My precious boy

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

Mark 10:14

Carousel at the Mall

On Sunday we went to the mall and rode on the carousel. Hunter was somewhat timid at first because of the riding motion but got used to it quickly and really loved all the paintings on the ceiling, which was decorate with pictures of some of our national memorials including Mount Rushmore, the Washington Monument, and the White House.

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

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

Job 39:19

Snow

So far this winter we have been blessed with a lot of snow. Blessed, yes, I think so, because for me, the beauty and fun of snow makes the long, dead cold more bearable. But for Hunter, snow is just fun.

Hunter has never gotten to play in the snow much until this winter. Last winter, he was only one and a half and our total ventures out into the snow came up to a total of one. But this year, he is enthralled by it.

We got the opportunity to play and learn in the snow today. The last time we played outside the snow was perfect packing snow and we built a snowman. But today the snow was very light, so light in fact that the trampoline (which was under a foot of snow) didn't even droop (with packing snow it droops with only two inches on it).

We talked about how light it was and compared it to the snow we played with before.

"The packing snow we made a snowman out of is more dense than this light, fluffy snow. It's light and fluffy because the molecules are further apart [spread hands apart] and with packing snow, the molecules are closer together [bring hands together]. Molecules are all the little bitty pieces that make up the snow." [smiles and continues playing (don't worry, next time it snows he will repeat every word of what I just said)]

"Look, it doesn't stick together very good when you pack it, does it?" [shakes head and smiles]

All together we enjoyed about a half hour of snow play before it was time to go inside. We didn't do much talking, but I just loved watching Hunter play with the snow. He was experimenting with everything from molding it to throwing it to rolling in it, kicking it, even eating it. I'm so thankful that I get to share these moments with him, even if it just means watching. And I am also thankful that he gets to have these moments, which could never happen in an overcrowded, overstimulating day care environment (that is, if they let the kids play outside at all during the winter).

These priceless moments of learning will never come again. The winter will soon be over, and this is his last ever winter as a two-year-old. Yes, there will be more days. More winters. More times of learning. But once it is over, you can never regain your days. I encourage parents to recapture parenting, to be their with their children and help them learn about their world. It is an honorable thing to do, and the chance will never come again. Be blessed.

"For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength."

Job 37:6

St. Valentine's Day

So yesterday was Valentine's Day and I thought about helping the kids make something memorable to put in the scrapbook to commemorate this holiday.

As a child I always watched a video around this time of year about St. Valentine, who, according to the video, was imprisoned for marrying soldiers against Emperor Claudius' law (who thought single men made better soldiers). While in prison he healed the prison guard's blind daughter and eventually gave up his life to save his Christian brothers and sisters.

When I did some more research I was disappointed to discover many conflicting reports. It seems that the true story has been lost in a history of pagan traditions involving flowers, candy, and romance. But we enjoyed a brief discussion about the history. We didn't get any books from the library, since they all focused on first grade crushes and the joys of candy, not really anything worth celebrating.

We made hearts though, and Hunter did an excellent job cutting out the shape I traced for him in construction paper. Celebrating the story of a Christian man of great love, rather than the typical cupids and candy, was a fun way to commemorate the day.

"Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman"

Exodus 35:35

You Know Your Letters?

Hunter never ceases to amaze me. It seems he is constantly blowing me away with little pieces here and there demonstrating just a small bit of how much he really pays attention, how much he really remembers, and how much he really understands.

The other day we were looking at a book from the library, an "I Spy" ABC board book.

I have been casually teaching him letters here and there for a while, but not very consistently and I've never tested him before.

But today when we were reading the book, playing the I Spy game, I discovered that he knew ALL of his capital letters! Each page I would say, "Can you find the 'C'?" and he knew it right away!

It was such a wonderful discovery: we give little kids far too little credit sometimes in their learning abilities.

"And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Deuteronomy 11:19

Is it a Spider, Mommy?

"Is it a spider, Mommy?"

Hunter saw me pull out an empty jar from the cabinet and asked me that question. Bewildered at first where that came from, I suddenly remembered that the wolf spider we captured last summer was given a home in that same type of empty spaghetti sauce jar.

That was over six months ago. I was once again amazed at his ability to recall events from so long ago. He was only 29 months then, and I thought he didn't really care too much about the spider and wasn't paying very much attention. Apparently he was.

“The memory should be specially taxed in youth, since it is then that it is strongest and most tenacious. But in choosing the things that should be committed to memory the utmost care and forethought must be exercised; as lessons well learnt in youth are never forgotten.” -Arthur Schopenhauer

"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee."

Deuteronomy 32:7


Date: February 6, 2008

My Imagination

"They're singing, Mommy. They're at church."

