Ten Commandments for Mothers

 

Thou shalt know that God selected these children for you, and you for them, for a special reason.

 

Thou shalt remember how to be a child again--laugh, play, sing, dance, pretend. 

Thou shalt not worry about messy faces and places. 

Thou shalt pray daily for patience, energy and strength. 

Thou shalt affirm thy children's feelings, but be firm with their behavior. 

Thou shalt instill in them respect for you, themselves and others.

Thou shalt give thy children roots -- grounding them in faith and tradition. 

Thou shalt give thy children wings -- teaching them how to fly on their own. 

Thou shalt show and tell them you love them every day. 

Thou shalt entrust them into the Father's hands.

Birds Teach Many Lessons

This is a post written by my Aunt Evie in which she shares lessons that she has gleaned by observing birds.  Her article can be used as a mini unit study, encompassing the subjects of character development and science.  Character qualities are shown below in italics and are linked to a description of the character quality being discussed.  Each type of bird discussed is linked to a page that tells shares a picture, habitat, and qualities of the bird.  These can be shared with children and discussed while reading Aunt Evie's story.  To add language arts to this bird unit study, lists of spelling words can be created from this post and writing assignments given.  To include art, assign sketching or watercolor projects of the birds discussed.  An energetic bird watching hike fits into the subject of physical education.
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Just as the Bible uses many chapters, all different so God's second book also has many chapters, and each one is full of character building lessons for those who look for them.  One of my favorite chapters deals with birds and I would like to share a few of the lessons they have taught me.


From the common robins I have learned diligence.  Early in the spring while other birds are just flitting about choosing nesting sites and going through their courting antics, the robins are busily building their nests.  They have no time for nonsense!  They are the first ones up in the morning and the last to retire at night.  Their sturdy mud and grass nest is quickly finished.  By the time most of the other birds have settled down to start making their nests, the robin's babies are almost ready to fly.


In the killdeer I have observed courage and perseverance.  One hot day in late spring I watched a brave little mother killdeer standing over her eggs which were laid among the rocks on the edge of a sunny parking lot.  There was no need to sit on her eggs to keep them warm.  Instead, she stood beside them to shade them from the burning sun  Cars came and went on the lot but she would not leave her eggs.  Even when I walked up to her nest to look at the eggs, she stayed at her post of duty, though she was obviously upset by my nearness.


The lovely cedar waxwings have taught me refinement and good taste.  They do not go in for flashy colors like some birds do, but in their quiet way they are as beautiful as any of the more showy birds.  Every feather is always sleek and perfectly groomed and their soft conservative colors look so neat and smart.  Their voices are as gentle and harmonious as their colors, and their family life seems to go on without any scrapping or fussing,  They will sometimes sit side by side on a branch and pass berries to one another.

From the beautiful yellow warbler, I learned something about the meaning of this text from God's first book.  "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."  A pair of these sweet singing birds had just nicely finished building their nest when along came a mother cowbird and aid an egg in it.  She expected that her egg would hatch before the yellow warblers eggs did and then her larger baby would crowd the others out and get all the food.  Many little birds are thus forced to raise baby cowbirds which are bigger than themselves, instead of raising their own babies.  But the yellow warblers have found a way to overcome this problem.  I once found a very interesting nest that showed me how they do it.  It seemed to be a very deep nest but when I began to take it apart, I found that it was three stories high and the first and second stories each had a large speckled egg in them.  The cowbird had laid her egg in the first nest and the warblers had simply built another nest over top of the first one, covering the unwanted egg.  Then the persistent cowbird had returned and laid another egg in the second nest.  But the yellow warblers still did not give up.  They built a third nest over the second one and laid their eggs in it.  How often we try to do right only to find that something spoils all our plans  Can be learn from these little birds to keep on trying and "overcome evil with good"?  Next time someone spoils something you were trying to do, see if you can find a way to overcome evil with good.


Patience was the lesson that an Oregon junco taught me one summer day.  He was just getting ready to take a nice refreshing dip in our bird bath when a b  old robin hopped in and started splashing around.  Since the pool was not big enough for two, the junco flew to a nearby rock and patiently waited his turn.  The robin took his time, splashing and splashing, then just when at least he seemed to be finished he started all over again.  he took so long that the patient junco finally fell asleep while he was waiting.  Still the robin continued to splash.  At least he flew to a branch to preen himself, but the junco did not notice  he was too sound asleep.  Suddenly, with a start, he woke up and seeing the pool empty at last he hopped in for his long delayed bath.


A western wood pewee once taught me a very striking lesson:  dare to be different.  I watched him taking a bath at the edge of a lovely wooded lake.  But he was not content to just wade into the water and splash around like other birds do.  He had a style all his own.  From the top of a post at the waters edge, he darted at the water, hitting it a glancing blow with his chest, just before he swooped upward again.  Water splashed in every direction as he struck it.  he repeated this several times until he was thoroughly wet, then he settled on the post to preen himself.  Sometimes we need to have the courage to be different, not just for the sake of being different, but because it is the right thing to do. 

