Power of an Hour- A Four Year LDS Based Curriculum

by Donna Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Anchored in the Gospel and Moored to the Classics!

I feel that it is important for all of us could be better versed in the Bible, and in all God's revealed word.  That is why I love that Moor House Academy's programs are anchored to the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ and are moored to the classics, those inspired writings of mankind. This gives me, my family, moms, homeschool children, and other children using Moor House Academy an easy to use resources that help move us through each of the four standard works. This can all happen before seminary age, so that seminary becomes a second witness.

Power of an Hour- A Four Year LDS Based Curriculum

We could have divided history up into seven dispensations- Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Meridian of Time, Fullness of Times, and Millennium. We chose instead to create a four year cycle to dovetail with the four standard works, which moves from past, through the present, and the future.  I feel it is important that families take the time to listen to and discuss conference talks, build a Gospel vocabulary, learn about noble people from church history, and memorize scripture mastery verses, as well. 

Our Leap into the Love of Learning Class incorporates the Power of an Hour into a cottage school setting.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Moor House Gazette

Permalink | Comments (0)

Inspiring Learning and Commonplace Books

by Donna Tuesday, July 10, 2012
In a world saturated with visual images, children and adults can often become spectators, stagnate in their learning, fail to grow and develop. Sometimes they just need to limit some stimuli and replace it with richer, more varied, and valuable stimuli, so they can inspire, grow, and expand their learning. Two ways to inspire learning is through exposure to new ideas and  homeculture. This can be done through home environment and parental example, such as the home and example Gordon B. Hinckley's parents set for him. If parents take the lead in taking notice, developing health curiosity, following through, then sharing it with their children, they will find ourselves inspired, and it can plant the seed of inspiration in their children. Inspiration to learn more can come as parents read aloud great literature, discuss current events, visit museums, attend plays, attend concerts, visit the library, take walks in nature, conversations with interesting dinner guests, and any number of experiences that enlarge our window on life. Through all this, we often have impressions to look something up, experiment, explore, and learn something. If parents do not write it down, the opportunity for learning may pass them up, as then the next impression captures their minds and swallows their interest. 

A Commonplace Book is nothing new, they have been used as a learning tools since at least the 16th Century. A Commonplace Book, is a common or central place to gather quotes, ideas, things one learns, and reactions to those things. I find it is a great place to record those thoughts that inspire us to want to learn more and expand our horizons. A great place to record what is learned when we pursue new ideas. Sharing these impressions and investigations can expand others interests, as well. I like to use plain marbled composition books. They are inexpensive and relatively durable. Their hard covers making writing easier when there is no table or desk near. During back to school time they can usually be found for 50% or more off at Walmart and Target. I like to purchase a case so we can use them to record things we want to study and what we learn when we follow through. They can also be used to annotate books we read, lectures we attend, and even as a simple journal.  Sometimes we leave them plain. Sometimes we glue scrapbook paper to the front and back cover, make a large paper pocket on the inside cover for loose notes, and add tabs to the page edges to separate annotations for different books.

Consider this wonderful learning tool!

Tags: , , , ,

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (1)

Quote of The Day June 8th

by Julia Friday, June 8, 2012

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." - Robert Lee Frost

Tags:

Daily Quotes

Permalink | Comments (0)

Harvard Classics in Fifteen Minutes a Day?

by Donna Wednesday, April 25, 2012
"We live in a world where knowledge is increasing at an ever-accelerating rate. Drink deeply from this ever-springing well of wisdom and human experience. If you should stop now, you will only stunt you intellectual and spiritual growth. Keep everlastingly at it. Read. Read. Read. Read the word of God in sacred books of scripture. Read from the great literature of the ages. Read what is being said in our day and time and will be said in the future.” Gordon B. Hinckley Commencement Address, Brigham Young University 27 April 1995"
I try to read my scriptures daily.  Presently, I am personally reading my way through a paperback copy of the Book of Mormon. I am marking it as if to a friend. When I am finished I will place my testimony in it and send it to my missionary son to give out on his mission. As a family we study the scriptures, as well. I am reading Anne of Green Gables aloud with my thirteen year-old daughter. I recently read Successward: A Young Man's Book for Young Men by Edward Bok, to my seventeen year-old son, it was his great grandfather's book, a family heirloom. Each evening we have an devotional with scripture, quotes, poetry, and stories. So, yes, I am getting some reading in!  Between being a wife, a mother, homeschooling, co-owning two businesses with my daughter, and being ward primary president, I find extra time to read often slips through my fingers. I decided to do something about it. President Hinckley had often mentioned that he had and still read from the Harvard Classics that his father had bought: 
"I have in my home a library set of the Harvard Classics that originally belonged to my father. Though he was not a man of great financial means, he was an educated and thoughtful man who placed high priority on language and learning.  I still refer to this fifty-volume set of books, just as I did more than sixty years ago as a university student. It is a treasury of timeless literature, an encyclopedic presentation of great thoughts of men and women who, in their eras, struggled with serious problems, thought deeply, prayed mightily, and expressed themselves in ways both challenging and beautiful." Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, page 60.

