MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

God is so gracious to me.  He has taught me things all along our parenting and homeschool path that I never realized.  He just puts one blade of grass at a time in front of me, and I follow like the sheep I am.  And I am thankful.  But,  a lot of times, I don't realize what I have learned until it is put to the test or people ask many questions that cause me to actually think about what God has done.

One of the most important things God led us to in raising our kids (probably THE most important thing), was to instruct and train their hearts above and beyond anything else.  The Lord just sort of instilled that in us...that if we had their hearts, everything else would fall into place.  We hear about reaching our kids' hearts all the time, but what does that really look like?  

For our family, it meant focusing on God's heart.  

God's heart is immense.  He has been faithful to show us in His Word, all the various parts of His heart and what is important to Him.  There is no way we can understand it all.  But, as we prayed, God brought one part of His heart in focus more than any other.  His commandments.

I used to struggle with the Ten Commandments.  Have you ever tried to keep just ONE for a DAY?  I used to think I had to keep every one of them, every second of every day.  And before I came to Jesus, I did have that burden on me.  But those Commandments, written on stone, did exactly what God intended them to do...show me how badly I needed a Savior!  Thank God, His law is perfect and did what it was intended to do in my life.  

However, after being freed from the Law, I began to have an intense dislike for it.  Well, not for the Law, itself, but for how people who had faith in Christ would hold it up as a standard we HAD to meet.  That was legalism to me, as well as impossible and I had spent enough time in Galatians to know I wanted no part of it!  So, I kind of avoided all passages that pertained to commandments.  They felt distracting and grace-limiting to me, so I basically pretended they weren't there.  For a long time.

You can't read the New Testament for too long a time, though, before you realize that God still has commandments and they are vitally important to Him.  I had to come to terms with this.  It started a great deal of study for me and God was so good to give me grace so that I could understand why He continued to command us in things, even after we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and were set free from the Law.

I admit, however, at first didn't get it.  If Jesus freed us from the Law, which included a LOT of commandments, why was he preaching any kind of commandment during his time on the earth to people who were believing in him?  This was a mystery to me for a long time.  

And then I read Mark.  In Mark 12, Jesus said, "The most important is, 'Hear O Israel": The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."  Mark 12:29-31


With that passage, so much made sense.  Once saved, the Law wasn't about works.  It is about LOVE.  The Law still exists for us, but it means something different for the believer.  It is a way for us to know God better.  Not by keeping a list of rules, but by showing us the important thing to keep in mind so that we could draw closer to the Lord.  After placing our trust in Jesus, loving God and loving His people is the single greatest way to know Him.

So, these Mark 12 verses became our family Mission Statement.  Loving God and loving others by considering them more important than ourselves is the compass for our family.  It is the constellation we navigate our lives by.

So, now in our family, if there are spats, anger, jealousy, rivalry, laziness or any other misgiving in our life, we address through these commands.  Are we loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?  Are we loving others as ourselves?  It allows us to address our hearts...not our behaviors.  And it sets our sights on being close to a God who loves us and wants us to be closer to Him...not on a God who is against us and waiting to condemn us.  It reminds us to forgive as we are forgiven.  It reaches our hearts for God.

And isn't that what we are trying to do most with our kids?  Reach their hearts for God?

I encourage you to find a Mission Statement for your family.  As you grow closer to the heart of God, He will have greater access to the heart of you and your children.

It will be the greatest gift you give your children from

Play-doh to Plato.

Reaching the Heart of the Writer with Cookies, Colors and Paints, Oh My!

A funny thing happened after I wrote about writing a few months ago.  A lot of people started asking me a lot of questions about how I "teach" writing, making me really formulate in my head what we do on paper.  I tend to "just do it" without writing a ton of lesson plans or writing schedules, so formulating my ideas in a manner that would allow someone to think along the same lines was not as easy for me as it might have been for you.

But, people kept asking.  And so, I had some folks over to my house and I presented my ideas to them.  And then, I did the unthinkable...I started writing a curriculum and teaching a class!

