Old Video of Hunter Naming Presidents, Age 2

Hunter (and monkey!) naming some of the presidents with one his favorite (and first) bit cards.

And making fun of Andrew Jackson's big head.

Hunter, in video, was 2 years, 10 months old

Reading, 1940's Style

Hunter reading "In the City and on the Farm: A California State Textbook". Publishing date? 1940.

Lately, "Dick and Jane" style readers are a favorite, including the first and second grade readers in the Pathway series (Amish/Menonite school books). Now that we found this 1940's state textbook at a thrift store for fifty cents last weekend, he has been blazing through it.

Either way, the 1940's "city" life is certainly no NYC. With tales "apartment houses", "fun at..." the park, the zoo, the circus, the movies, the grocery store, and the library, the clothing, setting, and lifestyle is probably more of a history lesson than a familiarity.

Either way, he enjoys the stories and, as always, whatever keeps him reading!

"To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding" 

Proverbs 1:2

Hunter is 5 years, 2 months old

Nothing Makes Me Prouder

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing makes me prouder.

In honor of my amazing husband and all who went before and after him, who selflessly give their time and all too often their life for freedom's sake, we solute you.

And today we are thankful for those brave and noble souls who have died so we could be free. Never forget that the freedom we take for granted is certainly not free.

"All we have of freedom, all we use or know -
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago."

Rudyard Kipling

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

Hunter is 5 years, 2 months old

Traveling with Dinosaurs through the Land of Nod

We're being chased by Velociraptors near the Pishon river, being hired by Jubal's family in the land of Cush, swimming frantically away from a great Plesiosaurus, and finding gold in the land of Havilah.

And learning about ancient biblical history hasn't ever been more fun, I think.

It's a shame this closet treasure is long out of publication (originally published in 1988) but we played The Great Dinosaur Adventure: an educational game of creation and bible knowledge for the first time all the way through last night and had an awesome time.

The history of the people, places, and events of the first ten chapters of Genesis are woven throughout this fun and educational board game, focusing specifically around the time before and directly after the flood.

Traveling around the board with your dinosaur pawn, you make your way through the lands of Nod, Havilah, Assyria and Cush where the four rivers of Eden flow. The board is filled with pictures of dinosaurs, peoples of the Bible, and other geographically and historically interesting tidbits of this time period of the first two thousand years of human history. Land on an event card and you might get sent on a gem mining hunt in Havilah, running from twelve-inch long dragon flies, or farming with Cain's great grandsons in Assyria.

You also might happen to land on take a card in which you get to draw from a thick stack of dinosaur-themed cards and get a chance at answering some multiple-choice or true or false questions. These range from the scientific method to fossils to the ice age to giant kangaroos and sea monsters, with dozens of topics being covered including geology and archeology, changes in human life span, climate, and animal behavior, loads of information about dinosaurs and other extinct animals, the men of this time period in the Bible, and the biblical account of creation.


He loves the dinosaur theme, and I love having a resource for teaching him about dinosaurs that isn't drenched in evolutionary propaganda. Funny how there is an amazing amount of evidence that dinosaurs and humans indeed existed together, yet it doesn't "fit" with the evolutionist's theory so it is ignored. One simple little site I have enjoyed on this topic is Forbidden History: Dinosaurs and the Bible.

We have been casually studying ancient history over the past year of so, so this will be a splendid and invaluable addition to our learning adventures. So little is known and understood by most Christians about the biblical history pre-Egypt, and even I myself have learned so much in the very recent past. I am deeply excited to be sharing these things with my son and giving him an early understanding of the true account of world history.

And what better or more interesting way to do it than a game, no?

"Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together." 

Job 40:15-17

Hunter is 5 years, 1 month old

The Lincoln Memorial and Questions About God

Hunter in front of Lincoln Memorial, age 2 years, 6 months

Hunter keeps talking about the Lincoln Memorial. It started with the other night when we watched Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian where the giant statue makes an appearance and magically comes to life.

He kept asking about it and saying he wanted to go there, and when I told him that he has already been there, when he was two, he said "But I want to go when I'm a big boy! How about we go tomorrow?"