I must admit that I have often wanted to read the Harvard Classics, also known as the Five Foot Bookshelf, ever since I heard him fist mention the series. So, I did some research to find out abour the Harvard Classics. It is a 51 volume set, of which I had already read several of the works in my effort to gain a liberal arts education. I found that the editor of the Harvard Classics is Charles Eliot, and that he had served as President of Harvard for forty years, from 1869 to 1909. He had delivered a speech to working men stating that:

“In my opinion, a five-foot shelf would hold books enough to give a liberal education to any one who would read them with devotion, even if he could spare but fifteen minutes a day for reading.”

That was what I was aiming for-- "a liberal education." Liberal not in the political realm, but liberal as in generous, broad, and deep; liberal as in liberal arts-- the arts designed to help a person be free.

The publisher P. F. Collier and Sons, heard of Eliot's speeches and challenged Eliot, to put together a list of books they called "The Five Foot Bookshelf." When I read the quote suggesting as little as 15 minutes a day I must say I was intrigued. Could this really be true? Is it possible to get this kind of education in as little as 15 minutes a day? I thought that would be just wonderful for momculture, wherein a mom pursues increasing her education. I thought it would be great to have a class of busy moms (and others if they want to join us) moving forward with their education in as little as 15 minutes a day and discussing what they are reading once a week.;After all, the series came highly recommended by a modern prophet of God! This would definitely help with mooring us to the classics.

Before starting a class, I felt I needed to see how it works for me. Though I have read different works contained in the series, I have not read the set before. No, I do not need to read the whole series through before we start. I just need to see if I can develop the habit of setting aside 15 minutes a day for several months of busy life. I do realize that this series is not comprehensive and that there are so many things that have happened in the century since it was first published. Yet, it is a good place to start in getting a "liberal education." Could I, with my busy life, regularly read 15 minutes a day? I want to read just 15 minutes a day for the first 90 days; later I can read more in a day as time allows. So, I began my journey yesterday. I do not yet own the books, but I found them all digitized online-- here and here. Perhaps I will gather my own set, one at a time, as I read each book, kind of a reward for staying on track! Where did I begin? "I started at the very beginning, because that is a "very good place to start." I should be able to finish the first volume in a month.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (0)

What Books to Read Before Finishing High School?

by Donna Thursday, April 12, 2012
I read this query and the thread that followed on TJEdMuse yahoo group.  I thought I would answer it on this blog.
"In a quest to form an  'Master Plan' for my kids' education and experiences before they leave high school, I'm compiling a list of the books I feel they should read before leaving home.  My list is very short though, and I wondered if you had any suggestions for books you were glad you read in middle school,  high school, or even elementary school, or books you want your kids to read while they're in school."

I read all the answers and they all named good books. However, I surprised to not see "central canon" listed. I find it is often taken for granted and is often treated as a classic on par with other classics, especially in colloquia (group discussion); almost as if it is used apologetically. This is a big mistake. Our central canon informs us and helps us discern right from wrong; good from evil; and truth from error. A canon is supposed to be a measuring rod. A canon is the book or books that guide one's character and helps a person determine whether a book is bent, broken, whole or healing.

Being able to speak universally, find common ground, etc. does not have to result in banishing one's canon from discourse. I feel this minimizing one's sacred canon is an ill conceived attempt to appear open minded or diplomatic.  Yet, I never saw Gandhi, Jefferson, Washington, or other greats minimize their canon, or remove it from their writings, or distance themselves from it. I do realize that politically correct speech tends to banish God and belief, but I do not feel we ought to go there. I also feel that it is in a person's central canon that one can gain all the scholar skills that one can apply to other classics. I feel that if this is where Oliver suggests to adults reading his book to begin, then it is where we should help our youth begin their journey.
 
