kids – Living the Adventure

Enjoying Shakespeare!

July 3, 2019July 3, 2019 esther7dancingLeave a comment

“To know Shakespeare provides a head start in life”- Ken Ludwig

Why teach my child Shakespeare?

My kids and I attended a couple of years ago a Shakespeare play of “Much Ado about Nothing.” The director informed us before the play started that it would take about 15 minutes of listening to Shakespeare and then we would start to understand the story in its entirety. I thought the director might be a bit crazy. I had not grown up learning Shakespeare or honestly have a desire to make it part of my life. The director of that play ended up being completely correct. Within about 15 minutes, I was understanding the play and getting the humor. It ended up being a delightful experience for me and my kids.

I started to research the benefits of learning Shakespeare and so my adventure begin with my kids and Shakespeare. They weren’t crazy about the idea at first but I continued to teach little bits here and there. I also exposed them to different plays and discussed the meanings of the language and story plot. They started to enjoy it and in fact, my daughter started loving Shakespeare so much that she wanted to read the plays for herself.

Shakespeare increases your child’s vocabulary and comprehension levels in their education. Shakespeare also was a great influence in many authors that we see everyday. He was a great influence in Jane Austen’s writing and also Charles Dickens. We can see the writings of Jane Austen reflected in today’s books and movies. When we introduce beautiful language into our kids education, it does indeed give them a head start in the literature world. I would also hope, at least with my kids, that it helped them desire to read more beautiful language therefore helping their taste in books contine to grow and gain depth.

But how do I teach Shakespeare, you might ask?

My Favorite Resources for entering the World of Shakespeare-

1. “How to Teach your Children Shakespeare” by Ken Ludwig

This is an amazing book to start with. If you just want to invest in one book to start your journey with your kids and Shakespeare. Let this book be the one. Ken Ludwig helps your kids develop a love of Shakespeare by having them memorize certain passages out of Shakespeare Plays. He then explains phrase by phrase what each of these lines mean in the context of the play. This helps the parents like me, who are not an expert in Shakespeare, easily teach our kids Shakespeare.

2. “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare” by Edith Nesbit

(Found at Amazon)

These are lovely, understandable stories of Shakespeare’s plays. I would read one of these stories before we read the actual play so my kids would have background knowledge. Its important to build background knowledge before embarking into the play so that the kids have some frame of reference.

3. Shakespeare In Three Steps by Rebekah Shafer

(Found at SimplyCharlotteMason.com)

This is my latest find of Shakespeare that I love. These are the actual Shakespeare Plays for you and your kids to enjoy. We are studying Twelth Night right now. When you purchase “Shakespeare in Three Steps”, you get a book of a Shakespeare Play of your choice and the Audio of the entire play told with multiple actors voices. At the beginning of each is book is the synopsis of the play to help your kids build background knowledge before they listen to the play. The Audio is very well done! This is a simple way to enjoy Shakespeare with your kids.

4. Shakespeare 16 Books Story Collection by Tony Ross

(Found at Amazon or Costco)

These books are a delight for your younger reader. They feature 16 of Shakespeare’s plays in storyform. Even my teens will read one of these to gain background knowledge on a play.

5. The Bard of Avon by Diane Stanely

(Found at Amazon)

This is a children’s biography of William Shakespeare and his life.

6. Poetry for Young People- William Shakespeare by David Scott Kasten and Marina Kasten

(Found at Amazon)

This is exactly what is sounds like, a selection of poetry written by William Shakespeare

7. “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare (Folger Shakespeare Library)

(Found at Amazon)

I buy these versions of the Shakespeare Plays for my teens to read. We own four of them so far.

“Twelfth Night”, “Julius Ceaser”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Much Ado about Nothing”

Shakespeare is a journey worth taking! Even if you just do a little bit to introduce your kids to William Shakespeare, it will enhance their literature study.

What is your favorite Shakespeare Resource?

Reflection-homeschool life

February 8, 2017 esther7dancingLeave a comment

I am sitting here at the end of my day and looking at my house. All is quiet and peaceful. I look around me and see birthday balloons still floating above the dining room table, a kitchen that is not quite as clean as I would like it and toys scattered throughout my downstairs living area. This is usually a point of frustration in my day where I reflect on how I didn’t get enough done in my day. A clean house is a peaceful house in my book. There is some truth to that, but I also was sitting here and reflecting on how this mess that I am staring at is also a representation of blessings. The imperfect kitchen, the toys that don’t seem to ever be put away, even the balloons that are still floating above the kitchen represent life. I am blessed with a 5 year old that just celebrated his birthday. I am blessed by a house full of children that are learning and experiencing their own journey of growing up. I get a front row seat to see what God plans to do with their lives. The Speech and Debate world captured our attention tonight and led me to having an imperfect kitchen. It’s a delight to see our kiddos work on their communication and critical thinking skills and enjoy doing it!

