Leviticus and Kids

January 30th, 2011

We’re still reading through the Bible.  Just not in 90 days.  Nearly impossible for 5 kids under 10 and actually do anything else.  But we’re still going.  We’ve made it to Leviticus chapter 20.  Only 7 more chapters to go until we get to Numbers.  It took us not too long to get through Genesis and Exodus.

But Leviticus, oh, Leviticus, my oh my.  Everybody tell me at this point that I did a smart thing deciding to read the whole Bible beginning to end to my young children.  Here’s the progression of my thought process in these first 20 chapters of this little innocuous looking book.

1.) {the fantasy, not yet into the book, thoughts}  Okay, laws, it’s good for the kids to see how God has brought His people out of slavery (which by the way they were in slavery almost twice as long as we’ve been a nation IN SLAVERY that long), into the wilderness, setting up rules for them because they’re clueless, yo?  And it’ll be good to see that we have laws for our good that we can’t live up to.  We’ll see our need for Christ.  It’ll be good.

2.) {the actual reading out loud of the building of the tent} Really?  I’m reading all this detail to my 9, 7, 5, and 3 year olds that God told Moses to say and then we get to read Moses telling the people, and THEN we get to read them actually doing it.  Like teaching the model of an essay: say what you’re going to say, say what you’re saying, say what you said.

3.)  {as I’m reading the rules for sacrifices} blood?  entrails?  more blood?  I get to answer questions like, “Why do they smear the blood on the horns of the altar?”

4.) {beginning reading the rules of who not to “sleep with”} I begin realizing the dreamy ideas of reading the Bible to my kids as a cuddly time has completely flown out the window and I’ve lost my mind for doing this.  I want to stop.  Turn around and pretend we didn’t start.  Because now, I’m in it.  And we all remember how I’ve chosen to protect their innocence for as long as I can.  Well, not here, not in Leviticus, I ain’t .  And if I quit, either openly intentionally or just pretend to get busy, the 9 year old will call me out and ask why we’ve quit reading the Bible.  And what have I taught him about ^{“2Timothy 3:16}All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” and if I believe that (which I do) then I will not skip or quit.  So my option is to keep going.

I did substitute the words “slept with” and “marry” for the word “sex”.  I know, shoot me.

Which leads right into the place I’m at now.  Humor.  It’s funny to me.  I’m finally able to laugh at myself for having done this, laugh at the questions the kids have (not in front of them, silly!) and generally just laugh.  Because if I didn’t I would still be stuck in the “Oh man, I made a mistake place” and who wants to be there?

In the humor/Leviticus/”sleep with” discussion lemme just tell you a little story.  While reading through the rules of who to not sleep with and why the kids were asking questions about the brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, fathers, mothers rules.  I pointed out examples we had already read of in the prior books (c’mon Abraham, pawn your wife off as your sister, dude?  twice?  to which my oldest said, “Well, it made him richer both times, no wonder he kept doing it.”  see?  hahahaha!) and how God was telling them not to do those things here.  And we talked about how we have one wife or one husband now.  And my 7 year old son said, “But what about now days?”  What do you mean, buddy?  “What about with your brother today?  Is that evil?”  Umm, yes, why?  “Because I sleep with my brother sometimes.”  Hahahahaha!!  Out loud in front of him this time!  I explained that this type of “sleeping with” was like that of man and wife, it didn’t count as a sleep over.  “Whew.”  Poor kid!  At least that’s cleared up now!

5.) Loving the connections.  Yesterday we were listening to goofy 80s songs (which if you’ll rememberlistening and dancing to goofy music is a Saturday tradition around here) my oldest asked for Petra songs (cool within itself, by the way) and Matt obliged.  We started looking at the list and listening to the songs we’ve heard many a time.  But this time the songs took on a deeper meaning.  We paused and talked about the words.  Words that were now a lot more meaningful.

Beyond Belief
Words and music by Bob Hartman
Based on Hebrews 6:1a, Romans 1:17, Philippians 1:6

We’re content to pitch our tent
When the glory’s evident
Seldom do we know the glory came and went

Moving can seem dangerous
In this stranger’s pilgrimage
Knowing that you can’t stand still, you cross the bridge

(Chorus)
There’s a higher place to go, beyond belief, beyond belief
Where we reach the next plateau, beyond belief, beyond belief
And from faith to faith we grow
Towards the center of the flow
Where He beckons us to go, beyond belief, beyond belief

Leap of faith without a net
Makes us want to hedge our bet
Waters never part until our feet get wet

There’s a deeper place to go
Where the road seems hard to hoe
He who has begun this work won’t let it go

And it takes so long to see the change
But we look around and it seems so strange

We have come so far but the journey’s long
And we once were weak but now we’re strong

Take Me In
Words and music by Dave Browning

Take me past the outer courts
Into the Holy place
Past the brazen altar
Lord I want to see Your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing Your praise
I hunger and thirst for Your righteousness
And it’s only found one place

Take me in to the Holy of Holies
Take me in by the blood of the Lamb
Take me in to the Holy of Holies
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am

And that is where I am now.  Seven chapters left in Leviticus and His blessings are already flowing.  In places I least expected it.

(I found an awesome site for Petra fans where you can view all the songs on all their albums and then view lyrics as well it’s called Petra Rocks My World! and it’s where I found those lyrics up there.)

To read more observations on our journey through the entire Bible with our young children browse through The Bible and Kids archives.

Teaching Months And Seasons

January 16th, 2011

Here are a couple of different ways I’ve taught my kindergartners and first graders the months of the year, the days of the week, and the four seasons.