I often hear of moms trying to study and read classics to inspire their children. Yet, I feel that the most important classic our children should see us read, study, and explore is our central classic; they should see us in it everyday. Then have another classic going that we may read to our children. Then finally, reading other classics perhaps in the evening, or during quiet time. When our children just see us read but not study our central classic and they see us study deeply other classics I feel we send a mixed message.

I feel that President Gordon B. Hinckley's remarks that he gave in a Commencement Address at Brigham Young University 27 April 1995, would be helpful:
“We live in a world where knowledge is increasing at an ever-accelerating rate. Drink deeply from this ever-springing well of wisdom and human experience. If you should stop now, you will only stunt you intellectual and spiritual growth. Keep everlastingly at it. Read. Read. Read. Read the word of God in sacred books of scripture. Read from the great literature of the ages. Read what is being said in our day and time and will be said in the future.” Gordon B. Hinckley Commencement Address, Brigham Young University 27 April 1995
In the concluding paragraph of Thomas Jefferson Education: Chapter V: Classics, by Oliver DeMille, he states:
"The place to start is with yourself. Establish a clear canon and spend time in it everyday. Become and expert on it, ponder it, put your life in line with it. Teach it to your family and then others. If you are a teacher, take it into your classroom. If your faith does not include the Bible, use the Declaration or something of equal magnitude.  Then broaden that knowledge to other classics which support your central classic. America is what it is due to its national books, and the choices you make now regarding books will have tremendous impact on what America will be twenty, forty, and even sixty years from now."
Jefferson and his contemporaries studied their central canon in their youth.  When I was a youth I studied and read deeply in the Bible.  I was not a member of any church at the time and I did not attend adult led classes.  Those deep studies deeply guided the direction of my life.  Though I was not reading other classics, I established my central classic.  I watched my own children grow through this phase, they read, explored, studied,  and established their central canon.

So, I feel that the most important book, not just to read, but to study before going out into the world, is one's central canon, and not just once, but many times. Each time it should bring us new insight, and help us become better people. There are many other classics I include in our classes, but they are not of equal value or importance with that central canon. Some of those lists are in our store, and more to come.

Tags:

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (0)

How Do I Use Power of an Hour for a Blended Education?

by Donna Saturday, April 7, 2012
What is "Blended" Education and how can Power of an Hour be used to facilitate a blended education.  A blended education is an education that takes place in mixed learning environments. American schools have moved more and more to fulfill the No Child Left Behind and Common Core goals.  This usually results in teaching to the test, and a narrower education.  This leaves parents looking for ways to enrich their child's learning experience.  Power of an Hour is a way to expand breadth and depth without over burdening the parent with a lot of preparation.

Weaving Power of an Hour into family life:

Scripture study is something we should be doing as a family regardless of where our children learns their academics, be it public, charter, private, or home school.  A Scripture episode or even a verse can be shared at breakfast, or by an added morning ritual before children head out the door.

Adding the bedtime ritual of reading aloud to the family from a classic is and easy and enjoyable family ritual to begin.  

Daily Power of an Hour enrichment can be shared during dinner.  "Guess what I learned today." 

Here are a few Ideas that can add repetitive exposure with no additional time from your day!

Add "Refrigerator Culture."  What?  I take pre-cut picture mattes and add a clear plastic sheet protector on the backside.  This makes a window to slide pictures, Hebrew letters, and poems in. then I glue small round magnets on the four back corners of the matte and then I can stick it up on the fridge.  Then every time someone would open the fridge, that picture would be there at eye level to teach them.

Add "Dining Table Geography."  We bought a large world and a large United States map.  I placed them on the table while I looked for wall space.  There was nowhere to hang it. Looking at the table I realized I could cover the map with a clear vinyl yardage from the fabric store.  If I need to put out the china, I can cover it with a table cloth.  However, when we have attempted to do so, gusts have requested to leave the map visible. The map then becomes very convenient to look things up as we speak of current events, history, and where places mentioned in literature or the scriptures are. Some people read cereal boxes, my family reads the map!