I love watching Hunter play imaginatively. I love the little worlds he creates with his toys, the dramas he acts out and the stories he tells. He's so creative, so spontaneous, so unhindered. His "imagination station" certainly is working in full fledge.

"for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts"

1 Chronicles 28:9


Date: February 12, 2008

It's a Trapezoid, Mommy!

"It's a trapezoid, Mommy!" Hunter said holding up his cracker. He was actually eating triangle-shaped crackers, so at first I assumed he was wrong. But as I turned around to look, lo and behold, it was indeed a trapezoid as the top had been bitten off and the new shape was a four-sided form.

I had forgotten that he knew those shapes. A while ago I made him some cards with various shapes on them and showed them to him, but I never tested him so I didn't really know if he learned them. Guess he did.

When I made the cards, at age 2 1/2 Hunter didn't know any more shapes than a circle, square and triangle. Most children's books about shapes only have a few shapes and the list is rarely complete. So I decided to make my own.

Some people loath flashcards as if they're child abuse, but it is putting no more "pressure" on them than reading a book would. He loves the flashcards I make him because I show them very quickly (less than a second per card) and he simply gets the pure, straight-forward information in a fun and easy way without long, silly lessons or slow, boring drills.

Knowing the names of a variety of shapes makes him notice details in things, as in the case with this cracker today. As I've pointed out so many times before, useful encyclopedic knowledge is not just "trivia", but is indeed a springboard to a great big world of new learning. Being able to recognize and name a variety of shapes extends far more than just pointing out which card is which in a set of a dozen flashcards, but opens the doors to lots more learning all around.

"Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see."

Isaiah 42:18

I also have some cards of regular polygons. I never tested him on these before but I see now that he has learned them just as quickly and just as easily as he learned circle and square, being able to instantly see the difference between an ennegon and a decagon.

It's a great big world full of wonderful things to learn about. Shapes is a splendid thing worth teaching your child.

"And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks."

1 Kings 7:5

Little Things

Hunter has had a recent obsession with small objects in large quantities: marbles, keys... right now it's beads.

He loves getting the beads out and spreading them on the table, sifting his hand through the container, sorting them, and carrying on conversations with them.

I'm sure there are a million little connections being formed in his brain as he creatively explores and plays with these things. One could not honestly evaluate all that he is learning in these little play sessions, as he uses his imagination, sorts and classifies while noticing detail, develops fine motor skills, and explores with his senses, just to name a very few.

Sometimes I just sit back and watch him, not sure how I could get involved in his play in any sort of helpful or meaningful way. He is just so enthralled and focused on his task. I've really come to notice that to little kids, "playing" is not just some outlet of leisure and entertainment but is a purpose-driven way to learn about their world. He chooses things to play with that are interesting and, as we would call it, "educational".

"and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:" Matthew 25:32

A Time to Observe

"Letters!" Hunter joyfully exclaims before he has even put both of his feet into the bathtub water.

I get down his bag of alphabet letters and dump the foam pieces into the water. Hunter immediately begins sifting through the pile and carefully sticking them one by one to the wall.

I join in with him, handing him a letter and narrating, "Here's a D!" He carefully places it on the wall, for some reason, one in each tile. I kept handing them to him while I taught him the names, then when he had completed his row, he abruptly dropped to his stomach and began playing with his boat. Teaching session over.

I sat back and smiled as I watched him now stacking some letters inside the tight fit of the boat's interior. He fit about five of them, closed the lid, and began I dialog with the rubber penguin.

He may not be learning the letter names right now, but he was learning nonetheless. Experimenting and exploring his world: I could see the gears turning as I watched his eyes while he performed his meticulous self-imposed tasks of stacking, sorting, and imagining. And I realized, sometimes the best learning happens even when I'm just watching silently.

Now, I'm not a fan of the popular ideology that children grow ideally and learn best when they're in essence divorced from the influence of their parents. The main name coming to mind is Maria Montessori, in whose classroom children worked by themselves most of the day and had not "teachers" but "directresses".

I believe that parents and children are a wonderful combination. I think that children believe that way too.

But I also know that with children there is a time to guide and a time to be guided. There's a time to sow the seeds and a time to watch the blossoms. There's a time to teach and a time to observe.

Most of the time - most of life - is a time for teaching, for a two-year-old at least, who is constantly asking questions, sparking discussions, experimenting - constantly learning. Parents can and should feed their passionate desire for knowledge.

But there are those times, like last night, when the wise parent simply observes and allows the learning to take place all on his own. And when you always stop BEFORE your child wants to stop, this kind of learning happens often.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: ...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted... a time to keep silence, and a time to speak"

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2, 7

Toddler Time

Today was "wear your favorite color" day at Toddler Time. When I asked Hunter what his favorite color was, he thought for a moment and then proudly stated, "blue!"