I'm not quite sure what exactly stood out about the old statue that caused him to be so interested. But it didn't help any when, on Monday, we watched Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, which, of course, occurred directly in front of Hunter's new favorite statue.

We talked about Lincoln's emancipation proclamation and then about the civil rights movement, etc. Later on, he brought up Lincoln again, and asked me if he was really real.

Then he had to get all theological on me.

When I told him that, yes, Lincoln was real but he is dead now, he started pouring out all those kinds of questions that aren't exactly easy to answer no matter how old you are.

"Why did he have to die?" "Can he come back?" "If I ask God to bring him back, will he?"

I sort of half-way answered his questions, and then a couple minutes later, came back into the room, when Hunter, quite sincerely, told me, "I prayed and asked God to bring Abraham Lincoln back. Do you think that he will?"

Um, well...

I told him that, God could bring him back if he wanted to, but he probably won't, because Abraham Lincoln's time to be on earth is over. I also told him that Lincoln probably doesn't want to come back because heaven is so much better than here. But I wasn't sure that my answers totally satisfied him or me.

See, I have this horrible fear that maybe my best explanation isn't good enough, maybe I'm not doing the best job, maybe...

But nonetheless, I continue to soldier on, hoping that somehow I am shaping this little boy's view of the world, the universe, and then men and God of it with at least some degree of accuracy. I remember reading an article on NGJ about the spiritual keenness of children, and, just as they are daily making huge strides in sorting out the physical world, they are likewise doing the same on the spiritual level. The right and wrong, the good and evil, and they do this whether or not they have religious training.

He, minutes later, as usual, continued with more questions. "Why did God make us food? Is it because we like it? How did God know that this would be my favorite food? Why did God make people?"

This boy is constantly keeping me on my toes. I just pray that, somehow, I'll be able to have at least some of the answers for him, and, more importantly, I will be able to become that which I want him to become.

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

Matthew 19:14

Hunter is 4 years, 10 months old

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a fun Thanksgiving.

It was certainly different, without masses of relatives running around, but it was still a fun day together as a family. We also got to skype (which is free domestically) our family back home who was just done eating dinner.

Hunter watched the Animated Hero Classic William Bradford: The First Thanksgiving movie (which we borrowed from the library) about a dozen times and can practically quote it now. In fact when he made his little Indian hat today for a craft, he insisted on having just one feather because "that is how Squanto's was". He colored the band all brown too and didn't use any of the other decorations provided, apparently how it was in the movie.

We also did a lot of reading and finished the classic historic journal, Of Plymouth Plantation (at least the part up until the first Thanksgiving) for the second year in a row. I think he has a pretty fair grasp of the meaning of the holiday at this point.

We had another couple over and had a fun Mexican / American Thanksgiving dinner. We also celebrated Thanksgiving last Saturday at a friend's house (picture below). We are so thankful to have so many blessings in our life.

"Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works." 

1 Chronicles 16:8-9

Hunter is 4 years, 8 months old

Thanksgiving Reading

I finally found some good Thanksgiving poetry. The poem below was written by William Bradford, the governor and historian of the plymouth colony.

I also found a few more on this website that we have been reading. Some of them were cheesy "turkey day" poems but there were a lot of good ones. We are also reading through Psalm 100, the "thanksgiving psalm".

And lastly, we are reading Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford again this year. We're reading it online, since I couldn't find a full, unedited copy at the library. These readings and poetry have been great for learning more about our Christian heritage, which I am very excited about.

Here is the poem:


From my years young in days of youth,
God did make known to me his truth,
And call'd me from my native place
For to enjoy the means of grace.
In wilderness he did me guide,
And in strange lands for me provide.
In fears and wants, though weal and woe,
A pilgrim, past I to and fro:
Oft left of them whom I did trust;
How vain it is to rest on dust!
A man of sorrows I have been,
And many changes I have seen.
Wars, wants, peace, plenty, have I known;
And some advanc'd, others thrown down.
The humble poor, cheeful and glad;
Rich, discontent, sower and sad:
When fears and sorrows have been mixt,
Consolations came betwixt.
Faint not, poor soul, in God still trust,
Fear not the things thou suffer must;
For, whom he loves he doth castise,
And then all tears wipes from their eyes.
Farewell, dear children, whom I love,
Your better Father is above:
When I am gone, he can supply;
To him I leave you when I die.
Fear him in truth, walk in his ways,
And he will bless you all your days.
My days are spent, old age is come,
My strength it fails, my glass near run:
Now I will wait, when work is done,
Until my happy change shall come,
When from my labours I shall rest,
With Christ above for to be blest.

"Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage."

 Psalm 119:54

Hunter is 4 years, 7 months old

Days of Creation Craft

For history this unit, one of the things we're learning about is the creation of the world according to the Genesis record. With this new school year, we're going to be doing a lot more crafts rather than exclusively open-ended art activities. Not that we're cutting out painting or playing with playdough, not by any means. But up until this point we haven't done that many crafts because most of the time, the preschool craft ideas I see are just plain dumb.






I got this idea from a half-made craft similar to this I saw with my mom's old homeschooling supplies.

I used six-inch high card stock numerals that I traced and then cut out myself (template to be available as soon as I can get my scanner to work). Then, we decorated each day as follows:

Day 1: God makes light and darkness

I glued black construction paper on the bottom half, and Hunter sprinkled white glitter on the top half.
Day 2: God makes the atmosphere

Hunter's favorite! He colored numeral blue, then tore up and glued on pieces of cotton balls.

Day 3: God separates the dry land from the water, makes all vegetation

Hunter colored the top half blue with waves, bottom half brown and green, then glued on leaf and flower cut-outs.
Day 4: God makes the sun and moon

I covered the numeral in black construction paper, then Hunter glued on handmade sun and moon cut-outs, as well as little star cut-outs.



Day 5: God makes all birds and creatures of the sea

Hunter colored the top half light blue, the bottom half dark blue, then glued animal stickers on.
Day 6: God make land animals, insects, and man

Hunter colored parts of it green, and drew a picture of Adam (since we didn't have any "man" stickers on hand). Then he covered the rest in animal stickers.

Day 7: God rests from his work

Hunter colored the numeral a light blue and then drew Z's all over it.






I hope this doesn't sound too complicated, because it really wasn't. All I did was think about what was made on each day, then went around the house looking for something that could represent the work of that particular day.

The stickers for days 5 and 6 came from scrapbooking materials we had, and the stars for day 4 came from a specially-shaped hole-punch, as did the flowers.

A few days before we did the craft, I gathered all the materials, did all the prep work (such as gluing black construction paper to days 1 and 4), and then placed it all in a bag, ready to use on that day! Preparing ahead is SO, SO important. I can just imagine spending half the morning searching around for all the materials, doing the prep work, getting everything set up, and then by the time it's all said and done, that's the only thing we got done that morning!

It was a really fun craft, which Hunter REALLY enjoyed (and has wanted to make more crafts ever since then, especially with glitter and cotton balls). I'm looking forward to more craft ideas for the coming year that will reinforce our lessons as well as be a fun keepsake for years to come.

Get free template for numerals by clicking here.

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good..."

Genesis 1:31

Hunter is 4 years, 2 months old

Passover

Tomorrow is Passover, one of the most significant (yet least celebrated) events in "holy week".

It is going to be Hunter's first Passover, as we have never formally celebrated it since Hunter has been born. We are both very excited and have been preparing for days.

One of the things we did was make a "Pesach" (Hebrew word for passover) place mat, which has the Seder plate (Seder, the Hebrew word for order, is what the Jews call the passover dinner), the four cups (glasses of wine or juice that are drank at various time throughout the meal), pieces of matzah (unleavened bread), and a picture of a lamb and a cross to represent Jesus, our passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). The verse, Exodus 12:26-27, is on the left side:

"And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses..."

Back from the very first passover (the actual one, when all the firstborn of the Egyptians and unbelieving Hebrews were killed), God instructed the Israelites to tell their children the story of their deliverance from Egypt every year at this time. It was on Passover that Jesus had his last supper with his disciples, and told them the famous words, "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."