Beginning formal writing for our family is a long process.  The junior high years are a kind of "gap year" experience.  If you have read my former posts, you know that I don't do any directed formal writing with my kids during their elementary years.  So, those junior high years are for exploring their Voice, with many opportunities to write...about nothing...and about everything!  I take those two years to do directed, experiential writing and then in high school I teach all the formalities.  I am a firm believer that if your student enjoys writing, they will always be a better writer!  But it is hard to enjoy writing when you are constantly having to write to a formula about topics you could care less about.  I really believe that if we spend time exploring our unique writer's Voice, and write without a lot of parameters, we free our mind from being hesitant about expressing ourselves on the page.

Every person has a unique way of thinking, and speaking.  And writing is just speaking on paper.  When we speak to others, we don't want to be scrutinized and analyzed the whole time for our grammar, we want to be listened to first.  And so those junior high years are a chance for me to listen to my kids' unique way of sharing their thoughts.  And to give them confidence in their Voice, they need time to discover it.

I have a daughter who plays harp. She is quite musical.  When she was 11, she was composing music on the piano.  She started harp at 12 and has never composed anything on it.  Several times, I asked her why and she kind of brushed it off and made small excuses.  This year (at 15), I finally pressed her about the issue a little more.  And what she shared with me made so much sense.  My 15 year old is now self aware and aware that others are aware of her.  At 11, she didn't have that same self-awareness.  So she told me she didn't want to practice playing new compositions because "you can't just sit down and make it sound pretty.  You have to experiment."  She knew there would be a lot of sour notes and tweaking involved to bring a piece of music from her head to perfection on her harp and she didn't want anyone to think that what they heard during the process, was what the final product would sound like.  This made so much sense.

Unfortunately, we don't have a studio in our house where Jocelyn can just go behind a closed door and experiment in private.  That left only one option.  I told Joss that while we didn't have a private place, our house would be a safe place. That anytime she wanted to work on her own arrangements, we would all suspend judgment until she brought us a final product.  She took me at my word and started to compose her own arrangement of a Christmas carol.

Jocelyn then played harp for our church's ladies' tea.  There were about 500 people that she played for.  Being a typical 15 year old, she was hesitant to share her arrangement outside our home.  We kept encouraging her, though, because her arrangement was good....Really, really good!  She had had room to compose, and formulate and practice until she expressed the carol beautifully and originally.  To make a long story longer....she DID end up playing her arrangement and it caught the ear of a professional singer/musician at the tea.  She asked for a business card.

A couple of months ago, the singer contacted my daughter and asked her to prepare and arrangement to go with one of her songs.  My daughter used her harp as a jazz instrument and this was so unique to this Indie singer that she was very interested in hearing more.  When Jocelyn sent her a video of the music she arranged, the singer asked her to accompany her on tour when she is in Colorado and possibly elsewhere in the US.

So...why do I tell you this?  What does it have to do with writing?  Everything!

If Joss had not had time to construct her arrangement...if she had not had a safe place to explore who she is as a musician, she never would have been able to prepare her carol arrangement and would have lost the chance of a lifetime!  She would have continued playing only the pieces her instructor gave her, the way they are written.  Very competently, but with very little of her own creativity.  How many of you would discourage your musical child from exploring her musical Voice?  So...why would you do that to your writer?  They need time to explore words and structure and Voice to determine how God has made them as communicators...because if your kids are believers...they are required by God to be communicating and you can bet He will equip them to do it in a way that is exclusive to them.  So, if we squelching their individuality for the sake of The Essay first, they will always be writing to pass a class, instead of to communicate.  So, I ditch the red pen during junior high and we start an exploration!

The next thing I do, is give my kids plenty of time to experience things around them and respond to them.  For the class I am teaching, we don't write essays...we are simply learning to enjoy finding out who we are as writers.  There is no correction involved.  Definitely NO DREAD RED PENS!  I take off every hindrance so the kids can just express their thoughts without fear of a grade or correction.

So...for my practically minded friends...let me share some of the things we have done in our class so far, in hopes that it might encourage you....

We began by getting in touch with our senses.  Senses help us analyze the world around us and bring it into a clearer focus.  They elicit immediate responses that are easy for the writers to identify with and expand on.  So, the first week...we made cookies.  Yep...you heard me!  Cookies!  We used all of our senses to describe all of the ingredients and then did the same with the final product.

