Language Boy

"All children are born citizens of the world"

It is so true. At birth, the child's brain has the ability to learn any and all languages of the world - no matter how complicated - easily and without effort. He will learn as many as are presented to him. The possibilities are, literally, limitless.

The problem is that we have all too often ignore this incredible ability. If, say, between the ages of 20 and 25, a person's brain was prepped for unlimited language-learning and could learn as many languages as he was exposed to, would we not call him a fool if he didn't seize those precious years to learning as many languages as possible? If such were the case, we would advise all young men and women: "Make the most of those precious years because knowing as many foreign language as possible is beneficial for the rest of your life! And after all, the brain grows by use! Seize the moment!"

Of course, between the ages of 20 and 25 are not prime years for learning language. But such a stage does exist, and it exists in the first six years of life. However, the difference is that toddlers and not going to set out to study the world's languages. In this case especially, "The fate of a child is in the hands of his parents." (Shinichi Suzuki)

In this information age, it is now easier than ever to learn a foreign language. I am not necessarily proposing that you sign your one-year-old up for French class or higher a Japanese tutor. However, parents can and should make it a priority to give their child a second or third language with all means possible.

I have, in the past few months, been debating what languages to teach Hunter. I know a fair amount of Spanish and have been teaching him bits and pieces here and there, and would like to become more fluent so he can really learn the language. My dad speaks some German. My sister is practically fluent in Dutch. I know some sign language as well, and I always thought it would be fun to learn Braille and Morse Code.

The options go on. I would like him to learn some Latin and Greek as they are classic languages from which English originated, and I always thought it was cool learning Greek and Latin roots in grammar class ("photo" means light and "graph" means drawing so "photograph" is a drawing from light!) I would also very much like him to learn Hebrew as it is the language much of the Bible was written in.

French, Japanese, and Chinese are highly-spoken languages that I have a lot of available resources to gleam from. There is a lot of stuff at the library that can be utilized. It sounds like a lot, but when I consider that the tools to learn them are sitting right in front of my face, all I can think is "Why not?"

His potential is without bounds. Why limit him? He literally has the ability to learn absolutely anything that I present him with effortlessly and with lightening speed. If I have the resources to give him Chinese, then bygone I'm going to give him Chinese.

Let's just say that, should it not be for Doman I would have never even CONSIDERED taking up all these languages. Before Doman I never really realized how quickly and easily little kids could learn. Now that I do, all I want to do is give him the world.

I'm not going to be thoroughly covering all these languages. But, I figure, if he knows say, 200 common words in each of these languages, plus a hundred common phrases, and maybe whatever songs or conversations we have available from library resources, wouldn't that just be neat? And then with this base of language, when he is a little or a lot older, he can take it as far as he wants and learn more and become fluent in as many languages as he chooses? I just want to give him a thorough springboard from which he can do whatever he chooses.

Learning a 300-500 word vocabulary from twenty or more languages sound like a crazy and time-consuming thing to ask, but with Doman, it really would take very little time to come about that reality. The Doman How to Give Your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge "Language" category is simple: create a Bit (a large card with a picture [fact] on it) and on the back write the word in ten different languages. So, for a "parts of the body" set you could have a picture of hand, arm, foot, head, etc. and write that word in ten different languages on the back of each of the ten cards. You teach one language at a time, so for example doing parts of the body and teach them all in Spanish, then in French, etc. It would take a total of about two minutes to teach each language, which would be a total of about twenty minutes to teach a set of ten objects in ten different languages. And he will remember it for the rest of his life. Cool, huh?

It's not useless information: it's fun, it's useful, and the brain grows by use. I always thought it would be fun to know a basic vocabulary from many different languages, but never had the time or the motivation to study them. Now I do. And isn't this going to be a great deal of fun?

Today I got some tapes from the library. They are kids tapes called "Teach Me German", etc. and I got them in all the available languages: German, Spanish, French, and Japanese. Why not? They're tapes, we listen to them, sing along, eventually learn them, and he knows some more information about languages. When I got home I was motivated to dig into the language resources we have in our home library. I got out some Latin, sign language, Greek, Spanish, French, and German kids stuff we have. I also remembered that that Baby Einstein "Language Nursery" movie has a flashcards section on special features. I didn't really like the movie, since it just does random nursery rhymes and counting and such in different languages but what's going on on the screen has nothing to do with what they're saying. However, the flashcards section has the alphabet in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Japanese, and Russian. It also has some other flashcards in these languages.