This time of year you can get super cheap calendars from the dollar stores or even very cool ones for 75% off at most stores because they’re clearing them out.  It’s a great time to get one.

I put the calendar in with the rest of their school books and when we do our phonics and numbers we pull out the calendar and talk about what day it is.  We start by flipping to the back of the calendar and saying the months of the year.  All of them.  Then we flip to the current month and say the days of the week as we point to them.  I tell them what the date is and they find that number if they can.  I count the numbers out for them if they can’t.  I have them check off the days up to and including the day we’re on.   We also mark important days so that they can begin to see the concept of time.  Here is my 5 year old daughter’s calendar opened to one of our busy months last year.  It was very important to her to mark down the days to Daddy’s return from Chicago.

Here’s how we reinforced the months, seasons, and special holidays with our then first grader last year.  I pulled this lapbook back out just the other day to review with him and got him to explain what he had worked on last year.

This particular lapbook took months to finish.  We just did a little a day.  Sometimes only working on it once or twice a week.

I’ll probably have my girl do one of these lapbooks toward the end of this school year.

How do you teach these fun things?

Observations On The Old Testament And Children

January 10th, 2011

Since starting the 90 day Bible challenge there have been many discussions.  And many cringing moments on my part.  And expansion.  I feel me stretching.  It’s a good stretching.  And incidentally, the 90 day challenge with many small people is quickly turning into a minimum of 190 days.  But we’re still moving forward.  We’ve made it into Exodus so far and Moses has just led the Israelites through the Red Sea.

I read the entire Bible once before.  It started when I was 17 and questioning everything and a friend suggested in my dark period that I read Ecclesiastes.  That I might identify with the writer.  I had never cracked the Bible before that.  I didn’t know what those colons were for, why there were numbers, who the authors were, that there were 2 testaments (whatever that was), but my friend sent me a student paraphrase Bible and told me what to look up.  My first thoughts were along the lines of.. Huh, there are actual words that I could understand there and that they were good words.  Like book words that I liked.  It was like a real book.  That was pivotal for me.   Then I read Proverbs.  Not long after that I decided to follow Jesus Christ wherever He led me.  That I wanted to know more about Him.  I was drawn to Him.  It was at that point that I wanted to know what it was that I believed.  I wanted to go to the source before I bought into every word the preacher had to say.  I began at the beginning.  I ate, slept, and breathed that blue worn student Bible.  I slept with it and a highlighter.  I highlighted nearly every word.  I was floored by it all.  It was amazing.  Since then I’ve read much of the Bible over, if not a daily reading then nearly that.  But not like that time in my life when I was desperate for every word.

When my boys asked the other day if they could be a part of the reading with me I hesitated.  I knew what was in there.  Especially the old testament.  There’s some stout stuff in there.  And though I watch way too much tv and am exposed to way too much stuff I probably shouldn’t be, my children are pretty sheltered.  Intentionally.  They don’t know the words “r.a.pe”, or “s.e…x”, or how babies are made.  They’re not there yet.  I’ll be overly open when the time comes, but that time is not there yet.  And I knew I would have some questions to answer if I started at the beginning and didn’t skip anything.  I talked to Matt about it and I began reading.

It wasn’t long before I was holding my breath and trying to keep a poker face while reading about who “lain” with whom.  And drunken naked Noah.  And.. you get it.

But it didn’t take long before thoughts were rolling around my head while I was doing dishes, sweeping the floor, folding laundry.  I was thinking (again) about how the serpent told Eve that she wouldn’t really die, that the forbidden fruit would give her the knowledge of God.  And how God had told her she would die.  And how after she ate she didn’t die.  Not right away (or for several hundred more years for that matter).  And the memory came to mind that I had warned my children just before Christmas that if they talked in those dark small moments before bedtime and gave away the secret gifts they had bought for one another that Christmas would be ruined.  Now, technically it wouldn’t be ruined.  They would still get the gifts, but the magic would be gone.  They would have a knowledge they weren’t supposed to have yet.  It would make them ashamed and feel bad.  I related this for the kiddos to drive home the point of what we were reading.

But I couldn’t shake the thoughts of “paradise ruined”.  They rolled around in my head.

A few days later my oldest child stopped me in the middle of the story where the brother who doesn’t want to have children with the widow spills his seed and how it was an abomination before the Lord.  He wants to know what the man did that was so bad to God.  And I vaguely answer.  Truthfully, but vaguely.  And it’s not enough, he wants answers.  I say nonchalantly, “let me finish today’s reading and I’ll answer you later, okay?”  Letting him know I would talk to just him and not the 3, 5, and 7 year olds altogether.  He agreed and we moved on.  I bought time to talk to Matt that night about what I should say.  If I should say anything.  We talked about the pros and cons (because we’ll be honest – that’s not an option) and agreed that we would not explain the birds and the bees just yet.  It’s okay scientifically.  No problem actually explaining the aviaries and the insects.  It’s all the innuendos in our society.  It’s all the images he’s inundated with in the grocery store line.  It’s not the knowledge of the act of procreation that I have a problem with.  It’s the loss of innocence.  It’s that forever more he’ll know.  He’ll have the knowledge of those who are older, wiser, and sometimes more evil.  It’s that right now he can hear the lyrics of a song and not know.  He can use language that to older more street wise kids means something giggle worthy or eyebrow raising and he is none the wiser for it.

He is not ashamed yet.  Much like that first milestone where he became aware of his own nakedness and wanted to hide it and for the first time was ashamed.  Forever more now.  He can’t go back to the time when he didn’t know.  We have the power to impart the knowledge of good and evil.  And for a while longer we will choose innocence.  We will vaguely not answer the questions until we can’t not answer them anymore.