Last but not least, I have learned from my pet chickadees.  They have taught me to trust.  Birds generally do not trust anyone.  Especially do they fear the human hand.  It could close on them and take away their freedom and to a wild bird, freedom means  more than any delicacy.  But chickadees can be taught to be more trusting.  As I held out to them my hand, filled with seeds, I thought of how our heavenly Father holds out his hands to us and calls us to come to Him.  But we are so afraid that He might take away our freedom to do what we want to do, that we refuse to trust Him.  But the chickadees learned one winter day that they could trust and eat from my hand and still be free.  In fact, they were more free than ever.  The rich food that I was offering them kept them warmer and better nourished than the meager food that they were finding for themselves and they did not have to work so hard to try to survive in the cold.  So it is with us.  If we will learn to trust our heavenly Father we will find more real freedom and satisfaction than we ever thought possible.  

In an Audubon's Nature Encyclopedia I found an interesting note about chickadees.  It said that if you want to find birds in the wintertime, listen for chickadees.  They have an air of confidence about them that leads other birds to follow them.  I have found this to be very true.  Wherever there is a band of chickadees, there will usually be other birds close by. 


Those who learn to trust also develop an unconscious air of confidence in God that leads others to follow them.  Would you like to lead others to your heavenly Father?  Then first learn to trust and eat fro His hand, and your life will attract others and you will be able to teach them to trust your God.  "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men".  Matthew 4:19.


To continue this study, click here.


Copyright EvelynS@2011

Easter Story Cookies

The story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ represents hope for the world.  His life, death, and resurrection provide a means of salvation and eternal life for all who embrace Him.  When on earth, Jesus used object lessons to teach truths.  Object lessons are a teaching technique that teacher-parents can find helpful as they strive to inculcate the truth about Christ's sacrifice to their children and what it means to them personally.  This cooking activity is designed to teach the resurrection story by object lesson.  These cookies are meant to be prepared the night before Easter.  Scripture references that assist in providing spiritual preparation goes along with the physical preparation of the cookies. 


Easter Story Cookies


1 cup pecan halves
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
3 egg whites
1 pinch salt
1 cup white sugar
Preheat oven to 300° F (150° C).


Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.


Read John 19:1-3


Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.  Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.


Read John 19:28-30


Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.


Read John 10:10-11


Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.


Read Luke 23:27


So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1 cup sugar.  Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to Him.


Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16


Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.


Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3


Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.


Read Matthew 27:57-60


Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.  Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.


Read Matthew 27:65-66


Go to bed.  Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.


Read John 16:20 and 22


On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  Explain that on the first Easter,  Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.


Read Matthew 28:1-9


The complete story from Scripture:  Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-21:25


*Although this recipe and story is popular during the Easter season, it can be used to illustrate the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection at any time of the year.

Wildflowers of God's Creation

Spring has arrived in North America. In the cooler areas, spring wildflowers are just starting to show their beautiful faces. On trips to the mountains and forests, hillsides of yellow lupine, lavender phlox, and yellow dog-tooth violets can be seen. It won’t be long until shooting stars and Calypso lady slipper orchids appear in secluded spots. Finding them is like a treasure hunt that a person never tires from. Each year it is exciting to find the first bloom from these special plants. Wandering hillsides and meadows in search for wildflowers is fun without any tools, but if one has a zip-lock bag or field guide, samples of wildflowers can be gathered or identified for more fun and interesting activities. Adding some water to a zip-lock bag of flowers keeps them fresh until home again where they can be put into a vase to enjoy for a few days. Pressing wildflowers between the pages of a catalog and using them to decorate rolled beeswax candles or to glue to a card is a creative way to display wildflowers for months to come. Identifying flowers is an art that can take some time and research. If a regional field guide of wildflowers is used the task can be completed in the field, but sometimes using the Internet is easier. The flowers kept fresh in a zip-lock bag can be used to compare with images found online and descriptions compared with the wildflower in hand. 

As the art of flower identification is explored, interesting discoveries can be made. Sometimes plants are not named with common sense! When discoveries are made that appear inconsistent, time spent in study of how plants are classified can result in families spending time together in the rewarding task of being “plant detectives”. Clues from nature lead the observer through the steps of identification and tell stories of why things are named as they are. For example, right now the dog-tooth violets and the yellow violets can be found growing near one another in forest meadows and woods. Both have the name ‘violet’, yet the differ vastly from one another. One is an actual violet, and the other belongs to a different family altogether! The real name of the dog-tooth violet is Erythronium and it received its name because it grows from a bulb that looks like a dog tooth. On the other hand, the yellow violet really does belong to the Viola family, and is therefore accurately described as a violet. Starting with one picked flower like a dog-tooth violet can direct the the explorer to another flower like the violet, and that can lead to other interesting discoveries about plant families and other facts of nature as the thread of learning continues. Learning about wildflowers by observation and discovery is fun and an interesting way to observe God’s creation!