I wrote all their descriptions for the ingredients while they told them to me.  Then we chose our favorite words.

The following week we used our observation skills to contemplate God's Creation.

Yesterday, we explored color.  Color evokes great response!  I found it fascinating in my preparation of the class that in Revelation 4:3 when John describes Jesus...he only uses colors to characterize him!  We did a number of exercises to bring forth strong responses.

Paint Sample Cards

First I gave all the kids paint sample cards with the names of the paint blotted out.  I asked them to choose three colors on their card and make up new names.  What fun!  Paint colors already have fun, descriptive names and to hear the students list theirs was awesome!  One of my students called a purple-ish color that she chose, "Hints of a Bruise".

Next, I gave each of them a piece of watercolor paper divided into 6 boxes, crayons and watercolors.

Divided Watercolor Paper

I then asked them to paint in their favorite color, things that remind them of that color.  I passed out color wheels and talked about complimentary colors.  I asked them to surround their favorite color pictures with its complimentary color.  I then discussed how contrast helps bring out your picture...likewise, when we write, contrasting and comparing can do the same thing to make your point clearer.

When they were done, they wrote poems. We used the poems in Hailstones and Halibut Bones as a model.  (Green is________________, green is______________) and asked them to use their boxes to fill in the blanks.

Here is my daughter, Carli's, picture and poem....

Carli's Picture: Sliver

Silver is the moonrays when the werewolf stalks (okay...at this point, I need to say...it is ALWAYS the teacher's kid that pushes the limits of creativity!)

The abstract boxes of blue and silver,

The little silver square, outlined in blue.

It is the instrument that little Greg plays,

floating little orb with the surrounding black and blue,

Silver-golden flower in the sun so bright.

As I go back and look at this poem with Carli, I want her to know that I LIKE it, first of all. Then...remember NO red pens....I am going to circle some High Quality Words and Phrases that she used...like, moonrays, abstract, floating little orb, silver-golden.  I will have her add those to High Quality Words and Phrases lists that she is already keeping from her earlier writings.  This way, when she gets to high school and writes formally, she will have a list of great words and phrases that she has compiled to use in her high school essays.

So...I hope that gives a little insight.  These two years are about reaching the Heart of the Writer, and having fun with writing.  It is a BLAST....and I think the kids like it, too!

HIT THE BOOK MONDAY - Color Me Interesting!

“And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” Revelation 4:3

                Think, for a moment, what it must have been like to be Noah and to have been in the ark for 40 days and 40 nights.  The same thing day after day.  And when Noah finally got to look outside…nothing but water for as far as his eye could see.  Waiting, waiting, waiting, until, finally, dry land! 

Once Noah was on the land, he promptly built an altar and praised God. It is then that God spoke to Noah and made his promise never to curse the earth and destroy it again.  And just when Noah thought his joy could not be more complete, God set a gorgeous spectacle in the sky to show His great love and promise for His people.   God did not write this covenant on stone.  He didn’t even tell it to anyone besides Noah that we know of, until God told Moses the story.   God chose to reveal this part of His heart for His people, not in words…but in colors. 

Think about John’s description of Jesus in the above Revelation verse.  In all the ways that John could have described the majesty of Jesus, the power of Jesus, the love of Jesus, he could only use words of color to describe him.  Color is more powerful than just mere beauty.  Somehow, it describes God’s heart in ways His words do not.

There is more to God than the words He says.  There is more to life than the words we say, too.  Action speaks louder than words.  How do we show our care and promises?  Words are not enough.  We need to be involved and engaged with our kids.  Even in their school.  When I give writing homework, Day 3 always involves discussion.  This is an opportunity to discuss your heart and ideas with your child and, more importantly, to hear theirs. 

When you talk with your child(ren), what do they say?  More importantly, what do they show?  In writing circles, it is popular to say “show, don’t tell”.  In writing, that is important because it is more interesting to show something, rather than just tell about it.  It is more intriguing and interactive to show something and include your “audience” in the experience you are sharing.  It is the same in life.  We need to follow the Biblical example and take time to talk with our children and be interested in them when we sit in our houses, when we walk by the way, when we lie down and when we rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:7)  That is where the real diligent teaching happens. 