The placemat has that verse on one of the pieces of matzah, and on the other piece it has John 6:35,

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

Over the picture of the lamb and the cross are the words John the Baptist spoke to the crowd when he saw Jesus coming,

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

There is so much significance in all of these symbols, and I can't wait to share with you all the many things that I have learned in preparing for this celebration. Our whole family is going to be taking part in the Seder meal, so because of work and school schedules we will not be celebrating until Saturday night. Looking forward to telling you all about it!

"Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD."

Psalm 34:11

Hunter is 4 years, 0 months old

Museum of Science and Industry

An Afternoon at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry from joel gratcyk on Vimeo.

Today we went with our family to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We haven't been there in a long time even though we have a membership. It's a really great museum, and apparently the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere! We're so blessed to live so close to such awesome learning experiences in our community.

The main focus of our visit was to see their seasonal exhibit, Christmas Around the World or also called Holiday of Lights. Each year at Christmas time they deck their halls with dozens of Christmas trees, each tree representing one of more than 50 countries. The ornaments on the trees represent the traditions of the country and there is a tablet in front of each tree giving you information about how that country celebrates, a traditional holiday greeting (Feliz Navidad!), and other fun information.You can actually go to the link above and read about the different countries featured.

Some of the trees didn't quite represent that country's respective decorating traditions, i.e. the USA tree looked more like a Fourth of July tree than a Christmas one! But the Swedish one, on the other hand, had tons of familiar decorations, like the straw reindeer and the weaved paper heart ornaments. Hunter's Great Grandma was full-blood Swedish, and we actually have some Swedish Christmas decorations such as these that she gave us.

We learned a lot in this exhibit and read many of the trees.

Fast Forward

The Fast Forward into the Future exhibit was pretty neat. Emailing pizzas? Human-like robots? There was a lot of interesting stuff in this exhibit, which Hunter enjoyed. Below - Hunter and Jocelyn enthralled by the "magic" mist at the entrance; Hunter experiments with some sort of sound-mixing music machine; Hunter tests out a fuel-efficient car; butterflies land on Hunter's outline as he experiments with a computer that can be run by your shadow.

Chicks and Genetics

Hunter really loved the baby chicks at the Genetics exhibit. I think we all did, as we hung around there for a long time! There were a lot that were already hatched but we didn't get to see any hatching, unfortunately. Hunter and Jocelyn also really loved playing with this touch-screen controlled video presentation that takes you into life in the womb.

Trains

We briefly looked at the train exhibit. There were tons of awesome little electric trains running on over 1000-feet of track, with mini replicas of the city of Chicago and so much more.

Aerodynamics

We spent quite a while relaxing in the aerodynamics exhibit, which I would have loved to explore more with Hunter, except I spent most of the time sitting down! We were all pretty exhausted at that point - well, everyone except Hunter that is! I had a hard time keeping an eye on him as he was busily running all around checking everything out!

"And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints."

Psalm 89:5

Hunter is 3 years, 8 months old

A is for Albania

You Can Change the World

Those are some pretty weighty words to be saying to a three-year-old, especially when you're not talking in future tense. But that is the title and focus of the new book we're going through, and it's not about building kids' self esteem but about teaching them to pray for the nations.

The book mainly focuses on praying for your family but I got the great idea to start praying for the nations, and we're using the book "You Can Change the World" by Jill Johnstone. It is the children's version of Operation World. Each week we will be praying for a new nation or people group, and learning things about them to better help us know what to pray for. The book we're using is written for children and is in alphabet-style format, with a different country or people group for each letter. The first country is Albania:

A is for Albania, where Christians once were banned; But God has stepped in and is changing this land.

Hunter is very excited to be praying for the people of this nation, and to know that he is having a lasting effect on the eternal souls of these people.

But perhaps you're thinking, do the prayers of toddlers really mean anything? Isn't changing the world a little much for a three-year-old? Are the prayers of tiny kids simply cute, innocent, and sweet, or are they capable of having a true and lasting effect on the world? I believe whole-heartedly that God views little children as so much more than "cute" and takes their requests seriously.

"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." (Mark 10:13-16)

"Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great." (Luke 9:46-48)

"... but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger." (Luke 22:26)

God puts little children as an example for us, a role model, and says that the greatest among us shall be like the youngest, says that we must become like them and receive God's kingdom as they do in order to enter therein.