So, I'm having fun playing with languages and teaching my boy. It's really not a great deal of extra effort to, say, check out books on tape in Spanish from the library, or listen to songs in German, or read "Can You Count Ten Toes? Count to Ten In Ten Different Languages" at bedtime. Language learning has simply become a fun part of our play and exploration of the world. And I'm glad to give Hunter this opportunity, and am excited about learning at least some of it myself.

"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Daniel 7:14

Hunter Gets his Driver's License

Okay, so he obviously didn't get his driver's license today. But he DID get his state ID so he can fly on a plane next week.

We went to the BMV today ("That stands for Bureau of Motor Vehicles" says Hunter in the most adorable voice). It wasn't the most horrible experience, but what a rip-off to pay $13 for that stupid little card.

Anyhow, we turned it into a little "field trip" and as I explained anything and everything to Hunter while we were there. I forgot that I would have to know his height and weight and I told them he was about three feet tall at the lady's suggestion (when I got home I realized that he was actually 3'4''! that's quite a bit off). I did get his weight right, because I coincidentally just weighed him today (38lbs). The height / weight ratio sure makes him seem bulkier than he really is. Oh well, I'm sure not gonna get another one at that price. They'll just have to think he's bulky.

A visit to the BMV is surprisingly fun with a curious three-year-old. Hunter was having conversations with just about everyone he saw and discussing his stuffed puppy and the Baby Einstein book I had just gotten from the library. He is ridiculously friendly these days, cheerfully waving and saying "Hi!" to every single person he happens to cross paths with. I also picked up an Indiana drivers manual to teach Hunter some of the rules of the road and signs and stuff. I know that will interest him and who cares if he won't need it on a test for thirteen more years? He'll enjoy the information up until then, be more aware of his surrounding and what's happening while we're driving, and when the time does come he definitely won't be flunking any driver's test since he will have been an expert at it for ten years. Plus, good grief, it's fun. What little kid wouldn't want to learn about cars? Learning is fun! As said Aristotle, "All men by nature desire to know." And Samuel Johnson, "All knowledge is of itself of some value. There is nothing so minute or inconsiderable that I would not rather know it."

And speaking of planes, I have a LOT to do up until we leave next Wednesday for the southern land of North Carolina. I should be getting on that now!

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

John 17:3

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"He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend."
Proverbs 22:11

Happy Birthday America!

We had a fun Independence Day. We talked about America's birthday and how she was born on this day in 1776. We memorized The Star-Spangled Banner and Psalm 32:12. And we went to Greg and Patsy's house for a cookout. We didn't stay long and all the kids were swimming but Hunter didn't bring his swimsuit (I thought it was too cold so I didn't bring it).

He got to shoot off fireworks with Daddy, but I missed him. I got him a really cute shirt that says "Rocket Scientist" on it at Wal-mart. I was glad that they got to do fireworks together, I know they both enjoyed it.

I have a really cute video of Hunter singing the National Anthem, but I still have to upload and edit it.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."

Psalm 33:12

Laid Out and Ready to Go

Today I laid a few activities out that we would be doing in school. I laid them all out next to each other and put 3x5 cards below them with a word written on it - "stories", "blocks", "rhythm", "writing", "math", "puzzles", "cutting strips", and "foreign languages". In other places in the room I laid out cards with "piano", "drawing", "Bible", and "gym".

It was really helpful to have everything laid out like this because not only was everything right there and ready to go but it gave Hunter and me both a visual of what we would be doing. This in turn helped us to stay focused and helped Hunter to stay on track and know what to expect next. You can get a lot of fun, educational things done in a very short amount of time if you are properly organized and prepared.

Hunter also frequently gets to pick what activity we do next and this is a great way for him to see what the options are (for example, today we're going to work on this floor puzzle and not chess), learn to read some words, and be organized himself.

"As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept."

