I like how things have been going...reminds me of how it used to be before Trusten was born. I've gone more slowly with the "going-in-order" books. Jade has about a month's worth of his first grade writing lessons left, and then we'll start on Complete Curriculum for Grade 2. In science, we just do whatever comes up on a certain day, and if nothing does, then I'll usually do a lesson in the animal science book, and then they watch related videos when it's Youtube time, and we may look at other books that share related material. I really like it this way. Same with history. We've finished the Drive Thru History dvd series. It won't be the only time they're watched. We haven't done any book history work on a regular basis for may months. We'll soon start Volume 1 of Mystery of History, which teaches world history in a way that the history recorded in the bible is taught chronologically alongside history in other parts of the world (like the Far East).
I just instituted a break from required written and almost all book work. I will just read to the boys each day the following: a chapter from Proverbs daily, a bible story from Bible Stories, a book that is Trust's pick of the day, and some chapters from Swiss Family Robinson. I would like to read at least five more chapters of the SFR to them over the next two weeks. Then we'll continue Prepare and Pray.
Some things we've done since the last update:
*Bible Stories: money changers, born again, Jesus sending out his disciples, the sower and the soils, Jesus teaching how to pray, John the Baptist's death, Jesus feeding the hungry crowd, and Jesus and Peter walking on the water
*Sabbath School lessons: "God's House" (respect in church, appropriate things to do on the sabbath, inappropriate things to do on the sabbath) and "God Created Non-Living Things"
*Explode the Code: Jade finished his fifth EtC book, Explode the Code 3. He finished that book with a 90% average, which is the same average he made on the other book. FANTASTIC! It's too bad that he could have done even better, as there were a couple lessons on which he fooled around and hurried through it. One of those he only scored a 71%. In case anyone is wondering, this is the only thing I grade, except for tests (and he's only had those in his science books so far). The stuff in Complete Curriculum I work on with him pretty closely. Everything he gets wrong on that stuff, I usually make him correct. Other things I may correct with my red pen, but I don't give him grades. The only grades I have ever given is on EtC and science tests.
*Bible Prayers for Bedtime: We dont' do these at bedtime but rather at reading time, after we read the bible. The lessons since the last update have been how to pray for safety/deliverance, how to pray when we need help with a problem, asking God what to do when someone argues with us, praying to know God, obeying God when God tells us to do something after prayer that may seem strange, and praying for a miracle.
*Ice experiment: We froze cubes of water and cubes of freshly juiced orange juice. I let the boys try to gently bite into the frozen water cubes and then the orange cubes to see which was harder. I asked them why they thought fruit juice popsicles are softer than plain water ice. Jade said because the juice had other things in it. I told him he was right and explained more specifically that the water froze in large crystals, but when the other components of juice were mixed in, that water froze in smaller ice crystals, resulting in softer ice. It's the right time of year for ice experiments. We even have snow on the ground now! :-) Jade has had a lot of fun in it. Trusten doesn't like to be out there for long. We all three spent some time out there today while Liv sat in her bouncer chair positioned so that she could look outside.
*Writing: verbs, adjectives, and pronouns
*Animals: in God's Design for Science we finished studying amphibians and started on reptiles and then read more about lizards and snakes. Jade even got on the floor to try moving in the four ways different snakes move across the ground.
