2 Timothy 2:15, KJV:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Hubby and I spent a couple days with our younger son and his family near Philly. The goal was to help the boys with their ‘virtual’ schooling while their Mom and Dad worked. I don’t know if you have had any experience with this process but I for one am not a fan of it! With very little instruction for the ‘teacher’ helping, and busy 7 and 5 year old boys, it was a challenge.
Some classes crawled along very slowly as the Kindergarten students answered a question the teacher asked as a type of attendance. The children were rolling on their beds, falling on the floor, playing with their pets, and just generally not sitting up at their desks the way I was making my grandson sit! Later their was a melt down in the computer system and the physical education class was lost! I had to ‘improvise’ so I took him out in the back yard and we drew a map of all the elements around the house. Next, I got a compass and we identified N,S,E,W. I had him stand in the direction I called, then told him to run to another area I called and I timed him. He was very content to do this for several runs until his class time was over.
After a short break we had a science class. I kept him outside since it was a beautiful day, and we were going to be talking about leaves. First he watched a ‘pre-fab’ science lesson on the computer, with no teacher interaction. Then they were instructed to collect leaves and make leaf rubbings with paper and crayons. This was right in my wheelhouse. We walked around the yard and found several leaves that would make great rubbings. After laying the leaves down on one paper Preston colored on top of another paper making the shape of the leaf and its veins show in a different , deeper color. Then he had to upload the picture for his teacher to see he did the work.
Later we all painted the pumpkins you see in the picture. Each one is as unique as the child that painted it, and the grandparent that helped. As I looked at those pumpkins last night with the boys before they went to bed, I realized that even though the educational system seems broken right now, these young minds were learning. They were learning from family and nature.
First they learned that an education was important to their family. A schedule was written out, The necessary items were available, the classes were top priority.
They learned that even though school was different, the common social skills were still expected to be followed; please and thank you, wait your turn, be kind and do your best work.
From outside excursions we identified many of God’s creations and then used them in art. We identified man’s creations (house), and used that as a stable item to measure from.
We talked about the different leaves, pine sap and how all the plants would soon be in a kind of ‘sleeping’ mode.
When we painted the pumpkins we talked about each of the parts of the process, including what color will it be if I mix blur with orange? Is a learning experience, and a growth experience. Children need to be exposed to the potential to learn and experiment.
Each and every time we interact with a child, we teach them something. Maybe good, maybe not! We are no different! Each time we pray, read the Bible and talk with God, we learn something as well. Some good, some not good (some stories in the Bible show us how not to behave)! If we are in tune with what God is telling and showing us we will learn that God is a willing teacher. Are willing students? Do we stay in bed when we should get up and read the Bible? Do we get easily distracted by other chores, or pastimes that take us way from time with God? Do we have a time carved out for us to read and pray? We should be life-long learners in this great big Universe of ours. God is THE Master teacher. Sitting at his feet listening, reading, interacting with nature are all ways we can increase our knowledge about him and what he expects from us. Listen to your teacher!
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