Tags: ,

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (0)

How Do You Use Power of an Hour for Homeschooling?

by Donna Thursday, April 5, 2012

 

Power of an Hour (POAH) is great for Home Educators who want to boost their cultural literacy, expand their breadth and depth of learning, and those who need to show a portfolio of work at the end of the school year. This is a simple system, it all adds up! This also saves the parent hundreds of hours compiling lists of people, art works, music, other resources and links for further study. POAH has a yearly theme based on a cycle or era of time:

  • Ancient (4000 BC- 1 AD)
  • Medieval (1 AD- 1500 AD)
  • Renaissance (1500 AD- 1800 AD)
  • Modern (1800 AD - the present).

This makes it easy to select scripture, literature, artists, musicians, mathematicians/ scientists, statesmen, and poets throughout history to learn about.

Power of an hour has three elements:

  • A scripture episode.
  • A read aloud from a classic.
  • A daily enrichment.

This is simple and flexible enough to use from child to adult age, and simple, but can be expanded and taken as deep as one wants to go. This can be a supplement to what you are already doing or it can become a whole curriculum map. So, what is included and how is it used?

For Young Children in Core Phase (about 4-6) and those wanting something simple to expand what they are already doing. We call these Family Scholars because much of their learning takes place as a family.

If children are mid core phase this can be really simple. Read the scripture story from the scriptures, let them become used to the language. Then read a few pages and up to a chapter from a classic. The enrichment can be as simple as sharing at the dinner table, "Guess what I learned today..." Children this age can also learn by what they hear taught to the older children. Think of how well "Little Sister" in Laddie:A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton Porter, gained most of her knowledge before going off to school. She listened as her older brothers and sisters learned. Mrs. Stanton, the mother in the story was not formally educated and learned right along with her children!

We created portfolio for core phase called the Family Scholar Portfolio. This is designed to track where these young family learners have been on their educational journey of discovery and the development of the discipline of habit. This is not a planner, though it can may have a few planning pages, this is more a portfolio. The Family Scholar Portfolio leads into the Aspiring Scholar Portfolio and helps prepare them for the Personal Scholar Portfolio when the become a young scholar.Adult Scholars use the Personal Scholar Portfolio too.

Older Children in Transition to Love of Learning (about 6-8) If children are approaching transition into love of learning you can actually just share the ideas and do the activities suggested. This would include reading the scriptures and a classic aloud each day. For a fuller curriculum begin keeping a Family Scholar Notebook, Book of Centuries, Book of Nations, Nature Notebook and:

Sunday- Read and discuss the general conference talk and learn about a person from church history. A great day for family councils and personal interviews too!

Monday- Learn about an artist (the first week) and study one of his works each week. Miniature biography, links and art work are provided. Do a Charlotte Mason style picture study where you show your children the picture for a few minutes. Turn the picture towards you and have them describe the picture they remember. This helps build memory, descriptive capability, and is a pre-composition activity. Then teach them the spelling rule; they are short and take only a minute or two!

Tuesday-- Learn of a famous musician the first week. Study one of his works each week. Miniature biography, picture, links to musical work are provided. Listen to a musical piece by this composer (links provided). Let the children dance or move to the music. Teach them the grammar rule it only takes a few minutes.

Wednesday- Learn about a famous mathematician or scientist each week. Do a living math or living science activity each week. Miniature biography, pictures, and links to activities provided.

Thursday- Learn about a statesman each week. Learn about a nation of the world each week. Learn a Hebrew letter, word or phrase each week (second year is Greek, third year is Latin Roots, fourth year is a modern language). Miniature biography, links to statesman, nation info, and Hebrew letter (including audio link) are provided.

Friday- Learn about a poet the first week. Study one of his poems each week. Learn about a state each week. Miniature biography, links for poet, state and poem are provided.

Saturday- Scripture episode and classic.

Children in Love of Learning Phase (about 8-12) Power of an Hour Plus... Families can do all of the above and more, using the Power of an Hour as a springboard for broader and deeper study. A child should have the three reads each day- be read to, read aloud, and read to ones self. Scripture study can usually satisfy this. Add in a daily walk. We created an Aspiring Scholar Portfolio for children in the love of learning phase. As children are ready, they can begin to develop their writing through: year one- Journaling and Correspondence by keeping their own personal journal and letter writing; year two is Biography through writing personal history; year three is Research through family history; year four is digital Publishing through blogging.  Aspiring Scholars also keep their own Book of Centuries, keep their own Book of Nations, keep their own Commonplace book (for copywork) of quotes from what they and their families are reading; and they keep an Aspiring Scholar Portfolio. The parent can share the extra links provided, or go to the library on Friday to pick up books on the subjects covered the next week. In addition the child can:

Sunday- work on Gospel in Action, writing letters, memorizing scripture, and more. Also, this is a good night for family counsel, personal interviews, and a family recital of poems memorized, music learned, or anything else they want to share.

