VBS

The theme for VBS this summer is Workshop of Wonders. Every morning this week, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., I've been attending Vacation Bible School with my three-year-old. (We've never done drop off, and a group of preschoolers can always use an extra grown-up to blow up balloons or assemble a curvy swervy race car ramp.) These pictures show some of what my three-year-old has been up to this week (and why I've been way too worn out to blog).

Thursday was Slide and Snow Cone Day!

Playing "Make Me an Instrument" in Music Class

In the sanctuary, talking to the puppet mascot (an ant named Rivet)

Walking home after VBS through the Wednesday Farmers' Market with a blue sky painted on her forehead - it's what she asked for. Also, it was Crazy Hair Day, so she has half a dozen little pony tails. (She ate that entire basket of raspberries.)

Tuesday's snack was fresh fruit in a waffle cone, topped with whipped cream. It was Color Day, and the preschoolers are the blue group.

Planting seeds in plastic cup terrariums in Science Class

Making a sand angel

Playing dress-up

 

Though we only live a mile from the church, it takes us two hours to walk home. We stop at the mall's food court for lunch and play-time in the play area. Then, she gets to walk around the Disney Store for exactly three minutes (when my phone's timer goes off, it's time to go). We continue on to the court house because there's a fountain filled with lily pads and seagulls, and it has a shallow water feature that little ones can splash in. The last leg of our journey involves stopping at the civic center's covered walkway and calling out "Echo!" until we are satisfied with the quality of our echoes.

You would think she would need a nap after all that - Mommy sure does - but napping is so last week.

May's Scripture

Since January, I have working with my three year old daughter on memory verses. Each month, I write a verse on a piece of paper, alternating the color of marker for each line. (This is something I learned teaching public school; it's easier to read text on a whiteboard if the lines of writing are different colors.) This month, I chose Psalm 23:3, so my "poster" looks something like this:

He restoreth my soul.

He leadeth me in the

paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Psalm 23:3   

I tape the piece of paper to the back of the bedroom door, and at night, I recite the verse, and past verses, to her, letting her "do it myself" when she's ready.

Psalm 23 has six verses, and my goal is to teach her the entire psalm over six months.

How do you do scripture recitation?

April's Scripture

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.  He leadeth me beside the still waters.

The verse we're memorizing for April is Psalm 23:2, my goal being that we will memorize all of Psalm 23.  In my post on Scripture Memorization, I wrote about what verses we've memorized so far, and I explained why we went from Psalm 23:1 to Phillipians 4:13. Will we go straight through 23 now? Most likely not. Is one verse a month too few?  Right now, no. When my daughter is able to read and do transcription, we will up our scripture memorization to one verse per week.

Side note: One of my daughter's favorite Bible stories is David and Goliath.  Last night on TV, when she a commercial that had armor-clad soldiers charging across a field caught her attention, she said, "Look, Mom, the Philistines."

Scripture Memorization

In Home Education, Charlotte Mason writes about scripture memorization (page 253 of Volume 1).  Her words are in bold:


Bible Recitations.––The learning by heart of Bible passages should begin while the children are quite young, six or seven. It is a delightful thing to have the memory stored with beautiful, comforting, and inspiring passages, and we cannot tell when and how this manner of seed may spring up, grow, and bear fruit; but the learning of the parable of the Prodigal son, for example, should not be laid on the children as a burden. The whole parable should be read to them in a way to bring out its beauty and tenderness; and then, day by day, the teacher should recite a short passage, perhaps two or three verses, saying it over some three or four times until the children think they know it. Then, but not before, let them recite the passage. Next day the children will recite what they have already learned, and so on, until they are able to say the whole parable.

Three months ago, after realizing my toddler had memorized more than a few Veggie Tales silly songs, I decided to try scripture memorization.

The first verse I chose was Psalm 100:3: Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us and we are His.  We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  It answers the question "Who made you?" - one of the truths a toddler is ready to learn.  (For more on truths children are ready to learn, check out The Spiritual Growth of Children.  This book was a gift from my aunt and uncle, and it's a wonderful resource.)

All I did was write the verse in marker on a piece of paper and tape it to the wall.  Every day, I read the verse to her one time.  After two weeks, she had it memorized, stopping me to recite it herself.  "No no no, Mommy.  I'll do it."

For February, I repeated the same process with Psalm 23:1: The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want.  Again, she quickly learned it.

During February, if a block tower fell down, or Mommy or Daddy told her no, my daughter would cross her arms and say, "I can't do anything."  I knew what verse she needed to memorize in March: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Phillipians 4:13.  Now, I know this verse does not mean that all of the block towers we build will stay standing, or that Mommy and Daddy will let us do everything we want to do.  But it has stopped her from saying "I can't do anything."  It has also hidden in her heart the truth about contentment.  And though we can't tell when or how this truth will bear fruit, we know it will.