Exodus 16:34

Still Can't Believe My Math Genius

"The trouble with telling people things that are unbelievable is that they don't believe them."

- Glenn Doman

The problem with sharing with other people about how much fun I'm having teaching Hunter math is that they smile nicely, give a little "Oh, that's neat" and change the subject. I can hardly blame them because most of the time I don't even believe it, and I'm the one who taught him and have watched him almost flawlessly and always effortlessly grasp every concept I've presented him with in mere seconds.

I was once again blown away as we sat down with our dot cards and quickly zoomed through a few equations. At this stage in the program (we're on week 12 - yes, very inconsistent considering we started last September) I show him three equations and then present him with an equation which he can solve if he wishes to do so. This was today's digest:

• 96÷3+3=35
• 96÷3-3=29
• 96+3÷3=33
• 96-3÷3=? 30 or 31


• 12x2÷3=8
• 12x3÷2=18
• 12x4÷3=16
• 12x3÷4=? 9 or 10
  

• 5x5+5=30
• 5x5-5=20
• 5x5÷5=5
• 5x5+50=? 75 or 74

At this point in the program you only show the answer card, so for example saying "5 times 5 plus five equals thirty!" and show the thirty card (thirty dots) as you say the word. When problem-solving time came up (the last equation in each session) I would show Hunter two choice cards and he would pick the right one. Usually he just pointed but this time he eagerly shouted "31!" for the first equation, "9!" for the second, and "75!" lastly.

I was once again amazed by this little math-boy and I just really cannot believe that he actually understands what is happening to the numbers when I say 5x5+27-42÷10. Why, it equals one of course! He not only knows the facts, but truly can see true quantity and knows the difference instantly between 75 and 74 dots. It's just... wow... it never ceases to amaze me.

He continues to blow me away and even though I'm the one who "taught" him (or actually, just showed him the facts of quantity and demonstrated a few equations) I still cannot believe the incredible brains God gave us. And to think that these meager arithmetic equations are only the beginning... all I can say is, "Wow."

Now, if you're new to this blog please know that we do not sit all day in front of flashcards and counting blocks. I have not spent more than 20 minutes TOTAL TIME teaching him math and he has never memorized addition tables or multiplication tables or anything. I just showed him the facts of math and let him figure out the rules. I did this according to the outline in Glenn Doman's book, How to Teach Your Baby Math.

I am eager to shoot a good video of Hunter doing his maths. Because, like I said, when you tell people unbelievable things they don't believe you. Things have been so busy though and I've been sorting out in my head the best way to shoot it so as people can really see that he's actually doing it and it's not some silly trick I taught him. I've also been working on a dialog to go along with a video to properly explain how the dot math system works. Hopefully, we'll get it done soon.

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? ... I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."

Luke 15:4, 7

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

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"How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things"

Romans 10:15

Play with Shoes

This is Hunter playing with his shoes. He got out every pair of shoe he has and lined them up neatly in a row that reached about five feet.

I had no idea was he was doing and then he got some of his toy animals and started putting them in the shoes. He asked me for help to get his stuffed puppy in one of them and I asked why he was in the shoe, and he said "He's in his car."

"Oh, well of course" I smiled.

I'll have to admit that the first thing that came to mind when I saw what he was doing was, "Austism?" but of course I have to laugh at myself because if you knew Hunter, you would know that he is no where NEAR the Autistic Spectrum and is very bright, social, talkative, inquisitive and physically and intellectually advanced. But I knew that lining things up and being obsessed with order is one thing that characterizes many autistic children and that's why the thought came to mind, but he does neither of those things except for this one play episode. Lining the shoes up was probably a copy of how he sees cars lined up on roads and in parking lots, and I'm sure that's what triggered this little imagination gig.

I thought I'd share this fun little moment with you. I like to post blogs on here frequently of Hunter being himself, letting everyone know that his life is not sitting in front of flash cards all day and that he has a VERY active imagination and enjoys playing all day every day, whether that play is washing dishes with Mommy, looking at cards about insect species, splashing in the kiddie pool or creating an exciting world with shoes, Legos and animal figures.

"And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof."

