For example:
One mom (who I will call Betty) had 3 kids (1 Girl and 2 Boys) that shared a room. The older two kids would get distracted by the little one poking his head out of kid crib and laughing at them. Betty had told them all to go to bed. The older boy came out and explained to his mom that it was really hard for him to go to sleep when his little brother was taunting him to play. Betty explained, "This is called tempation. The Bible says when you are tempted that God will give you the strength of bear up under this temptation without having to sin. I want you to go back to bed, face the other way, and ask the Lord to help you."
Wow!!! Seriously?!? That's great!
I often feel like I struggle in this area. I mean, I read the Bible to my kids every single day and we have a memory verse a week that we memorize, we pray together often, and I really try to explain things to my kids as to why we do things the way we do... but I feel so... not creative... or effective??
For example:
This last week's lesson was Abraham offering his son Isaac. The discussion went something like this:
Me: So God told Abraham, 'I want you to take your only son up to the top of Mount Mariah and kill him..."Ahavah & Alecia: "WHAT?!?! NO!! That's SO MEAN!!"Me: "...well... uh... you see... God loves Abraham and wants to make sure that Abraham loves Him more then his son...."*Both girls just look at me blankly*Me: "... like how God gave His son Jesus for our sins... well... it's not really like that I guess... Maybe we will just wait until Daddy get's home to talk about this one..."Another Example:
We try to teach the girls the "Golden Rule". You know, "DO unto others as you would have them do unto you." Well...The girls were in the bath and I poured water over Ahavah's head when she wasn't expecting it. I laughed and she said, "Mom! Would you like me to do that to you??" "I don't care." I repliedSo she splashed me really good!I was shocked!!! I just laughed... what do you say to that???
I was a little encouraged when I overheard my twins with scarves over their heads saying:
Ahavah: "I'm Peter."Alecia: "I'm Mary Magdaline."Ahavah: "Mary, why are you weeping?!?"Alecia: *disgusted* "I'm not weeping!"Ahavah: "The soldiers are coming to take Jesus! Now I'm David."Alecia: "We better call the doctor, but we can't because that isn't the truth and the life."
So they're a little confused!
At least they are "playing" as Bible characters?
Right??
Anyways...
Here are some things we do with our kids to teach them God's Word and hide it in their hearts:
(1) Our Homeschool Curriculum is all Bible Based so we daily work toward our goal of reading through the Bible in a year. This curriculum has crafts and activities to help the preschooler better understand the Bible Stories.
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| Our Rainbow Craft after a week of learning about Noah. |
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| Abraham lesson. |
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| The white pain represents the stars which God promised Abraham that his descendants would outnumber. Then we have a tent, Abe, Sara, Lot, and a camel. |
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| Sarah is resting in her tent and I guess the camel (which is behind the tent) is trying to sneak in and get a nap too. |
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| Our letter "C" memory verse was Colossians 3:20. |
(3) Our church has Sunday School and Thursday Night CKC (Calvary Kids Club) or DGP (Discovering God's Path - The summer program) for which we study ahead every week. We like to use a variety of kid's Bibles (which I pick up from the GoodWill for $1 each).
I personally like to make it a point to communicate with the girl's teachers and see how they are doing in class. We study ahead so I know they grasp the story. Then I ask them again what they learned in class afterward. I peek in the class and see the different teaching styles of the teachers as well as how my kids respond.
** Note: One thing I noticed while peeking into one Thursday Night class is that my girls tend to give "rehearsed answers". For example:
The teacher was explain the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.He asked the class, "Where do you get your water from?"My girls replied, "Jesus!!"The answer was: the sink...
So my husband and I are working on getting the girls to think for themselves. Encouraging them to ask questions instead of just listening.
(4) Bible Movies (of which I am pretty picky). My favorite one right now is the Voice of Martyrs "Jesus He Lived Among Us.
(5) Prayer is probably the area I slack in the most. The girls refuse to eat until we have prayed for our food. And every night I will pray over each of my kids saying:
"Lord, please keep _____ safe tonight. I pray that you tell them how much You love them and tell them all the great plans you have for their lives. I pray You show them the gifting You have given them and strengthen them in their gifts. I pray that ______ walks with You all the days of his/her life! Amen!"
I also try to pray with my kids before they go to a sitter's house, before they go into class Sunday's and Thursday's, and anytime we get a text or news of someone in the body who needs prayer. They see me praying and reading my Bible every single morning as well.
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So, I sometimes feel like the kids don't understand, or that I am not as creative at explaining things and how they apply to my kids right here and now... but time will tell.
I know the Bible says that God's Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11).
I know that I am to teach these things diligently to my children (Deuteronomy 6:7).
So I am going to just keep on going and see in the years to come what kind of fruit grows from the seeds being planted in their hearts.
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