It's funny how much you can squeeze into a "slow" summer. Like I said in my previous post about our summer quiet time boxes, we aren't traveling this summer, so we've been doing a lot of projects together at home. Here are some that we did this week:
One of the biggest joys for me this summer has been watching my children discover and learn based on following their own personal curiosity about the world.
One example of this has been Guy's tadpole aquarium. He collected about 30 tadpoles the other weekend and brought them home. He loves watching them grow and is very diligently taking care of them. I love how excited he gets when one sprouts legs, etc. He is one proud tadpole daddy!
For years now I have supplied my kids with almost unlimited art supplies and jars of ordinary object with which they can build and create. Items might include jars of straws, craft/popsicle sticks, miniature pine cones they've collected, string, cotton balls, tape, etc.
The kids have done things with these items over the years that usually involves some kind of art. This week I noticed that their projects have morphed into 3D, usable items--like this jump rope that Autumn built and used totally on her own.
During one afternoon art session, Guy jumped up and said, "I wonder!" He grabbed a magnifying glass that he had gotten for free from a local grocery store field trip and went outside to figure out if you really could start a fire using a magnifying glass. He discovered that you could...and rather quickly at that. This became a fun past-time for the kids (although I kept a close watch on that!)
Watching all of this unfold has brought me a lot of joy and pride in their development. And it has helped me know a little bit more about God and how He works and just how much freedom He has given us to learn, explore, and grow in this lifetime. It has also made me wonder how much time we (adults) waste leaving these resources and opportunities on the shelf. In the grand scheme of things, we are all children, and we have so much to learn, but I believe the opportunities are all there for us...laid out carefully by a loving Heavenly Father who just waits for us to discover what it's all for...
I raised tadpoles one summer, too! That is one of my fondest childhood memories. It sounds like your kids are going to have a blast this year! I love the art supplies idea. What a great way to inspire creativity!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
<3 Sarah
That's awesome, Sarah! My animal to watch (and cut up!) was worms!! Have a fun!!
DeleteA fun activity to do with the magnifying glass is to melt chocolate on graham crackers. It does take patience. We also tried roasting marshmallows, but that was not very successful. They mostly had black burn marks on them. Have fun!! Reading your posts makes me wish I could reverse time and do so much more with my kiddos! Keep up the great work and example to so many of us!! Shelly
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you for sharing that neat idea. We'll have fun with that. He started with dry leaves and moved to paper. This will be exciting new avenue!! And yummy, thanks!
DeleteA fun activity to do with the magnifying glass is to melt chocolate on graham crackers. It does take patience. We also tried roasting marshmallows, but that was not very successful. They mostly had black burn marks on them. Have fun!! Reading your posts makes me wish I could reverse time and do so much more with my kiddos! Keep up the great work and example to so many of us!! Shelly
ReplyDelete