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

Field Trip to the Pet Store

Today we went on a "field trip" to the pet and hobby store to get some gravel for our terrarium. We rode our bikes and it was a perfect summer day, with a trip to the downtown ice cream shoppe afterwards.

I call it a field trip because I try to make all adventures around town into field trips. It's what I call "Family-Centered Field Trips". Sometimes we go on organized field trips with homeschool groups or family but most of our learning adventures take place doing errands around town and around the area. Errands are one of our favorite events because we plan a little extra time for them and always make each one a learning experience about our neighborhood, community, and world.

The pet store was great because all the cages are labeled so I could identify exactly what animal was in there and point it out to Hunter. Of course in the short thirty minutes we were there I did not get to all the animals but we still thoroughly enjoyed observing the ones I did point out. "Nemo" (Clown fish) and "Dory" (Regal Blue Tang) were favorites of the fish section.

When we went into the mammal and bird section he was really timid about getting near the cages, until one of the parrots said "Hi" to him! He was thrilled, and lost all shyness around the animals. Giggling excitedly, he began carrying on a conversation with the bird asking him about his toys, the rats, and his beak. After that he was interested in the chinchilla, rats, hedgehog, and gerbils without restraint.

It was fun. I'm sure we'll visit again soon, learn more, enjoy more. I just really love these little family-friendly field trips.




"For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them."

Ecclesiastes 9:12

Eating Thistles

"Look Hunter, it's Eeyore's favorite snack!"

And that's what started it.

While we were cleaning the gym today and dumping out the mop water, we noticed that the field behind the building was now bursting with beautiful purple thistles. I first pointed out the liking of these plants of Eeyore (a Winnie the Pooh character) and then recalled a childhood episode of eating these pleasant flowers, as there is a sweet nectar to the little petals.

"Look, Hunter, you can eat these."

I put a little purple petal in my mouth. "Mmm!" And that's how you get a three-year-old to eat a flower.

I never lie to him, never make a game out of trying to trick him, and as a result he trusts me. He eagerly ate a bite without hesitation, even though he's never eating a weed off the side of a building before. "MMM!" he replies. "Tastes like candy!"

Well, I wouldn't exactly call it candy, but I assume he was referring to the sweet taste of the nectar.

I carefully pulled off a few more petals and ate them myself, and before I know it I turn around, and there's Hunter shoving entire flowers - leaves and all - into his mouth, all the while saying, "Mmm... tastes like candy!"

Now, note that you really do have to be cautious with eating wildlife: don't take this advice and head to the woods to eat whatever looks good. Some plants are poisonous or partly poisonous, such as the leaves of raspberries. So make sure you know what you're doing before exploring edible wildlife. But once you do that, it sure is fun to know how many edible things there are in the woods. I don't know anyone who wouldn't take some sort of small rush of confidence in knowing how to identify edible plants in the woods. The idea that, you could win if you were ever to have to battle nature is a reassuring thought, even if you may never have to use it. Then again, it's also just a little rush of fun to pick up a weed off the lawn, pop it in your mouth and say, "Mmm... yummy." Either way, it's a fun learning adventure for a child.



"And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:12

Stringing Beads

Today I got out some wooden beads my mom had in the basement and a big, sturdy string and let Hunter go to town.

I thought that this was something that Hunter would be interested in, and I was right. A lot of times I get puzzles and other sit-down activities out that he just doesn't seem very interested in, but this one held his attention. Especially since the end product was to make a pretty necklace for Mommy! Below you can see me wearing it.

He's developed very consistent sidedness (that is, the organization of the brain that makes it so you are either left- or right-handed, footed, and "eyed"). He is right-handed, for sure, using his right hand in the dominant roll and his left hand to assist, as well as kicking with his right foot. Doman recommends activities such as these to develop the manual dexterity controls of the brain. Some activities that use this function (uses a dominant hand and an assisting hand) are:

• Pouring liquid from a pitcher to a cup (right hand pours, left hand holds cup)
• Picking up objects and placing them in a container (right hand picks up, left hand holds container)
• Cutting with scissors (right hand cuts, left hand holds paper)
• Stringing beads (right hand strings beads, left hand holds string)
• Playing a violin (right hand holds the bow, left hand holds the violin)
  
• And one of the most sophisticated tasks, writing (right hand writes, left hand holds paper)

I'm sure there are a hundred more examples of this brain function, but I think you get the point. Crawling, creeping (crawling on hands and knees), and brachiating (doing monkey bars) really help develop this coordination between brain hemispheres that enables a child to do these things with skill and ease. I am really concentrating on providing him with more opportunities to use his hands on activities such as these, because he often becomes frustrated when he can't draw something like he wants to or can't cut or write something the way he thinks it should be.