Zechariah 8:5

Studying Trees

Today while we were playing in the backyard my attention was drawn to our old Mulberry tree in the back of our yard which I remembered would now be ripe for picking. Those silly trees grow like weeds and I believe that ours is there as a result of a happy accident, but as a child I always loved eating the dark sweet berries that could be found in the most random spots especially for our enjoyment. Most of the trees we found were growing up unkept fences near the sidewalks we would ride our bikes on. Berry juice-stained purple hands and feet were a frequent sight during the summer months, as we would sit and pick for long periods until our happy appetite was served.

And now we had one in our yard that had fallen over as a result of a storm yet was still bearing fruit and was now at a level we could reach. I brought Hunter over and gave him a few of the berries, naming the species of tree and picking off a leaf for our new tree book that I have been wanting to make. Noticing some of the berries were not ripe I used that as an opportunity to teach him, showing him a hard green berry that was not ripe, then showing him a softer white berry that was still not ripe (and letting him taste it to let him get what "not ripe" means), then I showed him a pink berry that was almost ripe (and letting him taste it to see that it was edible yet very sour), then showing him the purplish-black berries and telling him that when the berries are all grown up and have gotten all the right nutrients from the tree and sun, they are ready to eat and look like this. When all the nutrients are in the berry they are sweet and soft and very good for us: God gave us berries for food, I told him.

I love it that when I'm teaching him stuff like this he often shows no real comfirmation that he is absorbing what I say, yet the next time we go to that tree he will invariably comment and point out all the things I told him before. As adults we "show" that we understand by staring intently at what the person is telling us, nod and say "Oh, yeah, that's neat" and the like to demonstrate that we're learning. Little kids have no need for this and often look as though they aren't really focusing on what we're saying. But you can guess who will remember the most a month and a year later when you come back to that tree. Kids don't need to stare and make social gestures in order to learn; they simply absorb. They really do want to learn and often we mistake their short attention for short memory and short ability. How wrong we are.

Nonetheless, I showed him about the tree, and he listened intently for the twenty seconds that it took, all the while enjoying sweet berries and staining our hands a dark shade of purple.

We then collected the leaf from the tree and on the way in, grabbed another leaf from a black walnut that had sprouted up in our bush a few years back. For an awfully long time now I have wanted to make a tree book (and perhaps a flower book as well) collecting leaves from various trees and putting them together in a sort of scrapbook to preserve forever. This project will, of course, be useful to us for the rest of his education years as it will be a walking, growing memory of all the trees we've encountered.

I find it disheartening that most children can correctly label more cartoon characters than they can trees or shrubs or birds or insects or any number of things in nature that they encounter practically every day of their lives. I recently heard of a large-scale study of preschoolers that showed that the average child, by the time he reaches school age, has spent more time watching television than it takes to earn a college degree. What a sad development, and how much more sad is it that people would criticize parents lovingly teaching their child about nature, history, and literature claiming that they are "stealing their childhood". Lost childhood applies more correctly to the millions of children who are glued to an electronic box for several hours a day, and in general the children of modern parents who are tired, stressed, and in general too busy for their children for 95% of the day and try to fit their child in around all the other things they have going on in their life.

Teaching your child about nature will be a thrilling development for the both of you and will be highly beneficial to him in the future. A tree book, or a flower book, or anything you would like book is a fun way to learn about nature and have something to look back on at all the fun places you've been and all the many plants that fill this wonderful world we live in. Here is how to make one:

How to Make a Tree Book

You will need:

• A three-ring binder
• Page protectors (plastic sleeves) with card stock in them
• Leaves, pictures, or drawings you've collected and identified

Slide the leaf or picture into the page protector. Glue or tape it to the card stock. Write the name at the top of the page or on the back of the page. Your book can be as simple or as detailed as you like. You may want to simply collect leaves, and attach the leaf to the page and clearly label it. You may want to include a drawing of the tree if your child is a little older and likes to draw. You could photograph your child standing next to the tree and put a picture on each page. You could include a bark rubbing (use a crayon and a piece of copy paper and rub your crayon along the trunk to get the texture of the bark on your paper). There are a hundred different options and you can do whatever sounds interesting and FUN for you and your child. As long as you enjoy yourself and go quickly (not making your book so elaborate that it takes an hour to do each page), which is the key rule of teaching small children, your child will love his tree book and will treasure it for years to come. Your child will very quickly learn to love Dendrology (the study of trees) and will quickly be identifying many different trees and eagerly collecting leaves of new trees to add to his collection. What an exciting thing it is to open the door wide open for such a broad world of exploration - that of knowing and appreciating trees and plants.

