Thoughts on Memorial Day

Do you have a Memorial Day tradition? Should you? What is it all about?

We are not just launching summer fun; we are celebrating something deep and foundational. We are being asked to have a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day to remember those who have given their lives to protect our freedoms.

Silence is not enough. Our children cannot benefit from our silence. When you gather to eat, perhaps your celebration could include these short ideas as part of the blessing of the meal. Here are some thoughts that include the history of Memorial Day as well as the Gettysburg Address (only 276 words). We believe that our gatherings can be enriched by our efforts.

MEMORIAL DAY
The roots of Memorial Day go back to the Civil War. Over 600,000 soldiers died in that conflict affecting every town, village, and family in the United States. After the war ended, almost everyone would travel and decorate the graves of those who had given their lives. “Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and was first observed on 30 May 1868.” (http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html)

To date, including all the wars our country has fought, over 1.2 million Americans have died in defense of the freedoms that we enjoy.

The Gettysburg Address delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 was to commemorate those who died on that particular battlefield. Although it was written a few years before Memorial Day was established, it expresses best what Memorial Day represents.

THE
GETTYSBURG
ADDRESS

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth
 on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and
 dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

  Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
 whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so
 dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-
field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of
 that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave
 their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether
 fitting and proper that we should do this.

  But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate…we cannot
 consecrate…we cannot hallow…this ground. The brave men,
 living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it
 far above our poor power to add or detract. The world
 will little note nor long remember what we say here, but
 it can never forget what they did here.

 

It is for us, the  living, rather, 

to be dedicated here to the unfinished
 work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly
 advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the
 great task remaining before us…that from these honored
 dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
 they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here
 highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;
 that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of
 freedom; and that government of the people, by the people,
 for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

November 19, 1863

Summer Tips: Scheduling, Part 2

Last week we challenged you to take some time and create a daily schedule for your family this summer. We hope that you did that.

This week we will give you a sample of our summer days with our kids. The benefits of directing and leading your children far outweigh the abstract idea of just "hanging out." Keep in mind that God worked six days and rested on the seventh. 1:7 is a good ratio for free time.

Here is a sample schedule followed by some comments.

7:00 arise—morning responsibilities (wash face, make bed, personal Bible time)

7:30 breakfast and clean up

8:15 Bible study (together, usually a Bible story)

8:45 outdoor play (not structured)

9:45 math and reading and writing skills review (practice workbooks are available in many stores)

10:45 snack

11:00 household jobs or yardwork (time varies)

11:45 recreation / a game together or something else fun

12:15 lunch and clean up

12:45 individual reading or resting time (time depends on age)

1:15 afternoon activity time (pool, park, slip-and-slide. . .)

4:00 return from pool, showers and all

4:30 music practice, drawing, hobbies, or new skill practice

One child plans and cooks the meal (with help)

Evening:
6:15 Mealtime and conversation about the day

7:15 Clean-up

7:30 family time (games,movie,read aloud,walk. . .)

9:00 Bedtime preparation (pajamas, teeth, 10 verses from Proverbs, a song, a prayer)

1. Don’t be rigid; be flexible. The schedule is to help you, not drive you.

2. Change the schedule as you need to. Some days you just don’t need it.

3. Have fun; enjoy your children. Your lives together last for such a short time. Time passes much too quickly for a mom.

4. Do the same things over and over each day. They like repeating the same kinds of things.

5. If you are a working mom and have a babysitter, it is even more important that you build a schedule into the day. Give it to the babysitter and expect her to follow through.

Areas to keep in mind: [1-12 years]

I determined the GETTING UP TIME, because that put me in control of the day; so even though I may have let them sleep later, it wasn’t random.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

MEALS TOGETHER whenever possible. As the kids get older, you may want to do breakfast and dinner as a family and allow snacking for lunch with paper plates.

JOBS AROUND THE HOUSE and yard

EXERCISE or cardio activity (I had a 20 minute kids’ aerobic DVD that used fast and slow animals to give the kids a workout if we didn’t have a pool day), or slip n slide, or an early morning bike ride

READING AND MATH time (Anyone can buy books at the teachers’ supply store. Choose a grade and do one or two pages a day.

DRAWING--When my kids were growing up there was a 30 minute show where the host showed children how to draw. I also bought a book called “Teaching Children to Draw” We would sit around with paper and different art media and follow the instructions to create masterpieces!

LEARNING A NEW SKILL, craft, or hobby [This takes involvement from you to get them started] This could also include computer skills: power point, designing web applications, keyboarding

Each child had a night where he had to PREPARE THE EVENING MEAL. It involved going through the cookbooks [kids cookbooks are fun and are available through the library], making a shopping list, and doing the preparation [with help if needed]. Lots of fun and variety emerged as each one’s adventurous tastes had an opportunity of expression.

MUSIC PRACTICE

INDIVIDUAL READING-- The video game time was determined by how much reading time one had. It was equal. 30 minutes of reading = 30 minutes of video games

GAME TIME outside, or inside board games

SCHEDULED MOVIE OR TV TIME

FAMILY READ ALOUD TIME

PLANNED TRIPS are great if you can do it every week or every two weeks. Try to take advantage of what is available in the city where you live: hands on science museum, art museums, take tours (We scheduled a family tour in the government building one year—a learning experience for all of us). Just ask.

Kids have their own BIBLE READING, but in the summer I do a study with them. We have studied individual character qualities, friendships, and the tongue. Have each child select a Bible character to study, identify with, and imitate.

Quote: The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

Copyright 2008 ParentWisdomNet

Summer Tips: Make a schedule!

Swimming! The beach! Watermelon!! Ice Cream! …What comes to your mind when you realize that summer is upon us? Do you think about lying on a beautiful white sandy beach while sipping your Mint Iced Tea? Or do you think about the endless summer hours filled with active children without anything to do?

One secret to a successful summer with children is scheduling. Give your children a track to run on; that’s called training. No pun intended.

How does scheduling help?

• scheduling brings an inner order to the day
• scheduling helps your children have a purpose and direction for each day
• scheduling eliminates the “I don’t have anything to do syndrome”
• scheduling helps children appreciate the time that is unstructured
• scheduling is productive

Scheduling is a Time Skeleton. It becomes the framework for your day. Specific activities put flesh and muscles on your skeleton. Planned activities build anticipation in your children. Most children do not plan well by nature; you do it for them and you both will reap benefits.

Scheduling doesn’t have to be rigid, just let it give shape to your days.

How to schedule?

· list all the areas of activity/growth

· organize the activities with certain criteria in mind:
harder things while they have more energy
alternate high energy and quiet activities

· determine the time frame: how long for each activity

· plan activities that will keep to the time frame you established

· post the schedule; if the kids are not yet readers, post the schedule in pictures

· be flexible

· plan some free time

· build in some choices for the kids (consider their ages; the younger they are, fewer choices).

Summertime can be a time for regrouping, for gathering your kids back in to your ways, your thoughts, your philosophies, a time for emphasizing what is important in life, a time of building, of securing the foundations of your family.

This week, take an evening and plan a typical day for your summer. Write it down so that you can look at it. Try it out this week just one day.

Next week we’ll share some things that we did during our summer days with six kids.

Tips: Proverbs says “A man makes his plans and God directs his steps.” Keith likes to ask the opposite: If we don’t make plans, who will direct our steps? The answer may not be what we want.