*Youtube: benefits of coconut, whole foods vs. processed foods, top 10 worst foods, historical accuracy of the bible, Keith Hunt's part 1 of Matthew 24, snakes eating eggs and animals, rattlesnake attacking person on live television, lizard walking on water, gila monster, komodo dragon. Also I have found these "Crawford the Cat" 5-minute cartoons on Youtube. I've been showing the boys 1 or 2 a day. So far they have watched ones on: putting away toys, please and thank you, hand washing, tooth brushing, good table manners, and putting on a coat
Well, Jade and I have had a LOT of interesting conversations, and I sure can't remember them all. But, I've enjoyed the way we've been doing things for sure. He's learning what he wants to know, and I've had fun teaching him. Same goes for Trust, but Jade asks more things that require in-depth conversations. I've also started telling the bedtime stories again about Randolph the grasshopper and all his friends. He has had a wife for awhile now, Sasha. They just recently had children. The stories of late have focused a lot on the children, especially Daniel. R. and S. had 100 children. One of them was a foolish child who was killed and eaten by a bird, because he disobeyed his father's instructions not to go out onto the rocky places outside of the grass where he could be seen more easily by predators. Since that child had done that so many times before w/o being harmed, he didn't trust/believe his father. Well, one day his "luck" ran out. I explained that just because a person doesn't always get hurt from disobeying a parent's rules or may not even understand the reasoning for a rule, it doesn't mean the rule is invalid and that one day you may finally pay the consequences. I always relate things back to God's Law and the love it shows. We should always trust/belive and obey him. Many say they believe Him, but in works (by disobeying His Law) they deny Him. Whenever the boys disobey us, I ask them why they didn't believe us, why didn't they trust us enough to obey.
Daniel is discussed most often. He is a wise son, and he's very studious. He likes to visit the library and museums and explore nature. He loves to ask questions and has a good relationship with his parents. Daniel recently started studying reproduction among animals and how different animals reproduce in different ways. Daniel also recently visited with one of his friends, Adam a ladybug, and Adam tried selling him a pack of gum (all natural from the trees in the nearby forest) for cheap. Daniel asked where Adam got the gum, since he knew that gum sold in the marketplace for more money. He discovered that Adam stole the gum from an ant that Adam knew. Daniel refused to buy the stolen treat and told Adam he had better return it. Daniel told his parents what had happened, and they advised that Daniel should not be friends with Adam anymore, unless he repented of his misdeed. I asked the boys what they would do if a friend tried selling them something they knew was stolen. Jade said that was a hard question. I said, "Because it would be very tempting, wouldn't it, because you know you would not have to spend as much of your allowance as you would at the market." He said, "Yes, and because it would be a good treat." I then reminded him of what I call the silver rule (most know this as the "golden rule": do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but the golden rule TRULY is to do unto God the way He wants us to do). He said he would not want anyone to do that to him and so he would refuse the treat. :-)
Okay...well, I've run out of time, so that's it for now.
Showing posts with label lizards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lizards. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Observing Nature and A Pleasing Conversation with My 6yo Son
I absolutely love to observe nature, among all three kingdoms: animal, plant, and mineral. It thrills me so to see my two boys love it as well. I get joy when they laugh with delight upon learning new things, and I don't mind answering their questions. If I don't know the answers, then we go seek them. It's amazing how much I learn, too.
Yesterday Jaden (William) alerted me to a red wasp that was perched on the front porch railing behind us as we sat reading the bible. He was upset about its being there, and as I sat staring at it, it seemed to sense that it should be in ready-to-attack/defense mode. It's interesting to watch them. But, anyway, I did grab up my other book and kill it. Well, I don't think I completely killed it. Sometimes it's hard to tell, since their nerves often go on twitching after death, anyway. But, I'm 99% sure this one still had its life-force in it. I let Jaden get a stick and "explore" it. That's the word he often uses, though I tell him "examine" or "inspect" is better-suited. I told him to watch its tail carefully and to notice that it kept bringing its stinger out. It was having some difficulty. Its computer was all but dimmed. Then J. finished it off.
This morning I was opening the blinds in the living room when J. walked in. He immediately noticed the wasp caught in the web of an orb weaver just outside one of the windows. Trusten came in about that time, and they got on the couch and stared out at the wasp and the approaching spider. (As a side note here, these spiders, which Nathan and I call "October spiders," because throughout our lives we've known them to show up around mid- to late September and stick around all through October and beyond before winter sets in, have been making webs around the house all through August, which is just one of several signs we've seen that the weather pattern is definitely "off.") I told the boys to watch how the wasp was moving in a manner to aim its stinger at the spider. It was fighting vigorously to free itself from the web and it kept swinging around and taking stabs toward the spider with its stinger-loaded "tail" (abdomen). I reminded the boys that some wasps eat spiders, too. The spider was barely staying far enough way to be safe from a sting. I commented that it'd better walk back away and wait until the wasp tired itself. Well, what ended up happening is the wasp loosened itself from the web, and I think it dropped out. J. had mentioned that he thought one of its wings was damaged. I didn't see where it went, but J. said he said he saw it just sitting (standing?) somewhere. I had walked off right after I saw the wasp get out, because I had breakfast to get ready.
