Teach Them Diligently

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deuteronomy 6:7

School has begun. My wonderful and concerned parents say, "I can't get him to be still and learn." School just "ain't"  what it used to be - for the better!!

Several years ago, in celebration of Johnny Appleseed's birthday, our class planted two apple trees on the hill behind the playground. We've enjoyed a few spring blossoms, but this year we finally have fall apples.

So, how did we learn without sitting still this week?

• singing apple songs
• picking apples
• tasting a variety of apples

Yes, I read non-fiction books to them, but they didn't find books all that interesting before we visited our apple trees and not before 

• making our housekeeping area into an apple stand 
• learning to use a cash register
• dividing apples into little bags and cups
• making the science center into a place to weigh apples with heavy blocks
• pouring and measuring cider
• making price tags
• passing out pennies to buy apples and cider 
• inviting others to come to the apple stand
• dressing up like Johnny Appleseed 
• making playdough apples
• using an apple peeler
• cooking real applesauce
• smelling cinnamon
• eating our own cooking

Then after we'd finally exhausted our week, children began to sit, or rather kneel to investigate the pictures and words they had already experienced.

All of this to say, sitting with your child for daily family devotions is a wonderful thing, but unless we give them experiences throughout the day, not much meaningful learning will come from even the best devotions.

The Bible tells us to talk to our families while we walk, sit and when you get up. It's an experiential day of seeing God in all we think, and say, and DO!

What better time of the year than the cool days of autumn to get out and walk and talk and experience the mighty works of God?

What experiences have you had this week?

Hey Kids:

Have you climbed a tree this week? What could you see?

Have you thought about Zacchaeus? He finally got high enough to see above the crowd. Remember who he saw? Luke 19:2-9

Did you meet an old turtle crossing the road? Did you get a chance to examine his shell? Turtle shell patterns can be amazing. Could it be because God cared enough to make each one special? Psalms 139:13-15

Have a skipped a rock across a pond or splashed a really big one in the stream? God told Joshua to pick up rocks out of the river. Do you know what he did with them? Joshua 4

Discovering God's plan in His creation my help you discover God's plan for you!

Here's a few books you might want to meander through when you begin to experience God's wonderful creation.

  

Blessings,

Gail

On Eagle's Wings

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. Deuteronomy 32:11,12

Eagles nest high on cliffs and ledges. Their nests are hard sticks, softened by their feathers. They watch over their fledglings, helping them, encouraging them to fly from the nest. The mother carries them on her wings, dropping them to allow her babies to try their own wings. Then she flies under them, catching them until they learn to soar on their own. So the Lord alone, led the children of Israel. As long as they followed Him, they were blessed and He carried them.

Work Together

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

At a recent book fair, I had the privilege of meeting Cathryn and John Sill. She is the author of All About Birds, All About Mammals, All About Reptiles, etc. He illustrates her books. Mr. Sill's illustrations are true matches for his wife's words. One without the other would not make a very informative book. There would be beautiful pictures without explanations or concise information without a necessary visual. Working together, they create great non-fiction books for children 4-7 years old.

Genesis 1:1 says,"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Later verse 26 says, "Let us make man in our image." (emphasis mine.) The Lord gives us His word and He illustrates it through creation. If we only look at creation without reading the scriptures, we only get a minimal view of God's plan. If we only read the scriptures and never examine the creation, we fail to get a good understanding of how things work together. Working together, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have created perfect information and illustrated it for us.

The Lord not only created and controls creation, He also sets up and control governments, things visible and invisible working out His plan. Knowing God the Father has given all things to the control of His Son, Jesus Christ, (I Corinthians 15:25-27; Hebrews 2:8) gives me great courage to hopefully work together to be the illustration of Jesus in my life.

Blessings, 

Gail   

Hey Kids:

Did you know Jesus has provided stories in the Bible with great illustrations in Creation?

Here are a few examples you may want to investigate this week. 

What can you discover by reading scripture and observing nature?

Ants - Proverbs 6:6-11

Spiders - Proverbs 30:28

How can these illustrations be applied to our lives? Colossians 3:17,23

Now try these.

Seeds - Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23

Sheep - Isaiah 53:6; John 10:11, 14-15

Rock - Matthew 7:24-27 I Corinthians 10:4