Monday, August 17, 2009

Testing Flickr and Thoughts on a Child's Talents

joeliana-firefly park

OK, so I'm trying to learn some new things in the amazing and confusing world of computers, and I can tell you, there is a thin line between "I get it" and "I don't get it". I learned how to get a larger picture by uploading to flickr from this wonderful blog by Brent Riggs. I don't get how to do this on my Photoshop Elements and get it to blog...
None the less, I am happy that I learned something new today.
And this picture just seems perfect for a quote that I love from A Charlotte Mason Companion. "We never know just where a child's talents lie, until we give him a variety of opportunities and a wide curriculum. The child is eclectic; he may choose this or that; therefore, in the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not which shall prosper."
I have seen this in our children's education. I really try to "present" and "let" the children learn from many different experiences. A wonderful article on Scraps of Starlight present a beautiful picture of letting a children interact with the world around him.
Then, at some point, usually after age 7 (could be sooner, depends on the child...), I begin to notice what a child is really interested in. Our oldest son, Jace, was naturally drawn to world wars, politics, world event, etc....so I did my best to suppliment his ecucation with books, and other information in these areas of interest. Today he is studying History and Political Science in College. See, it's part of "who he is"; the natural gifts that the LORD created in him.
Our second child, Kalyn, has said since she was 5 that she wants to be involved in missions. So, much of her education has nurtured that natural desire in her, and we have used every opportunity we could to send her on short term missions, interacting with missionaries, as well as teaching her here in our home from various sources.
Our third child, Caresse, began to show a natural interest in herbs for both medical use and for food. She also is a natural in gardens and cooking. So we have supplimented her education with books and other teaching material that feeds this natural learning opportunity. Today, most of our familiy goes to her to get treatment for their different ailements, including, she is my number 1 helper when Corban is fighting asthma.
My others are still young enough, that I am "watching" for direction from the LORD, for their natural learning desires.
Now, you have probably noticed that I used one word in this post several time...
did you notice?


The word is "natural". Whether our children are home schooled or in a different educational opportunity (public or private), we, as the parents, have the insight to look for, notice and feed those "natural", God-given, hungry little mind-appetites.

Are you seeing any natural learning opportunities in your children? How do you nurture that?

7 comments:

  1. Oh, I LOVE that huge pic. How wonderful--probably a little beyond my capabilities to figure out :)

    What an amazing post! I love your precious heart, dearest friend. You inspire me to be a better mommy.

    Oh, sweet Aiden has a new name around here--"the kid with the muscles!" Ha ha

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  2. BEAUTIFUL pictures!

    Oh how I have loved watching for my children's natural interests, gifts, and passions. Each of my 5 adult children have pursued their own interests, in their own ways. None of them have chosen the "typical" road to becoming "successful" as the world sees it ... but I believe they are each so much more successful at young ages than the majority of their peers. They are all loving and serving the Lord in amazing ways, which has always been our focus of their home education, where character training was always much more important than academics.

    Keep up the good work!

    mama of 13

    PS: You REALLY should plan a road trip up to our "island in the Pacific" next summer. :) And, by the way, I am hoping for a road trip your direction in September and would LOVE to come meet your wonderful family. I'm going to take our homeschooling "on the road" for a month or so, with my 6 youngest. Woohoo! Can't wait!

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  3. Shonni - love the large photo and flickr is awesome to do that in!

    I have been thinking about this lately. Our oldest is extremely creative - so we nurture that. Her heart keeps telling her to focus on God and to learn about missions. So we are teaching her how to be a servant joyful in every situation to all people!

    But I don't know for the rest - our next oldest is home only 2 yrs from Guatemala this September - I'm still trying to figure her out. She is extremely gifted in athletics and we are hoping to see that come out scholastically soon - even just a little bit.

    I will be paying close attention to this topic with our next oldest who is turning 7 in 3.5 weeks. She just LOVES to read! She has a vast interest and her top one is God. Any suggestions?

    I adore getting to know you!

    Love and blessings,
    Jill

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  4. Incredible photo! I love it.

    I, too, have seen each of my children shine in their natural interests. I want them to dream along with God, about how they can use these talents and abilites to give glory to Him.

    Thanks for causing me to think about this as the "school" year starts up again. It's certainly not about bookwork, but about nurturing their relationship with God and the talents that He has given them.

    Blessings to you,
    Sarah

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  5. What a blessing this post is..... I think you have shared valid and vital points. I love that we have that luxury to cater to our children's needs and desires in learning through homeschool.
    What wonderful paths your children are headed down.

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