So, this week, engage with and enjoy your kids!  While encouraging them in their writing, acknowledge their unique ideas and ways they show them. The secret to good writing...is having an interested audience!

BONUS:  Can your child describe themselves in color only?  Can YOU?

HIT THE BOOK MONDAY - Got Rocks in Your Head?

"And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'"  Luke 19:39-40

          Have you heard the term, “familiarity breeds contempt”?  It suggests that when things are too familiar to us, they can bring about annoyance.  I am not saying we are annoyed with our children, but when we spend most of our time with them, we may become too focused on what needs improvement, rather than the wonder of who they are and who God has created them to be.  This can especially be a struggle when we teach our kids.  Have you noticed, though, when your children have been with other people, those people will come back and let you know something amazing they noticed in your child?  Your child, whom you have been trying to get to memorize the same Bible verse for weeks, shared some incredible, astute Biblical truth with them?  Or how your student who has been unable to master their multiplication facts, painted a near-masterpiece at their friend’s house?  Or how your wild child, who runs amok in your home, said the beautiful blessing for dinner at the grandparents’ home?  And all these people now sing the praises of the child whose schoolwork frustrated you. 

            When we do not take time to encourage our children in their uniqueness and in the gifts and talents that God put in them, we are silent in our praise of what God is doing in them.  Worse, sometimes we are completely unaware of the things God is doing in them because we are just trying to do school.  And the only speaking we do is correction.  But, others who do not have this expectation on our children, see what God is creating in them.  And they become rocks…crying out, when we don’t. 

           I had the opportunity recently to visit my old stomping grounds in California.  Some of my friends got a chance to spend "quality" time with my boys while I helped prepare a conference.  When I had a chance to spend time with my friends myself, I found myself a little surprised.  Apparently, my boys were quite the spectacle!  And not in the way you are probably thinking.  

             My boys can be rambunctious.  Sam, in particular is a bundle of energy.  If my boys are bored, they can argue at times.  Gecko is often pushed to the limits of his temper with some of his brother's antics.  When they get a long (which, thankfully, is most of the time), they make BIG messes.  They like to run and shout and explore all the messy, muddy, dusty places they can find.  They are boys, after all.  THIS is what I unleashed on my friends.

            But, at the end of the day, do you know what some of my friends told me?  Here are just some of the things:
            "What a pleasure to be around Sam!  He is so happy all the time!"
            "Sam helped with everything and ran errands with me and was so happy!"
            "The boys are all boy and so polite!  It can be done!"
            "When I asked Gecko how he was doing, he answered...and THEN he asked how I was doing!  AND he listened!  I don't know many 7 year old boys that care to listen like that!"

            I tell you these stories, not to brag on my boys, but because I am ashamed.  I sometimes get so focused on the task at hand and all that needs to be accomplished that I forget about enjoying my children.  I don't take time to talk with them as much...or even take them on errands and do everyday things with them.  I just 'git 'er done'.  And when I get into a state like that, I forget that my children are fearfully and wonderfully made and that God is alive and at work in them!  I can start to focus on what I need them to do to make my life easier and more manageable and the next thing you know, I have gone two weeks without purposefully enjoying them!
            Kids focus on what we focus on.  If we are continually concentrating on what they need to improve, they will start to feel inadequate.  They will push back.  No one wants to feel like they have nothing to offer.  And it is a sad child who feels all they have to offer is good schoolwork.  Love really does cover a multitude of sins.  We love our children best when we enjoy them.  We enjoy them when we talk with them...or more importantly, when we listen to them.  And especially when we laugh with them.  And that makes them more understanding of us.
            We all have things we need to improve on.  Our kids included.  It is our job to train them up in the way they should go. Learning is important and it is important that we are faithful to that responsibility. Too often take on our educating and parenting tasks so that our life is more convenient.  Children are heritage and a reward (Psalm 127:3) and when we see them that way, we are blessed!  When we don't...we leave it to our friends, neighbors and relative to acknowledge.  We are silent while the "stones" around us cry out the praises of our children.
           Don't let the rocks speak on your behalf.

