Daily time in His presence
Oh sure, you know who Moses is (and no, he's not Charlton Heston. And if this surprises you, then I hate to break it to you but Cleopatra wasn't Liz Taylor either.) Surely you know who Noah is as well, yes? I'll go out on a limb and assume many of you could even tell me who Laban is (and if you can't, it's time to wipe a little dust off the Bible and take the challenge).
But I'm willing to bet you didn't know this. Yesterday, I read the account of twelve spies going into the promised land and reporting back to the children of Israel what they had observed. I asked my two youngest students, ages 6 and 7, what they supposed the spies might have seen.
7yo response: "Maybe fights because they said the people were big and they were afraid of them."
Okay, reasonable answer, yes? I thought so.
6yo response: "A zebra?"
Pray for us!
A few minutes later, as we continued to discuss the things of God, my recently turned 2yo overheard me say, "Jesus", to which he joyfully responded, "Heaven!"
I was so excited, scooping him up with a kiss and saying, "That's right, baby. Jesus is in Heaven," to which he burst my pride bubble by adding, "Mars!"
I kid you not!
Toni
6 comments:
Cute!!!
haha..cute kid!
Toni, that actually shows your 2-year-old is able to join similar concepts together to form meaning. He started at 'Jesus' and connected Jesus to 'Heaven'. Correct! Then he went further and connected Heaven to the universe where the planets are. Brilliant-correct! Proud-Mommy-bubble definitely intact.
That's o.k. he's on the right track. Just ignore the Mars part.
Susan
I have a home schooling question; our oldest is only 2.5 years old. What do you do with your baby/toddler while you are teaching your older children? We are considering home schooling but I'm worried about being a good mom and a good teacher to very different aged children (our son will be 35 months when our new baby will be born).
I love the little things kids say! Overheard today, "Daddy, will you be my best friend?" It just melts my heart! ;)
JMR,
Let me first say I'm so glad that you are wisely looking at *all* schooling options for your children, and that you're considering how you would be able to meet individual needs if you were to homeschool. This really speaks to your desire to be a great mom. No matter what decision you make in the end, I believe your choice will be well thought out because you're willing to explore your options carefully.
Prior to the start of each year, I sit down with a stack of blank 3x5 note cards and jot down the lessons for each of my children; a single lesson on each card for each child. For example, 9yo might have the following cards; Spanish, Writing Strands, English from the Roots Up, Math, Math drills, Spelling, History, Science, Bible, Art and Music, etc.
As you can see, a number of cards. I do this for each child. I then make a master schedule times listed down the left side (half hour increments from 730a to 2pm) and names across the top (I have four children so there are 5 names, myself included). This forms a schedule grid which will eventually become my master schedule.
I then use the note cards, spread out on the floor, to try to determine how best to fill the grid. For example, if I'm teaching a new math lesson to my 7yo, 6yo may be scheduled for book basket time (quiet reading of library books that reinforce our history and science topics) while 9yo may be scheduled for play time with my 2yo. Then, when I'm teaching writing to my 9yo, 7yo may be busy comleting his math workbook while 6yo completes her math drills online. The goal is to be actively teaching one while others are either doing independent work or playing with the 2yo. I also schedule 2yo for a short time in the playpen alone, with some stimulating toys. He is in sight and has come to enjoy this independent time. He looks at his picture books, plays with puzzles or blocks, puts toy coins in a toy piggy bank, etc.
It does NOT always go smoothly. In fact, most days have a rough spot or two. And I'm not perfect in the dual role of mom-educator (after all, my children have no peer pressure and less need to conform to a group, so all masks are off in the home; they're always themselves, good and "bad" alike.) But if you add it up, I'm able to work on character and values right along with academics, to the tune of nearly 13,000 hours that would have otherwise been yielded to persons and influences that I would know little about. It's not a yield we were okay with making.
All this said, homeschooling is not the right or best fit for every family. It certainly is not the ONLY choice and I do not in ANY way consider myself "better" for having made this choice for my family. I do, however, know that I carefully considered all options (public, private, homeschool) and thus I feel confident that our family's choice is a thorough and completely explored choice at that.
Now that I've shared way more than you asked, I would encourage you to stop by the homeschooler's curriculum swap sometime. They have terrific forums and those ladies have such a vast spread of knowledge and experience. One of the forums has to do with considering homeschooling, so it would be a great place for you to explore any questions you might have and to get some great feedback.
Blessings,
~Toni~
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