Gratitude 24

I have quite a few things that I am feeling grateful for today but nothing that is a big thing - it's hard to narrow it down to just one.  One thing that I am grateful for and am finding myself really interested in at the moment is the amount of great information about Christian education in the blog world.  Obviously, I am a Christian and I would really like to raise Pk that way.  I think that so many families now have this misguided idea that their kids can go to Sunday school for a brief hour each week and that is enough.  I don't think that makes much difference, quite frankly, and I have been trying to figure out how to teach Pk the things that I want her to learn.  I believe that a big part of it comes from seeing dh and I live out our faith and another huge resource right now is music.  I have found such great information on other people's blogs!  I have discovered some great music, some wonderful books and more than anything have gotten some encouragement and support.  Thanks to all of you out there who have gotten me started.  

Here are a few of my favourite ideas and resources:

Seeds  Family Worship - I discovered this through Missy at It's Almost Naptime (she has a lot of good ideas) - Seeds puts scripture texts to music in very, very singable (and listen-to-able) songs to start memory work - I have learned quite a few passages myself and while Pk isn't saying them back to me yet, she loves to listen.  Their stuff is available through itunes.

The Westminister Shorter Catechism - I had heard of a catechism but while it was something that used to be used fully in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, it has been largely abandoned.  I hadn't thought about it until Missy mentioned it in a post and I tracked it down - it's a great idea.  It's a series of questions with standard answers that you teach your child.  So far, Pk only knows the first one "Who made you?" but she already proudly answers it - "God".

Monica, at The Homespun Heart, is starting a series over the course of the year on the Fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5.  She is going to be posting teaching ideas and I also got some good ideas from her link to Joy's post about Kids and Quiet Times .  Someone mentioned two free downloads available on itunes - Faith Comes by Hearing Kidz Audio Bible (a dramatization of the Bible) and the Karen and Kids podcasts (which Pk and I listened to this morning).  I like these ideas for teaching children early to spend some devotional time to start the day and I hope to get Pk involved in this.

I have also bought a couple of the books by Susan Hunt that I keep hearing mentioned in all kinds of blogs - My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts and Big Truths for Little Kids: Teaching Your Kids to Live for God.  Pk is a bit young for these but it's nice to have them ready and waiting.

While I am sharing Christian parenting resources, I also want to plug my favourite parenting book that covers everything a parent needs to know for the first few years - The Complete Book of Christian Parenting and Child Care by William Sears.  He covers everything from labour and delivery to toilet training to early Christian education.   What I love most is that it is written from an Attachment Parenting perspective as opposed to the punitive approach to parenting that sadly seems to be the way that so many Christian parents feel pressured to follow.  There are a few books, which I will not mention here, that seem to be standard texts for Christian parenting that, from what I have read about them, advocate what, in my mind, amounts to child abuse.  Dr. Sears proves that we can parent in the way that God intended without mistreating our children or instilling them with a heavy dose of fear (how abuse can be called "Christian Parenting" makes me insane - how can God desire us to mistreat our children????).  I have gone back to this book again and again and I love the relationship that it is helping me to build with Pk and the way that it honours the stage of life that she is in as we manage typical childhood issues.

It's nice to feel like I have some direction.  If anyone has anything else to share, I would love to hear it!