When I asked him a little later to reconfirm his response (not a good idea) he decided that his favorite color was now yellow, not blue, and he wanted to wear yellow.

Unfortunately, he had just wore his last clean yellow shirt yesterday, so we were out of options in that category. Attempting to coax him into his previous choice, he kept telling me, "No, yellow is my favorite."

We eventually came to the conclusion that blue was monkey's favorite color, so he would wear his favorite instead. Sounds good to me. So he wore a blue shirt [two, actually], blue jeans, and navy blue All Stars. Even though his favorite is really yellow.

And on we went into the library discussion of colors... color books, color games, a video about colors. And finally, a color craft: the rainbow arch, which required more assistance from Mommy than creation from Hunter. But it's cute, right? And that's what they're for, after all.

"I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires." Isaiah 54:11

Observing the Science of Beans

Today Nana was making beans and invited Hunter to observe their pre-cooked state. She set out two uncooked beans and told Hunter that when they were done soaking, we would compare the soaked beans with the original.

A few hours later, after Nana had left, we rinsed off the soaked beans and took a couple out.

"Look how the uncooked beans are hard and tiny, but the soaked ones are soft and bigger. The beans absorbed, or soaked up, some water and it makes them grow and become softer. Isn't that neat?"

We put the beans back into a pot of water and put them on the stove. "Now we're going to cook the beans and they are going to absorb even more water. When they're done cooking, we'll see how much bigger and softer they get."

Pretty simple little experiment, no fancy lesson plans, worksheets, or equipment required. I didn't have to go to the library and get books about absorbency, or about beans, or print out coloring pages about it. I didn't buy or make the beans especially to demonstrate this little science lesson. In fact, the whole conversation took ten seconds. And that's what I love about this "school of life", this teaching Hunter about his world "precept upon precept... here a little, and there a little." He loves it when I answer all the "why's" about anything and everything there is to learn about.

Sometimes I think little kids get lost in all the lessons and drawn-out explanations we give them when all they want is the straight facts. When they get bored of us, we decide that they don't like to learn, when in reality they just don't like our teaching methods.

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

Isaiah 28:9-10

A Two-Year-Old's Thoughts About God

"We need to make more snow" Hunter says as he observes the devastation of the last two days of mid-40-degree weather.

"God made the snow, Hunter. We should ask him to make some more."

Promptly, Hunter sticks his head out the window, tilts it towards the sky and shouts "GOD! God! God?" Pause.

"What did he say?" I ask inquisitively.

His answer caught me by surprise, as he turned to me and with a smile whispered, "I love you."

"I love you"? I had thought we were asking him to make more snow. But his unexpected reply surprised me because, I had never sat down and taught him the classic preschool lesson, "God loves me" nor had he heard it from Sunday School (he doesn't go).

This is not to say that he has never been exposed to someone talking about the love of God. Our bedtime prayers routinely involve the remark, "Thank you that you love us and take care of us..." His [favorite] book about Daniel ends with the words, "And the God who cares for Daniel will surely care for you." [Yes, I have it memorized]

But never can I remember sitting him down and explaining to him that God loves him. Perhaps I should be embarrassed, but perhaps not. He came up with his reply based on two and a half years of observations and conversations of who and what God is. And I do believe that such lessons are the most lasting. After all, when it comes to views about God especially, more is caught than taught.

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.”

1 John 4:16

Fog

"Look at the how the air is white over there, Hunter. That's fog. When the air is warm and the ground is cold, it makes fog. It looks like a cloud, doesn't it? We can make fog on these cold car windows: watch, just blow your warm breath onto it and watch what happens..."

Hunter was enthralled at the science of fog. It was thick enough that you couldn't even see two hundred feet down the road. Pretty cool, especially to a two-year-old.

And learning the "why" of the reason there was a cloud on the ground was awfully exciting to little mister scientist. "God made the fog. Isn't fog neat?" It is a pretty amazing world to learn about.

"The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew."

Proverbs 3:19-20

Becoming Familiar with the Written Word.

A few days ago I got the idea to label Hunter's dresser drawers with words so that he can become familiar with the written word and know which drawer has which item of clothing when I tell him to get dressed, since at this point he seems to always go to the wrong drawer.

I didn't label them with pictures because I think we give little kids far too little credit when it comes to their intellectual abilities, and creating an environment of literacy is a logical step to help them learn about the written language in many ways.

I made the print big, about 3/4 inch font size, and laminated them with packing tape which doubled as an adhesive.

"Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." Habakkuk 2:2

I made the font so big to that he has no trouble seeing it and can decipher the words at a glance without any extra effort. Just like the example in Habakkuk, where the prophet was commanded to write the vision big enough that a jogger passing by could read it easily. When we label things with very small print it does not encourage reading because of the extra effort it takes.