Now don’t get me wrong, the kitchen and the toys will get picked up and my downstairs will eventually be clean but I am realizing that I need to quit dwelling on the things I didn’t get done and embrace the blessings and things that did get done. I am in a unique season in my life where my kids are young and my main investment of time is with them. I need to stop stressing about the little things that don’t always get done and embrace the moments that God is giving me everyday. I am blessed!

Word of Encouragement to Parents-

Embrace the journey you are on with your kiddos. Enjoy your front row seat in watching them grow into the young men and women that God has called them to be. You are amazing and need to realize that everyday. God has given you the children you have for a specific purpose and reason. He has mighty plans for them and is choosing to use you to help them grow.

Tools/Resources to Help Cultivate a Prayer Life in Your Kids

September 27, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Tools/Resources to Help Cultivate a Prayer Life in Your Kids:

Advocating for your kids in daily prayer is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. We do not fight against flesh and blood according to Ephesians 6:10-18. A parent’s most powerful weapon against the enemy is their prayers over their kids. I have seen in my own personal family many times how prayer has changed things in my kids. Another important aspect of intercession and parenting is teaching our kids about prayer and how to pray. I desire to have my kids have their own personal, deep relationship with Jesus and not just follow Jesus because that’s what Mom and Dad do. One of the ways to help them start developing a deeper relationship with Christ is to cultivate a life of prayer in them. Even when they are young, every time you pray as a family or thank Jesus for your food, it is helping to develop and demonstrate a life a prayer in your kids. I love finding resources that help me with this part of discipling my kids. Here are a few of my favorites….

Akebu to Zapotec by June Hathersmith

Akebu to Zapotec is one of my favorite books to develop intercession for the little ones. It goes from A-Z and covers 26 countries that do not have a Bible in their own language. We pick a letter once a week with my 7 year old and learn about the village and what country these unreached people are from. My 7 year old son loves this book and is anxious to get it out of the bookshelf so we can pray and learn about another village. I think one of the best things about this book is the author’s testimony at the beginning. Akebu to Zapotec is the second book that she has written on unreached people because kids prayed with the first book and every village in those countries received the Bible in their own language. Its a book that is written with younger children in mind but because we use it as a tool to teach the kids intercession, the older children still enjoy the book. You could take any of the countries and have the older kids do a deeper study of them.

2. Window on the World by Daphne Spraggett and Jill Johnstone

This book is another A-Z book that covers many more countries in the world that need prayer. The book has beautiful photographs of the different people groups and countries that kids can pray for. It is from the same organization that has given us Operation World for the adults. Unlike the adult one, this one is more attractive to kids because of the numerous pictures. Each two page spread has different facts and a map of the country. They also put down the specific prayer requests for each country. This has been one of our families favorites because it gives kids a peek into what each of the countries must be like. We have used this daily in our “Bible” time to pray for one country each day. Discussions about different religions and belief systems have naturally happened when using this book. I love how this book helps my kids get a world perspective and realize how much bigger the world is around them. The simple verse of John 3:16 that we all know so well becomes more impactful to kids when they learn about other countries. “For God so loved the world….”

3. 100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Window by C. Peter Wagner

This is the current book we are working through as a family as part of our “Bible” time. The 10/40 Window represents a rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia that is located 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. These countries are some of the most unreached people in the world. The majority of followers of Islam, Hindu, Buddism and Non-religious live in the 10/40 window. There are about 4.63 billion people, represented in 8,065 specific people groups in the 10/40 Window. 5,495 of those people groups are considered unreached which amounts to about 2.97 billion people. Each page of the book represents a different city that is unreached and shares statistics of those countries. I also love the prayer requests at the bottom of the page for each city. You can also use this opportunity for a geography lesson. We take a globe or a world map and point out where the city is and what country it is in. This helps the kids have a reference on where the country is that they are praying for.