Taking Time for Make-Believe

This morning I read a most interesting comment about women and stress. So often we feel that we need to be diligent, busy, productive, and with it! We do, but we also need to take time to feed our soul's: to relax in God's word and to spend time in just 'being'. In the book "Women and Stress", Jean Lush makes this statment that is worth contemplating:

"Take time for make-believe. Abandon yourself in play. I think God gives us an imagination for a reason. Christ knows the pressures we endure. Perhaps this is one reason He encourages us to become "as little children."


As a homeschool parent, it is sometimes very difficult to allow ourself time to step away from the many duties and responsibilities of being a keeper of the home, a home educator, and one who ministers to her community as well.  Although these are important duties, this quote encourages us to encompass more than just our responsibilities.  Yes, life is serious.  But we must also model joy, vibrancy, and play.  

So, what can you to today to create some "play" in your life? Is it time for a dress up tea party with your son or daughter? Or how about an hour at your sewing machine, creating something from your fabric stash that defies sensibility  Is it time to take a break from serious schoolwork and produce a skit or play with your children?  How about taking the week off from regular school to write a book with your child?  Use your imaginations together and write as they dictate.  Whatever it is you find to do, enjoy it with all your heart!  I think you'll be glad you did.

Puzzles and Games

Do you remember puzzles like this one? I used to enjoy them as a child. Simple and wholesome, they were very interesting to a six year old! This one came from a children's weekly church paper. Similar puzzles and games were also common in Highlights Magazine. Do you remember it? We never received it at home, but it was a staple of the doctor's office waiting room. It helped to keep your mind off the dread of having to go in for a shot!


What similar resources do you use in your home school?  

Kids are Copycats

When a family decides to home educate, one of the first questions other people ask is, "what about socialization"?  Our culture assumes that children must spend daily time with peers in order to develop social aptitudes and skills.  Although a homeschool family instinctively knows that daily peer interaction isn't a necessity in developing social skills, it is sometimes difficult to know how to respond to this question.  Dr. Raymond Moore, the grandfather of homeschooling in America, authored many books and gave many seminars on home education.  He spoke confidently about the positive socialization of homeschooled children.  His premise was that children are more properly socialized by responsible adults who model mature behavior than by immature peers who are still developing their responses to the individuals around them.  Having a well-thought out response can help the homeschool parent deal with questions of socialization confidently and easily.  Sometimes all it helps to remind extended family and other curious adults that your children have appropriate peer interaction at church, music lessons, 4H, by participation in community service projects, and  involvement youth group like Pathfinders, Awana, and Scouts.  These are situations that can be guided by adults who can be alert to bullying, immature behavior, and thoughtlessness.  It is also helpful to have facts and figures from research on the tip of your tongue, so you can reassure others that your children really will turn out to be socially balanced young people and adults, even though they are homeschooled.  In fact, research shows that homeschooled children can have superior socialization because of it!  According to one study, children taught at home by their parents do not lag in social development when compared with those of the same age who attend conventional schools.  The behavior and social development test scores of children traditionally schooled and homeschooled showed that children taught at home by their parents have consistently fewer behavioral problems.  The findings also revealed that a child's social development depends more upon adult contact and less on contact with other children.  This conclusions affirms what Dr. Moore taught about socialization.  The study also suggested that children taught at home behaved better because they tended to imitate their parents [Kids Stuff, 93].  Isn't it reassuring to have research facts to back up what most parents instinctively realize about socialization of their children?        

An Old-Fashioned Story

Presently they came to the quiet little place on the beach to which they both always loved to come. They had been here many times with their mammas, but this time it was all quite different. They both felt so important.

Somehow they managed to get their tent put up. It was quite a big job for such little people, but they felt they must do it all properly.

The tent fixed, they both thought it must be time to have something to eat. So they opened the all-important lunch basket and began to take out all the little packages they had put in it so carefully just an hour or so before.

How good everything tasted! so much better than a dinner at home! Really they had never had such a lovely meal before. If their mothers could have seen them eating the plain bread and butter as if it were sugar cookies, they would have been quite surprised. Perhaps they would have decided to have that for dinner every day!

How quickly the lunch basket was emptied! There didn't seem to be half enough in it. Doris and Kathleen were so hungry that they ate up everything they had brought; there wasn't even a crumb left.

Then they played games and told stories to each other. Soon the afternoon passed and the time came to pack up. Down came the tent, the blanket was folded up, and the empty lunch basket slung over Doris' shoulder. Then they started for home.

"Haven't we had a lovely time?" said Kathleen.

"Haven't we!" said Doris. "And only yesterday we said we wouldn't speak to each other any more."

"I'm so glad we made up," said Kathleen.

"So am I," said Doris.

Just then they turned the corner of the road, and there, right in front of them, were two mammas standing at the gate of Kathleen's house.

"We're so glad you've come back safely," they said. "We were just coming to look for you.


Then there were hugs and kisses, a welcome supper, a bedtime story, and a trip upstairs to dreamland.

*This was one of my favorite childhood stories.  It came from an original "Bedtime Stories" book by Arthur Maxwell.  I had a modern set of the "Bedtime Stories" of my own, but I enjoyed my mother's childhood set because of the old-fashioned pictures and un-edited stories.