We are going to include an actual leaf and a picture of Hunter in front of the tree, as well as a small picture of the leaf (since the actual leaf will dry out and fade), the fruit (seeds), and the bark. On the back of each page I am going to list ten facts about that tree. The ten facts, of course, will be collected by me at a later time in order to teach Hunter about the exciting tree we recently collected from.

"Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel. At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel."

Isaiah 17:6-7

Playing in the Rain

Hunter was very excited to try out his raincoat today. So far whenever it's rained it's been too cold to play outside, but today we got to enjoy the summer rain from heaven.

He had a fun time, then he wanted to come in after about five minutes. Oh well, fun times.









"My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God." Deuteronomy 32:2-3

Bubbles!

Today in school we played with bubbles on the back porch. It was especially fun after we added dish soap to the bubble solution to make way bigger and more impressive bubbles.

As we were playing in the yard today, it really got me thinking how much I love Doman homeschooling. Why? Because we spend more time playing with bubbles and splashing in the kiddie pool than we do on reading, math, and encyclopedic knowledge combined. Yet Hunter is still learning advanced science, detailed history, can read well, and can solve math equations faster than a calculator. I love how amazingly intelligent God made little children, and how I can invest just a few seconds a day joyfully teaching him which would take hours upon hours of difficult work later on.

Life is fun. Hunter is enjoying his childhood to the fullest. He doesn't miss out on anything good and worthwhile in life as some unknowing critics would propose. You can really have the best of both worlds.

Here are some pictures of my happy little boy. Enjoy!

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

Mark 10:14

Blocks

I've really been trying to let Hunter play with blocks and other such manipulatives more often these days.

I remain convinced that you can never quite know all the things a child is learning at a given moment or through a given activity, as learning is an unspoken and unseen process of the brain, but some of the pointed out benefits of simple wooden blocks include manual dexterity (the skill and control of the hands) and eye convergence. Lots of science and problem-solving can be learned as you get to experiment with the rules of gravity, balance, and physics. Creativity and imagination are a high point as you are transformed into a mini-architect.

But of course, there I am trying to break everything down again and figure it all out.

Nonetheless, he enjoys playing with blocks just as before, and is up to building 15+ high towers now. He gets quite frustrated when he doesn't balance them right and they tumble to the ground. But here he is, extremely thrilled with himself that he finally built a stable tower. Once he got it stable he kept changing the top, adding more rectangles and then some triangles or semi-circles, until he had emptied the bin of blocks he had out.

"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

Genesis 11:4

Learning about Time

Recently I hung up our days of the week words to make a sort of calendar behind our door (one of the only free wall spaces in our room).

I labeled the top "days of the week" and hung the days from Sunday to Saturday at a level Hunter can reach. Just today I added a movable "yesterday", "today", and "tomorrow" aspect (before I only had "today") to help Hunter understand the concept of each of those words, and also to help him learn to read them.

I did this by sticking push pins next to each of the days and then laminating the movable words as they are going to be handled a lot. I used a three-hole punch to make holes for the push-pins.

He LOVES getting to move the words each morning after the pledges and prayer. We've used this calendar a lot to talk about what days we are going to do a certain thing. Just today, when he moved the "today" word to Tuesday he reminded me that he gets to go to Grandma's house today, which I had pointed out to him two days earlier. Unfortunately plans had changed and he won't be going until Thursday, but I am very excited about the prospect of him understanding the concept of days, weeks, and months, and I know from his anticipation that he is very excited as well to no longer be in the dark about these important concepts. You really can teach a little kid absolutely anything you present to them honestly, factually, and joyfully.

