Home Education~Ministry Moments~Hearth and Home

Thursday, June 23, 2011

"One Little Boy"

     I was reading The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore yesterday as I waited in the orthodontist's office.  This poem/story really got me...very powerful.  Dedicated to all my fellow home educators and school teachers alike.  May we all be inspired to let our children express their creativity.  May all of us be courageous enough to be ourselves!



One Little Boy

Once a little boy went to school.
He was quite a little boy.
And it was quite a big school.
But when the little boy
Found that he could go to his room
By walking right in from the door outside,
He was happy.
And the school did not seem quite so big
Anymore.
One morning
When the little boy had been in school awhile
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make pictures.
He could make all kinds:
Lions and tigers,
Chickens and cows,
Trains and boats--
And he took out his box of crayons
And began to draw.
But the teacher said: "Wait!
It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
"Now," said the teacher,
"We are going to make flowers."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make flowers.
And he began to make beautiful ones
With his pink and orange and blue crayons.
But the teacher said "Wait!
And I will show you how."
And it was red, with a green stem.
"There," said the teacher,
"Now you may begin."
The little boy looked at his own flower.
He liked his flower better than the teacher's.
But he did not say this.
He just turned his paper over
And made a flower like the teacher's.
It was red, with a green stem.
On another day
When the little boy had opened
The door from the outside all by himself,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make something with clay."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He like clay.
He could make all kinds of things with clay:
Snakes and snowmen,
Elephants and mice,
Cars and trucks--
And he began to pull and pinch
His ball of clay.
But the teacher said: "Wait!
It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
"Now" said the teacher.
"We are going to make a dish."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make dishes.
and he began to make some
That were all shapes and sizes.
But the teacher said "Wait!
and I will show you how."
And she showed everyone how to make
One deep dish.
"There," said the teacher.
"Now you may begin."
the little boy looked at the teacher's dish.
Then he looked at his own.
He liked his dishes better than the teacher's.
But he did not say this.
He just rolled his clay into a big ball again.
And made a dish like the teacher's.
It was a deep dish.
And pretty soon
The little boy learned to wait,
And to watch,
And to make things just like the teacher.
And pretty soon he didn't make things
Of his own anymore.
Then it happened
That the little boy and his family
Moved to another house
In another city,
And the little boy
Had to go to another school. This school was even bigger
Than the other one,
And there was not a door from the outside
Into his room.
He had to go up some big steps
And walk down a long hall
To get to his room.
And the very first day
He was there,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good! thought the little boy,
And he waited for the teacher
To tell him what to do.
But the teacher didn't say anything.
She just walked around the room.
When she came to the little boy,
She said, "Don't you want to make a picture?"
"Yes," said the little boy.
"What are we going to make?"
"I don't know until you make it," the teacher said.
"How shall I make it?" asked the little boy.
"Why, any way you like," said the teacher.
"And any color?" asked the little boy.
"Any color," said the teacher.
"If everyone made the same picture,
And used the same colors,
How would I know who made what,
And which was which?"
"I don't know," said the little boy.
And he began to make a red flower,
With a green stem.

---Helen E. Buckley

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Teen Creed

   
 My oldest son turned 13 recently.  He received a birthday card from my parents.  Inside of it they placed a small card with a picture of Jesus.  On the other side was a poem entitled, "TEEN CREED".  My mom had kept it all these years since I was a "teenager".  I couldn't believe it...and was so touched that she has passed it on to my oldest son. 


TEEN CREED
Don't let your parents down,
They brought you up.

Be humble enough to obey,
You may give orders someday.

Choose companions with care,
You become what they are.

Guard your thoughts,
What you think, you are.

Choose only a date
Who would make a good mate.

Be master of your habits,
or they will master you.

Don't be a show off when you drive,
Drive with safety and arrive.

Don't let the crowd pressure you,
Stand for something or you'll
fall for anything.


Happy Birthday, Brayden!! 

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Should We See This Movie?

     Several years back when my husband was a youth minister, he discovered a great resource:
www.pluggedin.com .  This is a website by Focus on the Family (Who I trust implicitly, and who taught my parents how to raise me! hehe!)  This website is "Shining a Light on the World of Popular Entertainmnet".  It reviews music, movies, video games, etc.  It does a great job of not holding back on everything you would want to know, (i.e. types of cuss words, scantily dressed women, spiritual elements, etc.) but at the same time gives the positive elements. 
     Our family usually only goes to the movies twice a year or so, but when we want to see a movie we might have a doubt about, we check this website first.  It is just so crazy expensive to go to the movies, and not really much worth watching to be honest.  I also really prefer my own couch and blanket to those movie theater seats and sticky floors. 
     We always take our boys to the big event (for us) movies, like "Narnia".  (We are counting down until "The Hobbit" is released.)  If any movie is based on a book, they must read the book first.  That makes going to the movies even more special.  We always have interesting  conversations with our sons after the movie about the differences between the two.  I think that's where information that you find @ pluggedin comes in handy.  It gives you good fodder to talk with your child before or after the movie.  It can lead to great spiritual conversations.  (Like, for example the Eastern Mysticism you will see in Kung Fu Panda 2.  Po in the end spins into a Yin/Yang symbol.  You could talk to your kids about the meaning of this oh-so-popular symbol, and how is is false and contradicts the Word of God.)
     Enjoy your summer!  And if you have the chance to see a movie this year, you might want to check out pluggedin. 

Letha