Today we came back from walking, and as we were about to walk up the steps of the front porch I spotted a lizard sunning itself on the left side railing. I pointed it out to the boys, and I guided Trusten over to see it, and J. said, "I'll get it so that you can see it Trusten." Well, I didn't get the words out quickly enough, but I foresaw what was going to happen. J. grabbed the lizard too far back on its tail, and off came its tail in his hand! LOL! He dropped it immediately and looked a bit bewildered. I just laughed and explained that it was the lizard's defense mechanism so that it could possibly escape from predators. I don't guess he knew this before, so this was something he learned today. He's caught lizards many times before, but I'm supposing this is the first time he's encountered this. (You know, I don't think I ONCE caught a lizard as a child, but I do remember trying. They were all so fast. I think they must be a little slower up here. ;-)
Earlier today I drove to town to get some groceries. Sometimes, rather than just fill Jaden's head with teachings, I ask him questions to get him to think for himself. As we were driving through the beautiful countryside, I asked what he thought should happen to a person if he or she murdered someone. His reply, "Killed." I asked what he thought should happen if a man raped a woman or sexually abused a child. "He needs to be killed, too."
Then I said, "Okay, well what if a person got really angry and murdered someone in his wrath, but then he felt really awful about it afterward and wished he hadn't have done it and would never think of doing it again?"
He replied, "I don't think he should be killed. They should be repented."
I said, "You mean that they repented and should be forgiven."
"Yeah."
I was very pleased with his answers. I often discover that he understands more than I think that he does. I told him I agreed with his answers and that I think people who do those things should be killed, too, and I only think that people should be given mercy and grace IF they repent and stop transgressing God's Law. I told him that all those things mentioned carried the physical death penalty under God's Law and that our society has rejected His commandments, statutes, and judgments. Those who should not get mercy expect it and often get it. On the other hand, those who aren't even guilty of a wrong under the Perfect Law are condemned.
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to Jehovah. ~Prov. 17:15
I didn't bring up that Proverb in our brief talk, but J. should know it well. We read over it once every month, since we read a chapter of Proverbs each day. He does know the Proverbs quite well. As I read them daily, I stop at different places for him to fill in the blanks. He does well most days. He's memorizing them, having wisdom stored within him. Now, all he needs to do is use it....sometimes he does.
On our walk, I saw an amazing thing, a very large mushroom. J. had run ahead, so I called him back, knowing he'd appreciate it, too. Meanwhile, T. was catching up. J. did like it, and then he looked at T. and asked, "Trusten, would you eat that?" Trusten shook his head violently and said, "Uh-huh!" :-) I said, "Well, that's good, b/c it may very well be poisonous." (We don't eat any mushrooms, though, as they are classified as "non-green plants" [sometimes classified in a separate kingdom altogether as a fungus], and non-green--meaning non-chlorophyll-producing--and non-seed-bearing plants were never given to us as food {Gen. 1:29, 9:3}). I sure don't want my child trying out something that may acutely poison him to death, though.
I ordered three more books yesterday from the new & used section on Amazon.com. I got two more books from Kevin Leman, the author of the last two books I've read/am reading. They are both parenting books, but I'm sure birth order is probably a topic in them as well. And then a book I'm really looking forward to getting is called Nature Got There First: Inventions Inspired by Nature. I bought it for a whopping $0.44. Besides law, family, natural health, and etymology, one of my subjects of interest and writing is science/knowledge and technology/application of science. I love learning and teaching about true science/knowledge and bringing glory to whom it is due--the Most High God, the Creator of all. In a world where two dominating views crush out the truth, namely that everything was somehow brought forth by rocks by itself and evolved or that God is some hocus pocus magician nothing like the man made in God's image, I am determined to share the truth with others who want to understand the true God.