I'm working on making some sort of calendar chart that we can add a sticker or some other item to every day to help him understand the concepts of days within a month. He already knows his numbers so teaching him "the twenty-fifth day of June" should be easy. This will also open the door to the concept of seasons, which I'm sure he already understands roughly but he just hasn't yet been given the vocabulary to be able to describe it. And again we will soon be doing a unit on weather which we can record and track in a similar manner as this calendar project.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Learning to Swim!

Yesterday Hunter got to experience the thrill of the water as we swam in an outdoor pool at a friend's house for a good two hours at least.

Hunter was a bit timid at first as he wasn't used to swimming without an inflatable (he uses a jacket at Grandma's house) but within just a few minutes he was swimming like a fish, not the slightest bit afraid in any sense of the word.

We started swimming at the YMCA on a regular basis up until February when our membership expired and I have been so busy I haven't yet made the time to renew it. I thought that it would take him quite a bit longer to get used to the water again, and really swimming and diving like he was before, but he surprised me immensely with his boldness and capabilities.

We did a lot of the ideas from How to Teach Your Baby to Swim. This book is geared towards parents who have started at the newborn to toddler level, and then taking you all the way up to six years of age, but we were able to adapt some of the techniques intended for tinier kids for Hunter. There really isn't that much to teaching a little kid how to swim, because in fact humans are born knowing how to swim. Here are some pictures of a few of the exercises we did:

This is what we like to call "dolphin rides" as he holds onto my neck and I swim around with him, and every now and then going "1, 2, 3, under!" for just a moment to get him used to being underwater. He didn't want to go under at first, and I didn't force him when he didn't want to, just gently coached him. Note that even though we haven't been swimming in a while we have been practicing "going under" and blowing bubbles almost every time we take a bath, as many kids are afraid of getting their faces wet.
By the end of our swim he excitedly counted down and exclaimed, "Under!" in anticipation when I rode him around.

Here I swam on my back and he held onto my shoulders while kicking. We made this one up because he wasn't wanting to be horizontal with the water and kick, and being on my stomach made him more comfortable. I'm looking to do more exercises like these to help him be a better swimmer in order to be able to swim on top of the water.

This is "twinkle, twinkle" as we call it where I help him float on his back while singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". He is very uneasy about floating on his back, as it is such a vulnerable position, but he did really well with a little bit of gentle coaching.

I made sure he had lots of practice climbing OUT of the pool as it is one of the most important safety skills if he were ever to fall in. I tried to give him minimal assistance to help him learn to do it on his own.

Here he gets ready to jump off the edge. At first he wanted me to be closer, closer, closer but after not very long he was comfortable with me being out of reaching distance.

Here he jumps to my excited arms.

This is his first time jumping off the diving board. Note that he WANTED to jump as he saw all the big kids doing it, but was a little nervous at first. I try to maintain a confident composure in spite of his tenseness. Also note that once he did his first jump I couldn't keep him off the diving board.

Here he has jumped in and is swimming to my waiting arms underwater. Even though he has barely begun to swim at all he can already swim a few feet underwater before coming up. At this point he can only get his face out up to the eye level and not yet get his hole face and, more importantly, his mouth out. But we'll get there soon.

Here is a later picture of him jumping off the diving board. Note how far away I am and how excited he is. I did not even have my arms up, as he jumped in, kicked to the surface and swam to me.

A big splash to waiting arms. :)

I am eager to share with other parents how much fun it is to teach your newborn, toddler, or preschooler how to swim. Even if you don't have your own home pool there are many opportunities to get some time in water in this 70%-water planet of ours, a starter would be your own bathtub. You only have to see one severely brain-injured child or worse, one parent of a dead child to have the motivation to teach your small child to swim. But beyond being a vitally important safety skill it is also a great deal of fun and highly beneficial to a child's physical and intellectual development as it stimulates so many different parts of the brain and uses so many different muscles.

This is the first set of pictures but we are looking forward to more on the way as the months progress!

"And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands."

Isaiah 25:11

My Little Man Helping Pump Gas

Today when we pulled up to the gas station, I told Hunter to stay put while I went in to pre-pay for our gas.

"But Mommy, you need a little boy to come with you." was his gentle reply.

In which I returned, "No, I need a little man to come with me. Can you be my little man?"