Practically Speaking.....

I seem to have a lot of concrete thinking friends out there.  Since I posted my article on writing, I have had a few questions.

Lots of people who read the blog feel like teaching their kids to communicate and find their voice to do it effectively is a good thing.  It seems to be something several people would like to strive for.  But everyone's question boiled down to the same thing....

What does that look like?

So for my practically minded friends, I shall try to join you today in your realm and explain what we do.  :)

As I said, in the younger years, we do not focus on writing.  We read.  We read A  LOT.  I love it for the snuggle factor, but also because it gets my kids talking.  We have a lot of discussions.  The idea here is to not make it sound like a class discussion.  If my kids don't start a discussion, which is rare, I usually mention something that delighted me, or caused me to stop and think about something I never thought of before.  From there, my kids usually jump right in....if not, I let it go, kiss them goodnight and send them off to bed.  Done.  What I have found is, even if my kids don't join the conversation that night, they will usually join in or start their own conversation about it soon.  The beautiful thing about reading rich, delightful, thought-provoking books (and let me tell you...Winnie the Pooh is one of the most profound books I have read!), is that your children learn what good writing sounds like.  By default, they even begin to understand paragraph and sentence structure if you read to them a lot. They start to exhibit wonderful vocabulary and grammar. And if you offer a wide variety of books, they will start to identify with certain styles and voices.  I have found by doing this, by the time my kids get to high school, they are much easier to teach and have usually already identified who they are on paper.  That is, their unique personality on the page.  And that starts them on a confident foot.

Another thing we have done is let the kids write and write and write.  As much as they want.  In notebooks, in  drawing books, on the computer....I even think it would sometimes be fun to get an old typewriter and let them bang away on that!  Sometimes just sending them outside will elicit amazing results.  We try to shake it up!  Keep them moving to different parts of the house, yard, places.  Sometimes we have different music playing....or silence...or just the noise of loud little brothers.  ;)  The idea is to give them as much free time as you can afford to let them feel out the whole writing thing.  Sometimes, my kids will bring me their stories and such and ask me to read it. If they do...I do.  But, I never correct it.  I give my positive feedback and tell them to keep at it.  When I give my feedback, I try to praise the devices or styles they used that show their unique personality, rather than their writing structure or ideas.  (how many times can you praise the idea of yet another unicorn story???)  This way, they have followed what God has put in them and continued to develop themselves and not just a story.

The only structure we throw in in their elementary years is Bible Stories.  Sometimes, when we read Bible Stories, we give them a little notebook when we are done reading.  I like the kind that is blank on top for drawing, with lines on the bottom for writing.  After the story, they draw a picture recounting what we just learned.  If they are not writing, I ask them what word they really liked from the story and I write it for them and give them the option to trace it, or try writing it themselves...or not at all.  But it gets them used to the fact that words can describe important things.  As my kids have gotten older, some have retold the story in humor, in eloquence and/or in poetry.

Before my kids could write, we sat through endless narrations of their pictures.  I think this is important, too.  I love Andrew Pudewa and I have gained great insight to my children when he said, "Girls draw nouns and boys draw verbs."  It is the truth.  My girls would bring me their completed pictures and explain them to me.  My boys prefer that I sit near them or be available to them while they draw so that they can narrate the movie they are making on their paper!  In any case, I can see their interests and the special way they present their ideas and it has gone a long way to give them confidence later to write what they care about it....and not just what they did over summer vacation.