Him helping me more in the kitchen is one of the best ways to use his hands in a skilled way, pouring, measuring, sifting, stirring, squishing, cutting, dividing, etc. I'm also going to let him play with a lot of puzzles during J.E.L.I.C time and focus on drawing together more (we haven't done much art lately). Playing with blocks is another thing that is really good that we haven't been doing much. I also really like the cutting strips I made him a long time ago but haven't used. I found this picture (to the right) of Montessori cutting strips that are just different types of lines and designs that can be cut out. Straight lines and triangles are the easiest, circles are the hardest. I made a bunch myself and we're starting with the simplest ones until he becomes more skilled. I'll have them available to download soon. :)

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

Boys and Guns

If the world were full of stable, humane, sensible, and righteous people...


...there would be no need to lock your car, keep your purse close by, teach your kids not to take candy from strangers, or carry a gun. But as we all know, this is not the case. Evil exists in this world. When it comes to parents and the sensitive issue of boys and guns, what is our responsibility to the issue of evil in the world? Should we deny it, simply accept it, or counter it?

To deny it
The heart of liberalism says that it is possible to create a perfect world, if only we will give them control of it. And since our media, education, and big corporations are filled with liberal ideology, we have been told over and over again that boys should not be allowed to play with toy guns, because doing so will interfere with the perfect, weapon-free world they believe they can create. Is little boys running around playing toy swords, bows and arrows, and guns going to create a generation of rapists and murders? Is this long-held pastime of child play the reason why there is so much violence in the world? Hardly.

The nature of little boys
Boys and weapons have long been synonymous. Boys play by fighting, even male animals do so. For little boys everything goes out with a bang. Any parent or bystander has observed this phenomena. Does this mean that boys are inherently evil, and we need to drug them, discipline them, and feminize them until they become perpetual house cats? Our culture believes so. But do you? If playful fighting, aggression, and dominance is an inherent trait in little boys, little lion cubs, and little puppies, could it possibly be there for a reason? Is it possible that God, in all his wisdom, gave little boys a tendency towards fighting for a reason?

Thank God for little boys!
Did we ever stop to think that God gave little boys the tendency to fight for a reason? Is it possible that little boys (and animals) fight, wrestle, and are obsessed with weapons to prepare them for later in life, when they will need those skills?

Thank God that the parents of our founding fathers allowed them to roll-play acts of bravery, courage, and defending the weak and young that they would one day grow up to be brave soldiers countering the evil in the world! Thank God for men of nobility that are willing to lay down their lives in the line of fire fighting for our freedom and safety!

Little boys need to be allowed to be little boys. Again, liberals and parenting "experts" would like to tell you that the only reason boys and girls are the way they are (different!) is because parents have made them that way. If parents, they say, would stop being so sexist, then all the gender differences would magically disappear in just one generation! Then we would have a unisex, non-aggressive, non-oppressive, peaceful and perfect world!

Maybe I'm not the only one for whom this is a little too much to swallow. Any person with half a brain who has been around little boys and girls for a few minutes knows that when you give a little girl a stick she'll turn it into a baby doll or a broom. Give a little boy a stick and he'll turn it into a gun or a sword, whether or not they've been exposed to "violent television" or their parents put "stereotypes" by buying them certain toys or pressuring them to act a certain way. This is absolute nonsense and any parent could tell you the same. The problem is, no one listens to parents.

Boys are aggressive for a reason! And letting a little boy play with a toy pistol is not going to make him a murderer. The last thing we need is more poor excuses for men in this world that know how to run a fax machine and drive a Lexus but couldn't protect their family from a robber or survive a day in the wilderness without a cell phone and clean clothes.

Counter the evil in the world!
Our world needs men of courage, strength, and dignity. Parents should raise their children to counter the evil in the world, not deny it. Taking the guns away from the good guys is not going to make a perfect world, only a lot of endangered people. Aldolf Hitler said that "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing." As a matter of fact, all mass murders have agreed in one thing: gun control works! Just look at the view points of Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, Qaddafi, Castro, Jong-Il, Pot Pol, and others and see how they made mass conquering and murdering easy: taking away the people's ability to protect themselves!

Take guns away from women and make the streets a safer place for rapists. Take guns away from citizens and make the roads a safer place for car-jackers. Take guns away from business owners and make the city a safer place for robbers. Take guns away from families and make the world a safer place for mass murders, conquerors, and oppressors. Evil exists, and so should responsible ownership of the means to protect yourself. Guns save lives and protect people. Don't count on a lucky rabbit's foot to protect you: when the bear attacked, it didn't save the bunny! Let's raise our children to be men of virtue, men of courage, and men of responsibility. If guns kill people, than pens misspell words. One day, that little boy may very well save your life with that gun you taught him how to use. When that happens, thank God for the right to raise our children with courage and dignity!







"Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me."

Psalm 144:1-2