Monday- add the artist and the art work studied to their Book of Centuries. They might also want to work on learning to draw or keep a nature notebook. Look for the spelling rule expressed in the scripture or classic.

Tuesday- add the musician and thoughts about his music to their Book of Centuries. They may want to choose to learn to read music or learn to sing or play an instrument. Also, they can look for an example of the grammar rule in the readings of the day.

Wednesday- add the mathematician or scientist to their Book of Centuries. They may also want to experiment further with the living math or living science activity.

Thursday- add the statesman to their Book of Centuries. They may also want to practice writing the Hebrew, create a map of the country studied, learn more about the nation, and add the nation to the Book of Nations.

Friday- add the poet to their Book of Centuries. They may also want to memorize the poem, create a map of the state studied, learn more about the state, and add the state to the Book of Nations.

Saturday- Family activity or service project. One can just keep it simple or one can move this to a full curriculum. Notice, this is not about the parent taking hours to prepare, the preparation has is done. This is based on the idea of exposure, experiment, and embrace. What the child researches and records for themselves they are more likely to recall than when the parent doing all the preparation and the child just receiving it.

The Power of an Hour is $2.99 a week or save by purchasing it by the month at $9.99. The next post will be on using the Power of an Hour as a blended approach, along side going to a public or private school.

Power of an Hour http://store.moorhouseacademy.org/p/2/the-power-of-an-hour-old-testamentancient-times

Portfolios and Binder Packets http://store.moorhouseacademy.org/c/15/binders

  • Family Scholar Portfolio- $9.99 
  • Aspiring Scholar Portfolio- $9.99
  • Personal Scholar Portfolio- $9.99
  • Book of Centuries- $6.99 
  • Book of Nations- $6.99

Tags: ,

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (0)

What Can One Explore in One Hour, in a Single Day? A week? A month? Nine Months? Four Years?

by Donna Tuesday, April 3, 2012
What can educationally be experienced in a single hour a day, added up week to week, for nine months a year, for four years? More than one can imagine...

It is said that one can count the seeds in an apple, but one cannot count the apples in a seed.  Just as the seeds of an apple when planted can produce more apples than one can imagine, the Power of an Hour is bite sized learning that can really add up over time!

What can one explore in one hour, in a single day? A week? A month? Nine Months? Four Years? Let's take a look...

What can a child be exposed to in a single day?

* A scripture episode.
* A read aloud from a classic.
* Enrichment through the Power of an Hour, thus adding cultural breadth to ones educational experience.

What can a child be exposed to over a week's time, in an hour a day?
* Art (Artists, History, and Works)
* Music (Musicians, History, and Works)
* Language Arts (Spelling and  Grammar)
* Math/Science (Mathematicians/Scientists, History, Concepts and Activities)
* Statesmen
* Political Geography (World and US)
* Introduced to Hebrew (or Beginning Greek, Latin, or a modern language)
* Poetry (Poets, History, and Poetry)
* Conference Spotlight
* Scripture Mastery
* Noble Person from Church History.

What can a child be exposed to and explore over one school year's time?
* 180+ Scripture Episodes
* 36 Conference Spotlights
* 36 Noble Men and Women from Church History
* 25 Scripture Mastery verses and 11 other scriptures
* 9 artists and art appreciation of 36 works of art.
* 36 Spelling Rules
* 9 musicians and music appreciation 36 musical works
* 36 Grammar Rules
* 18 Mathematicians and 18 living math activities
* 18 Scientist and 18 living science activities
* 36 Statesmen
* 36 Countries (plus a 14 week summer geography supplement to round out 50 weeks)
* The Hebrew alphabet, numbers and words(or in years two through four- Greek alphabet and roots, Latin roots, or introduction to a modern language)
* 9 poets and 36 poems
* 36 of the 50 States (plus a 14 week summer geography supplement to round out 50 weeks)
This really adds up!

In four years, one can be exposed to people, places, languages, and ideas within four grand cycles of history-- a systematic integration of spiritual and secular learning activities covering:

* Cycle I– Old Testament, Book of Moses, and Book of Abraham/ Ancient Times: Pre-Mortal Existence to 1 AD/ Introduction to Beginning Hebrew. Available Now!  

