Throughout my journey as a home school parent I’ve wanted to teach our children a variety.
Math facts and reading fluency are super important.
Yet, the human mind and heart need more.
Just like our bodies need more than meat and potatoes.
It’s with this in mind, I’ve tried to find ways to engage our children.
Friday was one of those days.
I wanted to do something different.
We began with a simple lesson in Watercolor painting.
Later, we moved into dissection.
(Anne decided it wasn’t too horrible after all.)
The school day ended with me reading aloud from a novel.
I have read this book aloud every Christmas season for years.
Yes, we could have done another Math drill or Phonics or Editing practice.
No, we won’t be able to schedule this kind of extra day every week.
Yes, it was lovely.
A chance to change our schedule.
An opportunity to allow learning in a different format.
It’s not such a priority that it will usurp the every school day schedule often.
However, it was a welcome change.
And it helped me to appreciate the Lord even more.
With the vast array of wonders all around us.
What better way to bring praise to our hearts than to stop and learn about something God has made?
While showing our children pictures in Watercolor by John James Audubon, I was reminded of the amazing creatures he captured with ink and brush.
Each beautiful feather, bill, and beak a master piece, done by the Master.
As I watched the kids learn how to apply pigment and water in different amounts to paper, I was reminded that the creativity inside each person is simply a reflection of the Creator.
Although dissection isn’t something I want to do often, it’s incredible how the Lord put a small worm together.
How it breathes through it’s skin is amazing.
The tiny organs which each function to provide the worm with all it needs to survive are incredible.
All of these details hidden under our feet.
Yes, God’s fingerprints are evident.
And lastly, the joy in hearing a story they’ve heard many times, points back to the Greatest story every told.
The birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the thread which holds our lives together.
If Jesus hadn’t saved me, my priorities would be vastly different.
If God had not provided so many resources, I’d not even be aware of all I am trying to teach.
If Jesus and His salvation were unknown to me, I’d not be pouring so much effort into passing on the knowledge nor of training our children to do the same.
But He has saved me.
He has provided for me and is continuing to teach and train me.
He is the most important knowledge I can ever learn about or pass on.
Jesus is the truth.
What a blessing!
patientlyhopeful 