Little children - yes, even toddlers - can have a world-changing impact through their heart-felt prayers to their heavenly Father, calling on him to change a nation - and he will. "The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer." (Psalm 6:9) "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13

So we are going to be praying - and praying a lot! And we are also going to be learning a lot about the land, the people, and their history of each country we pray for. I spent this weekend researching Albania and learned a great deal of interesting things. The first thing I made was a list of "Programs of Intelligence", which is basically the Doman term for facts about a subject. The point of Programs of Intelligence is not to cover every single fact about the subject, for that has the potential to go on infinitely. Rather the point is to give a good general overview of important things about that subject. The POI's for Albania include things about their culture and geography, like their language, climate, type of government, location, and other interesting facts.

We're also learning a few things about their language (common phrases and counting to ten), and learning about the history of their nation. Here is the information I compiled:

Programs of Intelligence for Albania:

1. In Albania people shake their head back and forth to say yes and nod their head up and down to say no.
2. The Albanian word for Albania is Shqipëria (shchih-PIRd-ia) which means the land of eagles.
3. The national motto of Albania is "Albanians place their faith in Albania"
4. Albania is located in southern Europe and borders the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
5. The capital of Albania is Tirana.
6. The official language of Albania is Albanian.
   
7. The climate of Albania has a moderate, Mediterranean climate with an average temperature of 7° C. in the winter and 24° C in the summer. Its landscape is mostly covered with mountains and hills, with small plains near the sea.
8. The natural resources of Albania are petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, and hydropower.
9. Albania’s form of government is now a Parliamentary Republic. The Albanian Constitution was adopted on November 28, 1998
10. During World War II the Albanians protected the Jews that lived there and provided refuge for Jews from other countries. Only one Jewish family was killed during the Nazi occupation of Albania. Albania was the only country that had more Jews living there after the war than it did living there before the war.

You can speak Albanian! Useful and common phrases we will be learning in Albanian to give us a brief but meaningful overview of the culture and language:

Numbers:

1 një (nyUH)

2 dy (dEW)

3 tre (trEH)

4 katër (KAHT-uhr)

5 pesë (pEHS)

6 gjashtë (JASH-tuh)

7 shtatë (sh-TAHT)

8 tetë (tEHt)

9 nënd (nUHnd)

10 dhgetë (duh-YEHT)

Common Phrases:

Hello – Tungjatjeta (toon-jat-yeta)

Goodbye – Mirupafshim (meer-oo-pafsheem)

How are you? – Se jeni? (See-yeenee)

Where are you going? – Ku po shkoni? (koo-paw-shkawnee)

Good morning – Mirëmëngjes (meer-mihn-JEHS)

Good afternoon – Merëdita (meer DEE tah)

Good evening – Mirëmbrëma (meer-EHM-bruh-mah)

Yes – Po (pOH)

No – Jo (jOH)

Thank you – Faleminderit (FA-leh-meen-DEH-reet)

Please – Ju lutem (joo-LOOTehm)

Sorry – Më fal (muh-fahl)

History of Albania in a nutshell:

1. The land of Albania was once the Roman province of Illyricum since the year 165 B.C. Later on this land was divided into two provinces, Dalmatia and Pannonia.
2. In 476 A.D. the Roman Empire fell and Albania was now under the Byzantine Empire, administered from Constantinople. Albania was under Byzantine rule up until the 14^th century.
3. In the 14^th century the Ottoman Turks took over the land that is now Albania. The Turks ruled this land until the 20^th century.
4. Albania is mentioned in the Bible in Romans 15:19 where Paul says he preached the gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum. In 2 Timothy 4:10 we learn that Titus went on a mission to Dalmatia. Albania was once filled with Christians but after the takeover of the Ottoman Empire in the fourteenth century many people converted to Islam – the religion of the Turks. Albania became the only Muslim nation in Europe for many years.
5. Between the years 1444 – 1466 a man named Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg led the Albanians in driving out the Turks. Skanderbeg led 30,000 men to successfully hold off the brutal campaigns of the Turks. The Albanians were independent for a very short time of just 24 years. Albania became famous throughout Europe for their resistance to the Turks. Skanderbeg is still a hero to this day and a symbol of hope to Albanians.
6. The Albanians continued to resist the Turks for many years, and Albania finally became an independent nation on November 28, 1912.
7. In 1939 Albania was invaded and conquered by Italy who made Albania part of the Italian Empire.
8. In 1944, during World War II, the Italians and Germans were driven out of Albania and Enver Hoxha became the dictator. Hoxha set up a communist form of government. The state owned and controlled all factories, farms, power plants, schools, hospitals, and all other businesses. They also controlled all communication and transportation facilities. The government controlled all peoples’ lives and did not allow the people to have things like cars or refrigerators, did not allow people to travel and did not allow them to sell things with other countries. Religion was banned and people were not allowed to pray, talk about God or own any books that spoke about God. Parents were not even allowed to name their children Christian or Muslim names. The government tried to control everything so they could improve the country’s education and industry, but Albania became the poorest country in Europe. Many people saw the horrible situation in Albania but no one was allowed to go in or out of the country.
9. In 1985 Enver Hoxha died. In 1991 the communist government was forced to resign. Since then Christians and many others have been coming into the country to help the Albanians with food, clothing, and medical supplies, and tell them about the gospel. They are still one of the poorest countries in Europe but are improving with the help of new government leaders and with freedom of religion.

Can you imagine what a thorough understanding you would have of geography and each country's place in world history if you learned 50 facts like these for each nation and people group of the world? I wouldn't doubt that after learning 50 or so facts like these about each country of Europe you would have a better understanding of the geography and history of the continent than do most college professors.

He is going to be learning a lot and getting a very good understanding of the nations of the world, but the most important thing he will be learning - the whole reason that it is important to learn about geography and history in the first place - is that he is developing a missionary's heart. From this young age, he is learning that his life has meaning, has significance, for eternity.


To say the least, I am very excited about our new geography curriculum!

"Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name."

Psalm 86:8-11

Hunter is 3 years, 8 months old

Vote

It was Hunter's first time going to the polls today. I'm not sure why I've never taken him with me, maybe I just never thought about it before. It was a beautiful day, so beautiful we decided to walk.

The church where we were to vote was about a block away, and the whole family went together. It was a solemn walk, a quiet, thoughtful walk. After months upon endless months of fierce debate, talk, and discussion of the weighty issues that are at stake, judgment day has finally come. It seemed almost unreal, that this historic campaign would ever end. It's been an intricate part of our lives for almost two years now, but the issue will finally come to a close as people cast their votes on who will lead this nation over the next four years.

As we walked, it was so solemn because it was now obvious that, on the larger scale, everything was now out of our hands. You can put on a convincing debate but in the end, what you have concluded on the issues doesn't dictate much. We knew, today, that it is all in God's hands.

So we did our civil duty, we learned about our democratic-republic form of government, we learned about modern voting machines and about different men who want to be our leaders and why we vote for certain ones and what they stand for and why we don't for others. And, most importantly, we learned why we pray for them. "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." 1 Peter 2:1-2

That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty - that pretty much sums it up right there. We want leaders who will allow us to lead a quite and peaceable life in godliness. There is a great danger pressing, a danger of leaders who believe that the government is the dictator of our life, that children are the property of the state and all of our choices ought to be approved, monitored, and controlled by it. That, my friend, is why we vote, why we are involved in public policies and offices and campaigns. It is so vital to our freedom to worship and rear our own children, and nothing is more important than that. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

There's a lot of issues at stake, but in the end, it is all in the hand of the Lord.

"By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth."

Proverbs 8:15-16

"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."

Proverbs 21:1

Hunter is 3 years, 7 months old

Bible Genealogy

I've decided to start systematically teaching through the whole Bible through stories, engaging activities, and memorization games. Today we did our first Bible genealogy (there are many of them found throughout the Bible) and it was the generations of Cain. I wasn't sure at first how I was going to incorporate lists of names into our stories times, but decided to print out word cards of everyone who is named and create a sort of family tree.