I am loving the process of writing/speaking that we are going through with our junior high daughter right now.  She already spends a lot of free time writing stories on the computer.  She uses fantastic vocabulary, and she has perfect grammar.  I am not ready to formalize her writing just yet.  I am using the next two years to really expand her ideas and language.  This year starts a two year process.  She gets to write her stories still, but I am adding some purposefulness to the mix.  She is reading about Ancient History right now and is studying Egypt.  I found a poem from Egypt that had been translated to English....I read it to her and sent her immediately to write whatever came to her mind for 20 minutes.  Not a story.  Not a poem.  Just thoughts.  This daughter is about the most unique person I have ever met and has been quite comfortable to leave my house dressed in cut-off jeans with yoga pants underneath, and hair that in the words of my friend, Shirin, looks like a cross between Pippi Longstocking and Bob Marley...yet, when she brought me her thoughts on the Egyptian poem, the first thing she said was, "Okay, Mom, please don' t use a red pen to correct it and please be nice.  You told me to just write what I thought about."  Funny.  I have never corrected her writing before, but she entered this paper with fear and trepidation.  I think that was because she was submitting her heart to me and not just an essay.  You know what?  Her thoughts were beautiful!!  Extremely poetic that day.  I told her about the personality of her that I saw in her writing and what I loved about that.  Then I had HER go back to her paper and circle all the "really good" words , and the "best words" she felt she used in the paper.  Then I had her start a list with those words to add to as she continues writing.  In this way, those quality words will be ingrained in her mind and also be ready on a list to use when she does more formal writing later....or when she writes her speeches.  (we are involved in a community speaking group, for which she writes and delivers several speeches of her own a year)  From here, I will continue to incorporate poetry and even all different kinds of music and have her free write afterwards because I think poetry and music stir up strong emotions.  I will also be reading current events with her this year and asking her to free write on those articles we read and discuss.  I like this because it requires critical thinking and not just an emotional response.  All of this and her stories too will give her a well rounded voice of her own so that in two years when she begins to write, she will be able to do so with confidence.

In high school, I make sure, in half a year or less, that my kids know the parts of speech and sentence structure.  But, after that, it is just writing.  We are very involved in a Christian community speaking and leadership organization called ICC.  My kids pour most of their formal writing efforts into their speeches that they give throughout the year. These I give a more critical, yet positive eye to. And what a blessing.  Because they have felt their way through who they are when they communicate, they have emerged as confident communicators with a desire for people to know the Lord through their communications.  They write really good speeches, and they take them everywhere in their community to impact that community for Christ.  THAT is the only reason I want my children to learn to write....so they can communicate Christ, and him crucified.

From Play-doh to Plato.

Write From the Heart

I definitely march to the beat of a different drum when it comes to homeschooling.  I  have many friends that run a tight ship, with perfect, beautiful schedules.  I have other friends that believe in completely organic learning (unschooling).  Me?  I am somewhere in the middle.  I have learned to be who God made me to be....and try not to go off the deep end while staying committed to my calling.

As you may know, I don't teach formal writing to my kids until high school.  No, really....get up off the floor!  It isn't what you think!!!  All through their younger school years, I give my kids opportunity to do their own writing (if they like it, and so far all three girls have been AVID writers in their younger and older years!).  But, I don't correct it.  Sometimes, I don't even READ it!!  It is their activity and I like to leave it that way.

I know it may sound contrary to what I just wrote, but one of my main goals in graduating my children, is to make sure my kids have a voice of their own and know how to communicate effectively...even well...before they leave high school.  So far, it is working out GREAT!  I have found that later rather than early has done that.  I think there are two reasons for it.

The first reason is because until they hit high school, writing is all fun and all about whatever THEY want it to be about.  I don't teach them how to write a paragraph, and then a 5 paragraph essay with strong verbs and quality adjectives before high school.  I just encourage them to use their personality on a page.  I think that when we teach formulaic writing over letting the student voice their opinions, hopes, creativity and passions in their own unique way that God has gifted them, we take the communications portion out of their writing experience.  They start writing for a teacher and not for God.  I think all students (all PEOPLE, for that matter) write better when they write from their heart.  Yes, even teen guys.  Maybe even especially teen guys!!  Truth is, I have found that when my younger kids write what they want to write about without feedback on most of it, they find their voice.  Once they find their voice, they gain confidence in their writing because they are using it to communicate things that are really important to them....not just to complete an assignment with the required elements.