* Cycle II– New Testament/ Birth of Christianity, the Apostasy, and Medieval Times: 1 AD to 1500 AD/ Introduction to Beginning Greek and Greek Roots.  Available by Summer 2013!  

* Cycle III– Book of Mormon/ Age of Exploration , Migrations, the Foundations of Liberty, and the Restoration: 1500 to 1820/ Introduction to Latin Roots.  

* Cycle IV– Doctrine and Covenants and Joseph Smith History/ The Fullness of Times: 1820 to the present/ Melting Pot Approach to Foreign Language.

This can all be accomplished in about an hour a day through three simple steps listed above, ie.: scripture study, read aloud from a classic, and Power of an Hour Enrichment! And if you want to explore even further, great! We even include links within the Power of an Hour packet for those who want to explore further, or one can take the Power of an Hour packet to the library and use it as a road map to further self directed study.

Power of an Hour can free up time for mom to be with her children rather on the internet and at the library preparing lessons. In future posts I will explore three areas where Power of an Hour is typically used:
* Homeschooling- as core curriculum, or as a supplement.
* Blended Education-supplemental enrichment for kids in public school.
* Momculture- a way for mom to broaden her own education.
Power of an Hour Cycle I: Old Testament and Ancient Times (click and scroll down to see the different monthly and weekly bundles). Power of an Hour is available for $2.99 a week, or $9.99 for a four week bundle.

Tags: ,

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (0)

Teaching the Gospel in the Home

by Donna Friday, March 2, 2012
Today, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting at church. My assigned talk was Teaching the Gospel in the Home. I thought I would share the written version here...
Hello, for those of you that do not know me, I am Donna. My husband, Roger, and I have raised seven children and have lived in this ward almost 19 years. I am the primary President. When I was called, the Bishop told me to run with my strengths. I feel that this is an area I have had much experience and an area that played a big role in my Master’s studies.

I have been asked to give a talk on Teaching the Gospel in the Home. That is quite a broad subject to cover in 12- 15 minutes. So many ideas came to my mind, such as, scriptures, quotes of the prophets, resources available from the church, and things we have done over the years. Trying to narrow my topic down, I turned to the Family Guide Book published by the church. Under chapter heading of “Teaching the Gospel in the Home” there are 12 sub topics.. That would be sixty seconds a topic.  I needed to narrow the talk down further.  After much thought and prayerful consideration I have selected the sub topic that I felt most of you might not have thought of readily if we brain stormed a list on how to teach the gospel in the home-- Family Work.

My sister and I were converts to the church, in our late teens, and did not have the benefit of growing up in a home where the Gospel was taught.  As a young mother I had to turn to the scriptures, the words of the prophets, other church resources, Relief Society and prayer to help me learn how to teach the Gospel in the home.

I would like to liken teaching the gospel in the home to building a ship, which should not be too much of a stretch for most of us to imagine, due to our bishop’s van having a vinyl decal  of “Mothership” on its window.
I Nephi 18
     1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.
    2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.

    3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
There are so many parenting models being promoted and many are taught from the perspective of the world. Many mingle Gospel principles with philosophies of men.  I propose that we ought to be building our homes, not after the manner of men, but after a Heavenly pattern, and that we as parents need to go to the mount (or temple) oft, and get instruction from the Lord. Now, I would like to share what the Family Guidebook teaches about Teaching the Gospel in the Home through Working Together”
 Many opportunities for teaching the gospel arise as families work together around the home. While cleaning the house or working in the yard or garden, for example, parents should be alert for opportunities to talk about the gospel. A child will often ask questions. Parents should always take time to give simple answers. Comments like “You are a good worker. I’m sure Heavenly Father is proud of you” or “Look at the beautiful clouds Heavenly Father has made” can give children a feeling of gratitude to our Heavenly Father and an assurance that He is real.       
After almost a decade of doing individual chores in our family, we began to make the switch back to family work in the fall of 2003, after I read Family Work by Kathleen Bahr. I soon discovered that while teaching children how to do chores teaches them to work, family work offers so much more! Family work provides great opportunities for gospel teaching, building relationships, and character development of our children; greater opportunities than simply teaching children tasks, then assigning chores alone can provide.  Of all the ways of teaching the Gospel in the home, I find that family work, working together with our children, is one of the most powerful. Why?  Because unlike family prayer, scripture study and family home evening, family work to care for our homes and serving each other is a day to day, moment to moment undertaking.  This is really where teaching by precept and by example can very powerfully come together.