4. Voice of Martyrs (Kids of Courage)

Voice of Martyrs is a free magazine that talks about the persecuted church around the world. They change the names of different people who are being persecuted and share their stories in this magazine. They write a kid version called Kids of Courage that talks about kids that are standing up for their faith. The adult version is sent to homes for free when you sign up for the magazine on their site. The Kids of Courage magazine for kids can be sent to your home for a small fee but is free online on their website. Kids of Courage is a great way to bring kids an awareness of what its like for other children in the world to live out their faith. It also give them a chance to pray for these kids or families that are currently experiencing persecution.

5. http://www.prayercast.com

I recently found out about this site and I loved it. This site is prayers said over almost every country in the world. For example, we went on the site the other day because we were studying the country of Nigeria. We went to www.prayercast.com and clicked on “Nations” at the top of the site. Then we clicked on “Nigeria” and were directed to a page with a video to play. When you play the video, a native of Nigeria is praying over the country while displaying pictures of the people and the culture. I was so moved by hearing the prayers declared over Nigeria. This also gave my kids a small picture of what it might be like in that country. Amazing site to use for intercession for the nations with your kids.

Our lives can help reflect and encourage a life of prayer. One of the things in our family that we have done since the kids were little is when we see an ambulance go by, we pray for the people that they are going to help. Another way our family has walked with our kids in prayer is through family crisis. Family crisis are not something you ever want to go through in life, but they are an opportunity to have the entire family turn to God in prayer.

We had a family crisis a couple of years ago with our daughter. She had MRSA inside her bones, muscle and and blood. MRSA is known to be on the skin quite commonly and not a fun thing to deal with, but inside the body, it’s a totally different animal. Our daughter quite quickly ended up being in a life and death situation. Our family and many other believers came together in prayer and within 5 days she was healed. She had to remain in the hospital for about 2 weeks, but the doctors were surprised how quickly she recovered. It was a hard time for us as a family, but our kids saw how powerful prayer can be. We have had other situations where we needed a financial miracle and have prayed as a family. God has provided in unique ways which helped our kids faith grow. Including the kids in some of our needs as a family is another way to live a life a of prayer.

These are just some of the tools we have used in our family to help develop a lifestyle of prayer. God placed you as amazing parents over your children. He will give you the strategy in how to teach and guide your children in a life of prayer. Enjoy the journey!

Top 10 Favorite Discipleship Books for Kids

August 28, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Walking out the journey of loving God and loving people is our ultimate goal with our children. We want to help grow the different talents and dreams that God has given each of our kids. So, part of my homeschooling curriculum to have the kids have a “growth” book. This is usually some kind of discipleship book or inspirational book that helps them grow in their walk with God. Here are a few of my favorites….

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear by Jennifer Toledo

This is a book that teaches kids how to hear and interact with Jesus. Its a great tool for parents to use with their kids. It also has testimonies of other kids and their walk with God. Jennifer Toledo is the founder of Global Children’s Movement. They change kids lives all over the world. If you ever get a chance to hear her or read her materials, its amazing what God is doing through her and her family.

2. Can you Hear Me? by Brad Jersak

This is another favorite book of mine that teaches kids how to interact with Jesus and how he sees them. One of my favorite features of this book is that in the back of the book there is a section for parents how they can teach their kids to hear the voice of God and the different ways God wants to talk to them. Brad Jersak also wrote and adult version that is also excellent.

3. Apologia-What We Believe Series Volume 1-4 by John Hay and David Webb

This is an excellent discipleship series for you to walk through with your kids. It has a lot of depth to the information, so we read just a few pages at a time during our Bible time. We are currently on “Who is my Neighbor?” which is Volume 3. I have enjoyed how in this particular volume they have introduced the main world religions through a biblical perspective. For example they introduced us to a family from India that believes in the Hindu religion. As we get to know the family, the book explains the belief system of the Hindu religion. Then at the end of the chapter, it has the kids discuss the differences between the Hindu religion and Christianity. This has facilitated some thought provoking discussions with my kids.

4. Answers for Kids Volumes 1-4 by Ken Ham

These 4 small hard back books are an amazing resource for all those “Why?” kids that live in our homes. The creative format has each page start with an actual question from a child and then the author proceeds to answer that question according to the Bible. We have loved to include this in our Bible time by reading just one question a day. I believe answering some of the “Why?” questions that our kids have about the Bible helps build their faith.

5. Here Comes Heaven by Bill Johnson

I appreciate the understandable way that this book explains who kids are in Christ and how to walk out their journey with God. It also has a journal feature at back of each chapter which allows kids to think about what the chapter was talking about. Its a phenomenal discipleship book that helps kids go deeper with God.