The second reason I think it works for our family is that not teaching grammar and writing in the early years gives us more time to read!!  Reading to my kids has been the best way to encourage great grammar, structure and vocabulary without tears!!!  When we read, we always try to snuggle!  My step mom always read to my sister and I laying down with our heads on her shoulders.  I loved that closeness...it brought a fullness to the whole reading experience and I always wanted to recreate it with my kids.  So, most times, we pile in my bed and read.  The older kids will even sit in on such classics as Mr. Popper's Penguins and The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass Springs, just for the closeness factor!  And the more of us there are, the more discussion seems to ensue afterwards.  We use Sonlight, which has a discussion guide for the books you use....but I don't find that we need them all the time.  Verbalizing all that we read seems to come naturally for us.  That bonding time makes all my kids desire to be read to for a long time (in fact, my high schooler, who is studying something totally different than the rest of my kids, not only sat in our jr. higher's reading...she actually READ some of the book to us!), and to talk and to find what they care about.  For some reason, when our kids talk to us about the things on their heart or their response to things, we don't pull it apart grammatically.  That seems to give them a confidence in what they have to say....which has always translated into confidence in what they eventually write in our family.

I know we can teach our kids to write in a formula setting just to pass the SAT, but I want more for my kids. I want them to be able to communicate well the hope that is within them.  I want them to be winsome and passionate.  I have not found a way yet to teach that using a formula.

Do your kids a favor....whether you are teaching them structured writing or not.....give them a chance to find their voice.  Offer opportunities to be exposed to all different kinds of writings and respond to them.  Make them free write long enough that they have to start pulling for really obscure verbs and adjectives that are sleeping at the backs of their brains.  Give them time to enjoy the process.  Not the process of writing...but the process of finding the messages God is laying on their hearts and bringing them to life in the unique way He has designed them to do that.

Teach them early not to communicate for a grade, but for their God....

From Play-doh to Plato.

HIT THE BOOK MONDAY - Thy Kingdom Come

I wrote a Bible Study this year.  It was a complete leap of faith and not always an easy thing for me to follow through on, but God was so faithful to reach my heart again and again that I became excited about writing it and eager to see the new things God would reveal through His Word.  The study was on Vision.  About God's vision for our families and homeschools.  The Lord revealed so many things to me and I am forever grateful for the intimate study time and fellowship I had with Him writing the study.

I wrote a lot about the visions God gave early on in history and how they help us focus on the plans God has for us as mothers and homeschoolers.  We did most of our study in Genesis, going through the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, Hagar, Isaac, and Jacob.  We also looked at the lives of Eli and Samuel.
The last week of the study I thought was going to focus on John's vision of Heaven. I thought this is where I would end up because God had really laid the message on my heart to encourage others to have a sense of urgency about Heaven and Jesus' return when teaching and bringing up their kids.  (click here for my original thoughts)  Well, John's vision is where I started, but God led me to the Ultimate Vision Caster.  Jesus.

What did Jesus SAY about Heaven?  What kind of vision did he cast for us in the Word so that we could have the vision of where we are going and the best way to prepare?

Do you know that Jesus mentions the Kingdom of Heaven THIRTY TWO times in Matthew?  He does!  I began to think that if this message was strong enough that Jesus took thirty two times to impart it to his people, maybe I should take a look at it, too.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not just a place we are going.  It is being built right here on Earth by God's faithful.  Salvation is not a Get Out of Jail Free Card.  Once we have been saved, I think Jesus clearly shows, we don't just sit around waiting for him to return.  No!  He has work for us to do!  It is not enough that WE are saved. He desires for more and more people to know him.  He does that through the hearing of the gospel and by the love his people show when they preach it....whether they use words or not to preach it!  We have a calling to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven right now.  It is when God's Kingdom comes, that His will is done here as well as in Heaven.  I want to be a part of that!  I want to be a harvester in the vineyard!  I want my children to understand that, as CS Lewis said, no man is mortal.  Every person has an immortal soul....and I want my kids to CARE about that!

So this school year, I will be going through the book of Matthew.  I am going to look long and hard at what Jesus said about the Kingdom of Heaven and I am going to pray about what that looks like as I walk it out.  That is the vision that God gave me when I prayed about what He would have me do with my kids this year.

While I am being diligent with the academics my kids need this year as I start this first day of school, I am holding fast to the vision God has provided and striving to do Kingdom work as He enables me.

What is your vision this year?  Is it Harvard.....or Heaven?

I pray that you hold fast to the vision Jesus felt so strongly to give and reiterate during his ministry here....

From Play-doh to Plato!