Everything that man comes up with and all the miracles man has wrought with advanced knowledge and the application thereof has already been done by God and even better. Everything man comes up with pales in comparison to the knowledge and technology of the Supreme Creator. Human beings themselves are the greatest creation on this planet. The only real thing lacking is mortality, and people are busying themselves, as I write this, to use what knowledge they have to technologically make human beings immortal. Of course, I have full faith that they will fail, though many seem so prideful and confident that they will get it. Indeed, they are making advances with cloning, stem cell treatments, and nanotechnology (nano means "small," usually or always invisible to the human eye, we're talking atoms and molecules), and they're trying to make immortality a reality while still in the state of sin! What a horror...
The artificial intelligence, scientists say, will almost surely be a likelihood, with nanobots traveling through people's blood and increasing lifespan to over 120 years, perhaps several hundred years old. Well, that's not quite immortality, is it? ;-) You'd have to get rid of the blood altogether, as well as the earthly body.
Anyway, I'm excited about the book and can hardly wait to read it. Many people just don't realize how many of our fancy modern inventions were inspired by animals and other things in nature. I am hoping it will be fun to share with J. the things I read in the book, too.
Well, that's it until next time. I have to be careful, as I'm notorious for writing book-length things.
Yesterday Jaden (William) alerted me to a red wasp that was perched on the front porch railing behind us as we sat reading the bible. He was upset about its being there, and as I sat staring at it, it seemed to sense that it should be in ready-to-attack/defense mode. It's interesting to watch them. But, anyway, I did grab up my other book and kill it. Well, I don't think I completely killed it. Sometimes it's hard to tell, since their nerves often go on twitching after death, anyway. But, I'm 99% sure this one still had its life-force in it. I let Jaden get a stick and "explore" it. That's the word he often uses, though I tell him "examine" or "inspect" is better-suited. I told him to watch its tail carefully and to notice that it kept bringing its stinger out. It was having some difficulty. Its computer was all but dimmed. Then J. finished it off.
This morning I was opening the blinds in the living room when J. walked in. He immediately noticed the wasp caught in the web of an orb weaver just outside one of the windows. Trusten came in about that time, and they got on the couch and stared out at the wasp and the approaching spider. (As a side note here, these spiders, which Nathan and I call "October spiders," because throughout our lives we've known them to show up around mid- to late September and stick around all through October and beyond before winter sets in, have been making webs around the house all through August, which is just one of several signs we've seen that the weather pattern is definitely "off.") I told the boys to watch how the wasp was moving in a manner to aim its stinger at the spider. It was fighting vigorously to free itself from the web and it kept swinging around and taking stabs toward the spider with its stinger-loaded "tail" (abdomen). I reminded the boys that some wasps eat spiders, too. The spider was barely staying far enough way to be safe from a sting. I commented that it'd better walk back away and wait until the wasp tired itself. Well, what ended up happening is the wasp loosened itself from the web, and I think it dropped out. J. had mentioned that he thought one of its wings was damaged. I didn't see where it went, but J. said he said he saw it just sitting (standing?) somewhere. I had walked off right after I saw the wasp get out, because I had breakfast to get ready.
Today we came back from walking, and as we were about to walk up the steps of the front porch I spotted a lizard sunning itself on the left side railing. I pointed it out to the boys, and I guided Trusten over to see it, and J. said, "I'll get it so that you can see it Trusten." Well, I didn't get the words out quickly enough, but I foresaw what was going to happen. J. grabbed the lizard too far back on its tail, and off came its tail in his hand! LOL! He dropped it immediately and looked a bit bewildered. I just laughed and explained that it was the lizard's defense mechanism so that it could possibly escape from predators. I don't guess he knew this before, so this was something he learned today. He's caught lizards many times before, but I'm supposing this is the first time he's encountered this. (You know, I don't think I ONCE caught a lizard as a child, but I do remember trying. They were all so fast. I think they must be a little slower up here. ;-)
Earlier today I drove to town to get some groceries. Sometimes, rather than just fill Jaden's head with teachings, I ask him questions to get him to think for himself. As we were driving through the beautiful countryside, I asked what he thought should happen to a person if he or she murdered someone. His reply, "Killed." I asked what he thought should happen if a man raped a woman or sexually abused a child. "He needs to be killed, too."
