At dinner time we sat a jar of candy corn on the table, next to the wreath, where all the boys could see it. As soon as we sat down to eat, Manasseh asked if he could have candy for dinner. We asked the boys if they remembered what hope means. Manasseh said, "when you go to the store and your mom says you can't have something and you hope you can have it later." Okay, so he kind of got the point to the other exercise. We talked about hope as having faith - believing that you will receive your promise.
Randy asked the boys if they believed that mommy would tell them the truth and do good things for them. Of course, they said yes. I told them that after dinner they could all have some candy. They said they believed me. We shared that this meant they had hope that mommy was going to give them candy corn.
After dinner, the boys got candy as promised. We talked about God's promises to us and the hope that we have because of Him. We shared that we can trust God because he has good plans for us.
It started out as a tree of blessing and thanksgiving. I painted it on the wall with the intention of writing scriptures of thanks and encouragement on it. I have been attaching leaves with names pf blessings to it. We like the tree.
Now it is a learning tree as well. Currently it bears apples with numbers 1-10 (we have up to 100). It holds apples with each letters of the boy's names (although mysteriously A and S have become missing). It holds the boy's papers from church and Awana. We are going over these pages regularly, and the numbers. Mama mixes up the letters in their names and they are learning to spell them in order, left to right. Manasseh's speed has really improved at spelling his name, both with paper and out loud, over the last couple of weeks. The learning tree is a GREAT thing in our house right now!
How do you promote education in your house? Do you have special centers, workbooks, activities that you use?
What's in the Bible is a fantastic video series that our whole family enjoys. Truthfully, the first time we watched them, the boys were not extremely interested. BUT - the more we watch, the more they seem to really love them.
What's in the Bible is taking our family through the Bible, starting at the beginning (where else would you start?) The characters teach about the Bible story as well as the history of the Bible and even helps children (and adults) get a good handle on big theological concepts - like Salvation.
We love the catchy songs and creative ways that the Bible story is told with this series. I love the way my boys are learning Bible facts without any effort. They don't know they are learning, they just like watching the videos, singing the songs, and hearing the stories.
We turned What's in the Bible into a special night - Popcorn and Movies with the boys. They snuggled up on their little futons and watched intensely! When it was over, they wanted to watch it again!
As a parent who is very particular about what her children watch, I highly recommend the What's in the Bible video series for any family - with kids of ANY age.
As a children's minister who cares deeply that children learn God's word, I highly recommend this series for all families that want their children to have a good, firm grasp on what the Bible is about.
As a Bible student, I wish I had seen this years ago to help me have a better idea about what I was trying to learn.
The videos are inexpensive, $15 each and there is frequently an online promotion available. You can buy them online, or pick them up in your local Family Christian Bookstore! Want to try it out? 3 of my readers will be lucky enough to win a copy of "In the Beginning". This is the first of 7 (so far). Enter using the Rafflecopter Form below.
Tonight we went to "Christmas at the Farm". A free event hosted by the city parks department. It was a fantastic event with roaming carolers, horse drawn wagon rides, crafts, handmade goods for sale, a live nativity, dulcimer players, an old man in a red suit reading Christmas tales, hot chocolate, cookies... so many things we find festive.
After this event, we took our boys to Wendy's (mama didn't get them fed before we left home). As we played together at Wendy's, we talked about our favorite parts of the evening. When it came time for Monkey to share, he grinned. "Umm.. food. I got cookie."
