come and rest at my feet and be, just be” before the day starts. I am reminded of the verse Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” and HE knows what he is doing, even when we can’t see it. It is vital that we as Moms “hear” them and their concerns but at the same time know that Gods got this and that we must remember that he has a plan and has them in the palm of his hands. It is very important not to react negatively with them as they look to us for our reaction and guidance. What do I mean by this? For example, they come home tomorrow and tell you none of their friends are in their class. Do you respond by calmly hearing who from last year is in their class? Who the new friends are and remind them that this is a chance to make new friends but for them to remember that they can still see their old friends at break. Or do you tell them how unfair life is and that you are going to go talk to their teacher? Although this is hard, we need to remind them that they are in their class because God knew what the best for them would be. As moms it is easy to want to fix everything and make it as smooth as possible, but life is full of bumps along the way, and we are there to help train them that it is all going to be okay and that God has this too. So together you will help them face any challenges life throws at them this year.

Hi Moms,
A big week ahead—the official start of the 2026 school year. I sit at two ends today, on the one side waiting for matric results with my eldest and on the other side with my youngest who just finished Foundation Phase and is entering Senior primary at a new school. So… a lot of thoughts in this Mommies head today. I think about my eldest’s school career coming to an end, 12 years of schooling done and the journey that now lies ahead, one we are not certain of before we get those results. And this brings back so many memories, the hard ones (and believe me there were many), the good ones (of which there will be plenty). However, in the midst of the hard ones, one easily tends to forget the good ones. I so wished I remembered to Selah more. Today at the same time I am reminded again of how quickly 12 years have gone by. I think of the moments in between that I thought we never would get through. I think of her education journey full of highs and lows, relationships with teachers and everyone on the journey with us. So, Mom today I want to give you hope that through it, we will get. Does it mean there won’t be hard moments in between, there definitely will be, but are we going to try and control everything? Or will we choose to Selah in between and remember whose hand to hold through it. The one who created our children in the first place. I speak to myself as my youngest goes to Grade 4, to remind myself that yes there will be moments, both highs and lows but I need to Selah in between and remember to enjoy the journey because fast it will go and then its over. We don’t want to travel without taking time to stop and enjoy the journey in between. I was reminded today again of Jeremiah 11v 12 -14“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you” declares the Lord. Remember, as we go through the start of school this week, to seek the Lord first and spend time with Him, because only then will we find Him—and we so desperately need that. In the next few days, I will be sharing some tips of how you can help your child seamlessly transition into the new school year with new friends, class and teacher.

Hi Moms,
Not sure about you but when I walk into a shopping mall and see all the school supplies out, with parents frantically buying school supplies, it creates a kind of a response in my body. One where I breathe a little quicker and my heart races a little bit faster but although this is part of the beginning of the school year, ready or not here we go. In those moments it’s important to Selah and remember who’s hand we hold through this all. Let us allow the Lord to help us to be the calm for our kids through it all. If it has that effect on us, it most definitely affects them even more. The way we react sets the pace for them. Even through the shopping of school supplies let us remember to create those quiet moments in between where we drink an ice cold cooldrink or milkshake together, nothing fancy, just a moment that we create to allow ourselves to hear their hearts amid all the craziness. And no mom I have not arrived (far from it) and that does not mean we will always get it right, but it does mean I’m going to SHOW UP and try. And when I feel like we are part of a whirl wind I am going to Selah and create a moment for me and my girls to “stop and just be”. I make the conscious decision to find 5 minutes at the start of the day to JUST BE at Jesus’s feet before the day starts. And yes, there will be days where I too drop the ball but then tomorrow, I will stand up and tackle it all again and SHOW UP and Selah and just be.

Hi Moms
As pictured in my cover photo, I love the song Breathe sung by Jonny Diaz. The words speak of the “chaos” we often find ourselves in, especially in the busyness of being Moms. What I love most is the honesty that the song speaks with like in the lyrics “It's ready, set, go, it's another wild day” – let us be aware as the school week starts next week. Before we are back in another “wild day” and before you know it, it steam rolls into another week, term or even year. Let us make a conscious decision to Selah (to pause ) and “to just breathe”. Let’s pencil in a moment in our daily schedules, BEFORE our day starts to “Breathe, just breathe, come and rest at my feet and be, just be”. Not sure how that will look for you in your life. I am aware that all our situations and families look a bit different. It might mean that you set your alarm for 5 minutes earlier, before the craziness of the day unfolds, that moment your bare feet hits the ground, that you first go make yourself a cup of tea and have 5 minutes of tea with Jesus. Or could it be a silent moment in your kitchen while packing your child’s lunches? Perhaps it is staring at the birds on your lawn or the beautiful sunrise? Maybe it is reading a scripture in your bible or even listening to a song that speaks to you? Because Moms if we are honest with ourselves those 2 or even 5 minutes is not going to affect your family at all negatively, because wake up they will, starting their day they will, but what it will definitely do is
change the way YOUR day unfolds which then affects the way YOUR family’s day will unfold. As you choose to first “Breathe, just breathe, come and rest at his feet and be, just be”.

A new year 2026 so what now?
So here we are again, a new year. A new school year for our kids (for some the first year of formal schooling) new work opportunities for us as parents, new relationships and….
How do we do it differently? Less chaotic, less overwhelming for our families, our kids and ourselves.
Before anything, lets decide to schedule a moment consciously this year to SELAH (Selah in the bible means to pause and reflect). Let's put 2025 behind us, the good and the bad.
The beautiful thing of a new year is it's the beginning of a new chapter that forms part of the Story of Your life. Remember to leave the pen in the hand of our Author, as we are not in control. Let's thank the Lord for this new year and trust Him to help us show up and be present. Remember He holds us in the palm of His hands.
I invite you to take a moment to Selah with me weekly, as moms, no matter what our backgrounds or status. Moms with school going children (preschool and primary school) lets run this race together. Allow me to Selah with you as a teacher mom (with 21 years of teaching experience) that’s also starting a new chapter in my story. A chapter that looks a bit different to my normal Grade 1 classroom, which was my comfort zone, but one where I want to come along side moms just like you.