Then I said, "Okay, well what if a person got really angry and murdered someone in his wrath, but then he felt really awful about it afterward and wished he hadn't have done it and would never think of doing it again?"
He replied, "I don't think he should be killed. They should be repented."
I said, "You mean that they repented and should be forgiven."
"Yeah."
I was very pleased with his answers. I often discover that he understands more than I think that he does. I told him I agreed with his answers and that I think people who do those things should be killed, too, and I only think that people should be given mercy and grace IF they repent and stop transgressing God's Law. I told him that all those things mentioned carried the physical death penalty under God's Law and that our society has rejected His commandments, statutes, and judgments. Those who should not get mercy expect it and often get it. On the other hand, those who aren't even guilty of a wrong under the Perfect Law are condemned.
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to Jehovah. ~Prov. 17:15
I didn't bring up that Proverb in our brief talk, but J. should know it well. We read over it once every month, since we read a chapter of Proverbs each day. He does know the Proverbs quite well. As I read them daily, I stop at different places for him to fill in the blanks. He does well most days. He's memorizing them, having wisdom stored within him. Now, all he needs to do is use it....sometimes he does.
On our walk, I saw an amazing thing, a very large mushroom. J. had run ahead, so I called him back, knowing he'd appreciate it, too. Meanwhile, T. was catching up. J. did like it, and then he looked at T. and asked, "Trusten, would you eat that?" Trusten shook his head violently and said, "Uh-huh!" :-) I said, "Well, that's good, b/c it may very well be poisonous." (We don't eat any mushrooms, though, as they are classified as "non-green plants" [sometimes classified in a separate kingdom altogether as a fungus], and non-green--meaning non-chlorophyll-producing--and non-seed-bearing plants were never given to us as food {Gen. 1:29, 9:3}). I sure don't want my child trying out something that may acutely poison him to death, though.
I ordered three more books yesterday from the new & used section on Amazon.com. I got two more books from Kevin Leman, the author of the last two books I've read/am reading. They are both parenting books, but I'm sure birth order is probably a topic in them as well. And then a book I'm really looking forward to getting is called Nature Got There First: Inventions Inspired by Nature. I bought it for a whopping $0.44. Besides law, family, natural health, and etymology, one of my subjects of interest and writing is science/knowledge and technology/application of science. I love learning and teaching about true science/knowledge and bringing glory to whom it is due--the Most High God, the Creator of all. In a world where two dominating views crush out the truth, namely that everything was somehow brought forth by rocks by itself and evolved or that God is some hocus pocus magician nothing like the man made in God's image, I am determined to share the truth with others who want to understand the true God.
Everything that man comes up with and all the miracles man has wrought with advanced knowledge and the application thereof has already been done by God and even better. Everything man comes up with pales in comparison to the knowledge and technology of the Supreme Creator. Human beings themselves are the greatest creation on this planet. The only real thing lacking is mortality, and people are busying themselves, as I write this, to use what knowledge they have to technologically make human beings immortal. Of course, I have full faith that they will fail, though many seem so prideful and confident that they will get it. Indeed, they are making advances with cloning, stem cell treatments, and nanotechnology (nano means "small," usually or always invisible to the human eye, we're talking atoms and molecules), and they're trying to make immortality a reality while still in the state of sin! What a horror...
The artificial intelligence, scientists say, will almost surely be a likelihood, with nanobots traveling through people's blood and increasing lifespan to over 120 years, perhaps several hundred years old. Well, that's not quite immortality, is it? ;-) You'd have to get rid of the blood altogether, as well as the earthly body.
Anyway, I'm excited about the book and can hardly wait to read it. Many people just don't realize how many of our fancy modern inventions were inspired by animals and other things in nature. I am hoping it will be fun to share with J. the things I read in the book, too.
Well, that's it until next time. I have to be careful, as I'm notorious for writing book-length things.
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