He beamed with excitement and replied, "Yeah" with a smirk as he climbed out of his booster seat.

Lately I've really been focusing on treating him "like a man" and letting him know how manly he is whenever I can. ALL little kids want to do is to "do it all by myself". How many times a day does he say that? I've lost count. Little kids believe it is their job to grow up, and we spend most of our time trying to convince them that it is their job to stay babies. Unfortunately, we often succeed, and by the time they turn seven or eight years old we then turn around and tell them they need to grow up. By then, it's often too late and we spend the rest of their school-age and teenage years fighting with them to get them to do a minute amount of work.

It's a sad cycle, but nonetheless, I handed Hunter a twenty-dollar bill and told him to give it to the cashier and ask for twenty dollars on pump number three. Boldly, he walked into the station, proudly walked up to the register and made his request just as I had told him, his hand barely reaching the high counter to pass along the twenty.

We left with a smile, I taught him how to press the button with numeral 87 on it, and he pumped the measly 4.7 gallons of gas that twenty dollars had bought us, and did so "all by myself". The whole ordeal took exactly four minutes.

And I was glad that it was summer, because I never would have dreamed of allowing him to help me in the bitter cold months of winter that we are accustomed to in the Midwest.

It was such a refreshing experience, seeing how proud he was of himself for being an active part in life and doing something that was truly valuable and worthwhile, that I've decided that from now on, in the warm months at least, I would never keep him strapped in his seat while I get gas. And, just perhaps, this four-minute investment will pay off even more dividends in the end, when he is perhaps a bit taller and he will be pumping ME the gas in the cold winter months when I stay warm in the car. Perhaps? Nah, don't doubt it: he will. Raising little men pays off in the end, for you and mostly, for them.

"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:27,28,31

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

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

Taekwondo Camp

I'm thrilled! Today I found out that the ATA school I clean for is going to be doing a basic Taekwondo camp which would go in the mornings from 9:00 - 1:00 for a week. The cost would have been $100 but since I work for them they said Hunter could participate for free! It is supposed to be for ages 5-12, but they said that Hunter was a good kid and should be fine. I know a lot of five-year-olds aren't that coordinated, and it is a basic-level camp, so I'm not too worried about his physical capability. I am wondering how he'll do with how long it is, though. They have a break for lunch but still, that's quite a few hours and he's not used to staying on one thing for that long. I'm considering possibly leaving early if he's not faring out too well, but it would be better to do it for just a little while than to not do it at all.

I'm really excited about this opportunity because I was really wanting to get him started in martial arts, not formal lessons because they're far too expensive, but for me to teach him at home. It doesn't take that much to study how to certain kicks, punches, stances, etc. are done and with the confidence I've developed from all that I've learned about teaching little kids, I know he could easily learn whatever martial arts I present to him. Although I do have the benefit of being a brown belt in Taekwondo myself, that is not a prerequisite to being able to teach your child because, you can teach your tiny child absolutely anything that you can present to him in an honest, factual, and joyous way and that does not necessarily mean you have to be able to do it yourself. Ah, that is the wonderful thing about teaching little kids. And one of the reasons why I love my job so much!

Martial arts is another splendid physical excellence opportunity. After you have developed your child's balance, strength, and coordination through the physical excellence program you graduate to doing an actual sport. Highly recommended by Glenn Doman are gymnastics and ballet because they require such control, balance, and coordination in the many different positions in space (i.e. upside down, sideways, spinning, etc.) Although martial arts is not mentioned in Glenn Doman's book, it certainly tops the list as it requires so much balance, control, and coordination in many different positions in space. In fact, gymnastics and martial arts are very much tied together as moves such as flips, spins, and tumbling are evident in both sports. I am actually relieved to find such a wonderful similarity because I was not so sure how confident Hunter would be in training in gymnastics (or ballet) since they are generally considered such feminine sports because they are so graceful. Martial arts, though, is like gymnastics with a bang, being graceful yet powerful, controlled yet explosive, and very strong and masculine versus beautiful and gentle.

This camp will be a great opportunity to get us started on martial arts and to get him excited about it, as well as learning a few things along the way. I love finding these "hidden treasure" opportunities in the community.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

Deuteronomy 31:6