Yes, working together can take longer, but family work has a bigger goal than merely completing a task. When we work with our children we are helping build Heavenly Father’s children.  There is so much potential as children work with their parents.  As they do, children are learning  and developing the Gospel character and skills to finish what they begin, to do a quality job, to be self motivated, to take initiative, learning to work with others, to feel valued as they are listened to, what it takes to care for ones blessings from God, they are learning systems (how not to just do a job, but how that job and other jobs relate to each other) and how to develop plans to accomplish tasks, among many things to do. However, if a child is taught to do a job and then does it in isolation then the opportunity for teaching moments and for parents to lead by example, is often lost. 

“Canadian scholars Joan Grusec and Lorenzo Cohen, along with Australian Jacqueline Goodnow, compared children who did "self-care tasks" such as cleaning up their own rooms or doing their own laundry, with children who participated in "family-care tasks" such as setting the table or cleaning up a space that is shared with others. They found that it is the work one does "for others" that leads to the development of concern for others, while "work that focuses on what is one's 'own,' " does not. Other studies have also reported a positive link between household work and observed actions of helpfulness toward others. In one international study, African children who did "predominantly family-care tasks [such as] fetching wood or water, looking after siblings, running errands for parents" showed a high degree of helpfulness while "children in the Northeast United States, whose, primary task in the household was to clean their own room, were the least helpful of all the children in the six cultures that were studied.” (from Work in the Home by Kathleen Bahr).
So, in teaching children the Gospel principles to love and serve one another, family work carries a lot of weight.

For those concerned that by choosing to work together as a family will not foster work ethic and independence I suggest the church video, The Christmas Gift. It was based on the classic Christmas Story by Pearl S. Buck, Christmas Day in the Morning. This was once how children grew up.  The main character was a boy who arose everyday to milk the cows and do farm chores along side his father.  He was 15 years old.  He decided he would give his father a gift for Christmas.  He woke early, milked the cows and cleaned up, then jumped back into bed before his dad got to his room to wake him for chores. When children have the day in day out habit of working together they can grow close to those with whom they serve and want to follow their example and demonstrate they have grown up. They will eventually show initiative. This is a natural process of maturing, it is a dance. Children grow towards maturity, wanting to be seen as grown up and treated like respect.

Kathleen Bahr, an Associate Professor, School of Family Life; Brigham Young University, stated that:
"The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that caring for a spouse and children is 'a solemn responsibility' (par. 6) and that providing for the physical needs of one's children is 'a sacred duty' (par. 6). The Proclamation also adds 'work' to the list of principles on which 'successful marriages and families are established and maintained' (par. 7), placing it on equal footing with faith, prayer, repentance, and compassion.  President Hinckley goes so far as to say that families working together is one of four things that could reverse the serious trends that are weakening families and communities:
'What, you may ask, can be done? The observance of four simple things on the part of parents would in a generation or two turn our societies around in terms of their moral values

They are simply these:
Let parents and children (1) teach and learn goodness together, (2) work together, (3) read good books together, and (4) pray together.' "
This is embodied in the Old Testament Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:
6    And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7    And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Family work is a great way to liken this scripture unto ourselves. I have a testimony that family work is a true principle and can bless our lives and give us as parents a powerful tool for Teaching the Gospel in the Home.

In the primary, this year’s theme is Choose the Right and we are helping the children develop the habit of journal keeping.  Last week Sister Williams shared with the primary that President Kimball taught that if we keep a journal some day the angels may quote from it.  Another way parents could teach the Gospel in the home is by helping children with this journal habit.  Young children can draw and tell the parents what to write. Older children and some younger children write un-aided.  Some children may need to have their parents write what they say, the child can then bring it to primary and glue it into their journals. 

In the coming months, I will be writing a series in the Primary section of the Ward Newsletter on different ways to Teach the Gospel in the Home with some creative ideas for application, and links to LDS church resources.
These things I leave with you in Jesus Christ’s name Amen.

P.S. As I write the newsletter articles I will also post them here.

Tags: , , , ,

Articles | From A Mother's Heart

Permalink | Comments (0)

Quote of the Day - March 2nd

by Julia Friday, March 2, 2012

“Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit.” -M. Russell Ballard

Tags:

Daily Quotes

Permalink | Comments (0)