I started with God at the top and put Adam and Eve below. Then Cain, Abel, and Seth and then put all of Cain's sons below him. I narrated as I laid them down and also mentioned whatever the Bible may have mentioned about a particular person. Sometimes it simply says "And Irad begat Mehujael" and tells how long a person lives, but other times it says something about them like "And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." If they say something extra I tell him about it. Then we review them in a fun way.

I also got the idea to make the "holding hands" paper people and put all the names on it, from oldest to youngest. He had fun and held onto every word. I'm glad we're doing this because knowing the genealogy of the Bible is important, and it is often neglected in Sunday schools and by parents. If God thought it important enough to put in his word, then it is important enough for our memory! And fun, too.


"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."

Proverbs 30:5

Hunter is 3 years, 3 months old

Making a Genesis Terrarium

My brother David brought home from vacation Bible school a small jar containing some gravel, dirt, and a little figure of a man and a woman next to a plastic dinosaur. It was a terrarium depicting what the earth was like when God first created it, before the flood.

What a fun idea, I thought, and immediately wanted to make one of our own with Hunter. I found out that the gravel was necessary and we made a field trip to the pet store.

We decided to make a big one in an empty aquarium we have and put about an inch of gravel in the bottom.

We put about two inches of potting soil on top of the gravel and scattered random flower seeds in there to see which ones will grow. Okay, so maybe not the best way to do it: but of all the seed packets we had, they were all pretty old and I wasn't sure if any of them would grow anyway, so I figured with about five packets of seeds in there perhaps some of them will sprout. I also stuck in there all the little flower sprouts that grew in spite of me in our flower flat we've had for the past few weeks.

Alright, so I'm not the greatest gardener, but I'm learning. Maybe after we learn a few things from this one we will have a real one that we can work to keep up later on. But either way, the point of this terrarium is to demonstrate the way water was distributed when God first created the earth: it circulated through the air and moistened the entire environment. It was never too hot, never too cold, it never rained, and man didn't have to do anything to make the plants grow, because they grew on their own.


"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Genesis 1:6-8

Hunter is 3 years, 2 months old  

Memorial Day

Hunter has been really interested in soldiers and war lately, and, among other things, fighting in general. Which made a perfect entrance to our discussion about Memorial Day.

I haven't been quite so organized yet to be able to plan up to these holidays, getting coordinating books from the library or planning our learning activities around them. Soon though. I'll get there. But nonetheless, words are free. And giving your child your knowledge, well, that's priceless.

"Today is Memorial Day, Hunter. It's a special day where we remember all the men who have been soldiers. Soldiers help keep us safe, sometimes there are bad people in other nations that want to hurt us, but our soldiers protect us and defeat the bad guys. They take guns and missiles and tanks to kill the bad guys that are trying to hurt us. Sometimes when they are fighting the bad guys, they get hurt or die. We're always thankful for the brave men who die for us, because if they didn't fight for us, the bad guys would get us and we wouldn't be safe anymore. So today we thank God and thank our soldiers for fighting for us and keeping us safe."

Not exactly rocket science, but I try the best I can to express patriotism in a way that he can relate to and understand. Whether you agree with a war or not, remember that those soldiers are out there dying for your right to carry those protest signs.

In closing, I thought I would share this fairly unknown second verse of our national anthem. We live in a great country, which is currently very morrally ill right now, and in need of divine assistance, but God has blessed us dearly.

Our National Anthem, verse two:

O thus be ev- er, when free men shall stand Between their loved homes And the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, May the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made And preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, When our cause it is just; And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!” And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free And the home of the brave?

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

Hunter is 3 years, 2 months old

Carousel at the Mall

Today we went to the mall and rode on the carousel. Hunter was somewhat timid at first because of the riding motion but got used to it quickly and really loved all the paintings on the ceiling, which was decorated with pictures of some of our national memorials including Mount Rushmore, the Washington Monument, and the White House. He was eager to point out the ones he knew and was very excited about the paintings.

Of course, he really wanted to go again and ride on the panda bear, but at $2.00 a ride I had to say no. But we did get some ice cream afterwards. And after the mall and church, he was more than ready for his nap!

"Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?"

Job 39:19

Hunter is 2 years, 11 months old