When I started to make the labels for his dresser I thought, why not make labels for other things in his room to multiply the benefits? So right now there are about seventy five labels in his room alone, everything from "door", "garbage can", and "shelf" to "window", "outlet", and "tissue". I labeled everything that was label-able, meaning the labels would stick to it. Some things I just labeled where they go, like I put "shoes" on the wall by his shoe basket and "guitar" under the piano where his guitar goes. I made everything in lowercase letters because that is how they appear in books.

I think that labeling object around the house (with big font) is a great way for parents to encourage literacy and to help their child become familiar with the written word, giving them a boost in later learning when they learn how to read books, signs, and everything else there is to read in this big, interesting world.

"And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates" Deuteronomy 11:20

Amazing Memory

Hunter often shocks me with the things he remembers. At such a young age it seems like he doesn't have a very good memory and is incapable of recalling things that happened days or weeks before.

But today I observed Hunter playing with a chess game, saying "Go Matthew! Go Matthew!" as he had put one of the little pawns on top of a small piece of plumbers line and was lining the rest of the chess pieces up to watch.

This particular scenario came from our visit with the Jackson's, nearly three weeks ago, as Matthew, the sixteen-year-old, had climbed up to the top of a rather high stand-alone telephone poll and most of the family came out to cheer him on and, for some of us, take pictures.

Other scenarios such as these have left me amazed at how much he really pays attention, and how functional his memory really is. Some of the more recent cases have been his memory of several months when he surprised me with a comment, "We buy a present for Gracie" last December as we passed the Dollar General store on Lincoln Way. We had bought a gift for Grace's birthday last September, and in December Hunter remembered the store and what we did there, even though we hadn't been there or talked about it since.

The other thing that shocked me was how well Hunter remembered the Jackson's. We only spent about a day and a half visiting them last October, but when we returned in January he felt straight at home, remembering where all the toys were and being best buddies with Rachel and Caleb again.

I am learning more and more to respect little children for their capacity to learn, for they understand far more than we tend to give them credit for.

"That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God."

Numbers 15:40

My First Snowman

With some help, Hunter got to build his first snowman today.

His hat of choice was the bright red fireman hat, carefully selected from the dress-up box. He got a raisin mouth and eyes and the classic carrot nose. With six inches of packing snow, it was the perfect day for this traditional creation.

He liked rolling the balls to make them bigger, but we had some trouble stacking each piece on top of each other since they kept breaking. But finally, we got down to the finishing touches, with carrot carefully pressed by Hunter and arms delicately added.

And then came time for pictures, of course. Which Hunter amazingly cooperated for. And since it is probably going to rain tomorrow, this 2.5 foot creation probably won't last too long. But it was fun while it lasted.

"Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?"

Job 38:28-29

Feeling the Weather

"This is what packing snow feels like, Hunter. Come see!"

Hunter thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the weather this morning, first hand.

It had snowed about six or eight inches the night before, so there was a bunch of snow piled up on the window sill. He handled it for a while, then pitched it outside.

This lasted until all the snow from the window sill was gone. He then decided to climb up by the window and just stared at the winter wonderland for a long time.

Sure, it was a little cold outside. And yes, it took up some time. But we got to talk about where snow comes from, and how this crunchy packing snow was different from the powdery stuff we got last week. And of course, he simply got to experience the weather: touching snow without his mittens on, smelling the air without his scarf on, and just soaking it all in: the things mundane to adults but exciting, interesting, and captivating to little children.

"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?"

Job 38:22

Running Again

Yesterday we started our running program again. It was over 20 degrees (barely) and not too windy, so the criteria was met in order for us to be able to go for a run.

We've been running at the track a block down the street since September. Well, not really. We started in September, but have only gone a half dozen times since then, and not at all yet this year. But we're starting again. Finally.

I got the idea from a book by Glenn Doman, all about physical excellence in little kids.

The idea is that, little kids think running is a means of transportation, and we adults spend most of our time chasing them down trying to convince them it isn't so. But rather why not encourage and facilitate it so that their natural drive to run can be turned into something fun, healthy, and in general a lifelong benefit to them by giving them the opportunity to develop this ability?

So we've been going for our runs. Of course, that would be HIS running, which at this point translates into a brisk walk for me. And right now we walk half the time. But the track is 3/4 mile, and our goal is to be able to jog straight through around the whole thing by the end of April. We'll see. I just follow his lead, and encourage him, and goof around with him, and have an awful lot of fun in the meantime. Maybe we'll be doing the whole thing by the end of April, maybe we won't. Right now we're just having a lot of fun and racing between trees or benches, then walking, then racing again.

And he loves it, and is getting exercise, and developing a lifelong love of physical activity. And what better way could we invest our time in than that?

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."

Proverbs 18:10