6. The Day the World Went Wacky by Janine Suter

This is a delightful book about creation and the beginning of the world. The illustrations are hilarious and it uses poetic form in the writing so kids remember the story. This book is written for elementary age kids, but my older kids have really enjoyed it too. Even though its written in a story form, the book explains many answers to kids on how God made the world and how sin entered into the world. There are two other books in the series, “Noah’s Floating Animal Park” and “The Not So Super Skyscraper” which is about the Tower of Babel. I am hoping that this author writes more books because she has a talent of explaining biblical principles through amazing story telling.

7. A is for Adam by Ken Ham and Mally Ham

The is an excellent early elementary introduction to Apologetics. The book takes you through the alphabet and walks you through creation and the provision that Jesus gave with the sacrifice of his life. Some features that I thought were helpful is the commentary for parents in the back of the book for each page and the student activities that they can choose to do with their children. The book also has coloring pages in the back that you can photocopy for the little ones that want to color the different alphabet pages you read.

8. Discover for Yourself- Inductive Bible Studies for Kids by Kay Arthur

If you want your children to go deeper in the Word of God then these books are for you. Kay Arthur does an amazing job of leading kids to go deeper in the word. Each inductive bible study that she has written focuses on a certain passage of scripture, a character in the bible or a biblical concept. They are written for upper elementary and older.

9. Battlefield of the Mind for Kids by Joyce Meyer

We teach our kids that they do not fight against flesh and blood but that their true enemy is Satan. Sometimes the greatest battle our kids have is what they think of themselves and what they think is their part in the world. Battlefield of the mind for kids is a great resource for kids to read and help them to start thinking differently. We have even used it with our teenager and it helped him think about things a little differently.

10. Lamplighter Books- Building Christ-Like Character

This is one of my favorite publishing companies for character building books. The books are older stories that teach certain lessons about life by focusing on a character’s problems and how they solve them with God. Our favorite so far is “Sir Malcom and the Missing Prince” which is an amazing story about a selfish prince who learns how to be unselfish and loving. The prince learns to be a great king, he must learn to serve and love the people around him. I usually do these books as read aloud books because they sometimes have a more challenging vocabulary because of the year that they were written in. Any of the lamplighter books are worth your investment of time spent reading them and money spent buying them.

Cocoa Fridays

August 4, 2015 esther7dancingLeave a comment

Developing a relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important gift that I want my children to learn and receive from their experience of being homeschooled. The different important subjects like Math, Reading, Writing and other various subjects are tools that they will need to fulfill the adventure that they will be walking out with God but the key to enjoying and experiencing the ultimate adventure is to have them develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I, of course, cannot make this happen in their lives. Each of my children has their own journey to God that they get to walk out. But I do believe as parents we are called to disciple our children and encourage them in the things of God. You are the ultimate teacher, mentor and prayer warrior for your child. No one knows or loves your child like you do. I believe God desires to give us creative ideas on different ways to disciple our children.

We try to have Bible time daily. If I don’t get anything else done in homeschooling but Bible time, I have viewed my day as a success. I used to have the kids sit and listen quietly while we read the Bible and different various character training books. This worked but the attention span of my kids were lost quite quickly. Out of my 5 children, I only have one kid who is an auditory learner. He was getting the most out of our time because it was geared toward his learning style. I needed creative ideas to reach all the kids during our Bible time. I wanted it to be an enjoyable time for everybody and an opportunity to facilitate discussions.

I ended up making some simple changes that have helped our Bible time be more effective. One of the fun things that my kids look forward to is “Cocoa Fridays”. This was a really simple change but it was something the kids still enjoy today. On Fridays, we serve hot cocoa during our Bible time. On Friday, they will pester me, asking me if its “Cocoa Friday” time yet. Another small change that made even a bigger impact on our Bible time was allowing the kids that wanted to, to draw or paint or color during out Bible time. As long as they were able to still focus on the lesson, they could be creative in whatever they felt like doing. This helped a couple of my kids actually be more focused and retain much more than they used to. I am the type of learner that I have to listen and not do anything else during a lesson or I won’t get what the teacher is trying to teach. I am realizing as I work with all my children, how creative God is in making all kinds of different learners and the opportunity I have as a homeschooler to teach in many different ways. God is brilliant and He can give us all the creative ideas we will ever need to teach and encourage our children.

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