In chapter 1 we focused on the following:
*The virtue of shrewdness
*Wisdom (fear of the Lord)
*Discipline
*Enticement & Sin
*The literary style of Proverbs
In the next blog post, I dive in more about each of those but before that, there are a few things to take note of regarding how i’m conducting these studies with my children as well as how I plan to format these recaps. I should first mention that if you are yet to read the introduction to these series, I strongly recommend that you do so before continuing on. It can be found here.
THE HEART BEHIND THESE STUDIES
It behooves me to express where my heart is and what I really am hoping to achieve from these studies with my children. This is necessary because my motive behind it is what directs the method I’m using to conduct the studies. Not to mention, it will serve as a necessary reminder to me from time to time, should I start feeling the urge to rush on.
So, my family already has a family bible time that we do and this is no replacement for it nor is this a part of it. We have actually already gone through the book of proverbs once as part of our family bible time and had a wonderful time reading it. Our family bible time is more so a time where my husband and I are reading through the scriptures with our children and just filling them up with the truth of God’s word and praying. We of course stop to discuss what we read chapter by chapter.
In addition to our family bible time, my oldest who is 7 is an avid reader of his Bible and has been reading it since he learned how to read about two plus years ago. He has his own devotion time with the Lord as part of his morning routine where he’s in complete control of which scriptures he opts to read and for how long. My oldest daughter is 4 and still learning how to read so she can’t quite read her bible by herself quite yet; but she has a bible that contains some pictures so she loves to go through that for her personal bible time which is also during her morning routine.
In addition to this, their father reads to them pretty much every night as part of their bedtime routine and many times(not always) that includes bible stories of some sort, or some biblical truth. Of course since I homeschool them, as part of school they also have a lot exposure and learning of scriptures. Then there’s the sporadic conversations that come up throughout the day that often inevitably leads us to discussing the Lord or scriptures.
Why do I mention all of this? All this to say that by the grace of God, our children live on a feast of scriptures and biblical truths. They have a diverse diet of good spiritual food that is nourishing to their growing little hearts and souls. Because of this, I don’t feel the pressure to have to rush through this particular studies, as perhaps I would have if it was their only source of spiritual food. I can take my time with this and go at a ridiculously slow pace if i need to, because they have other sources of spiritual food in their daily lives where they get to learn from other portions of scripture.
So truly the heart of this study isn’t just for them to acquire knowledge. As I mentioned in the introduction, this whole thing begun because there are certain habits, character traits and virtues that I want to either cement or start to establish in my children. Of course its always beneficial for me as well. For this reason, I am not rushing through it with them as my goal is not merely to finish the book quickly with them. My goal is two-fold: first, that they understand the material very well and are able to explain it back to me in their own words. Second and perhaps more important, is that where applicable, they show these virtues in their lives.
FORMAT OF THE STUDIES
I use the word format here very very loosely because there’s no real strict format that I’m applying. A lot of this is just happening organically and as time goes on, a structure of sorts has just naturally been unfolding. Typically, we tackle a few verses a day and discuss it at length (I have no strict plan, we just kinda stop based on how the conversation flows and what seems like the best place to pause); then the next day we review what we discussed the previous day, and they have to remember and be able to answer questions that i ask. We also would usually expound further on whichever subject matters warrants more discussion as I feel led to.
Sometimes we would do a case study from other portions of scripture that compliments what we’re discussing. Other times, I would use other resources like books we have and read them stories from those that align with the subject that has been discussed that day. I will give examples of what this looks like further on in the series. So after the second day or so when we’ve explored the subject matter in more detail and when I feel that they have a good handle on it, we then move on to the next section of verses.
From the very first day we begun this study, the kids set some goals based on some of the virtues that were discussed. They were very excited of course initially, just like we all are when we first set a goal. Later on they needed more reminders and external motivation (from me). After we finished chapters 1 and 2, and based on their collective progress in some of the areas that I had been monitoring according to the goals that were set, I felt it necessary to not jump to chapter 3 just yet. We spent the next couple of days going back through chapters 1 and 2 reviewing and solidifying those concepts. We talked honestly about how they had been doing (I would ask them certain direct questions and they would have to answer honestly), and I made sure to point out the areas they were doing well and give them examples of it. We expounded more where necessary and I tried to deduce some of the main ideas into catechism questions and answers that they had to memorize.
THE RECAPS
Okay so now about these recaps of our studies that i intend to be sharing with you. My plan is to quickly jot down on a piece of paper, a summary of what we ended up talking about, including as much as I can remember, shortly after our study for the day. Now y’all know how my mom life is set up and with a toddler under 2, nothing is predictable so there’s gonna be times that I’ll have to write down the summaries later than preferred. And in those instances, it’s possible I may not recall as much detail and would have to give a rather succinct summary with the main idea(s). At this time I’m not entirely sure yet how I want to organize these recaps as a series- whether i want to write recaps per chapter or per day of study. So we’ll just have to see how it unfolds.
If all goes according to plan, here’s what you can expect- I would give a recap of what we discussed in that portion of scripture, including details of how my children contributed where applicable/necessary. Sharing my children’s input is an intentional addition to encourage you to see how even young humans are capable of thinking deeply, contrary to what we are tempted to assume as adults.
You may notice that each recap will have a section that says, “dig, dig, dig, clunk, clunk, clunk. Uh oh. Got it!” Here’s a little background on this and what that section would mean.
DIG DIG DIG, CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK, UH-OH… GOT IT!
Chapter 1 starts out talking about the purpose of Proverbs and I love that it starts out that way. When we first begun our proverbs study we got to a portion where they didn’t quite understand what was being said. Coincidentally, in chapter 1 verses 5 and 6, it says that one that is wise will listen to these proverbs and increase his learning. Then it continues to say something rather interesting next- that a discerning person will obtain guidance for understanding it. So I explained to the children that it was important to not just give up when they don’t understand a proverb or a wise saying. In their case, they would seek guidance from us, their parents.
For Homeschool this year, I have a little curriculum I made up with which I’m teaching them about the Bible itself- the books of the Bible, the author, the themes etc. So as we studied chapter 1 of proverbs, I was able to incorporate that and have them identify that Proverbs was part of the books of poetry and what that meant in terms of understanding it. In chapter 2:4 it mentions searching for understanding like a hidden treasure. Now you know where the title of the series also came from:)So in discussing those scriptures, I taught my kids that it is important to approach Proverbs and wise sayings like we would if we were digging for a hidden treasure. Because proverbs/books of poetry use a lot of imagery to make their point, it typically requires digging for the hidden meanings and not just taking what is said at surface value or giving up in trying to grasp its meaning.
Thus I taught them that in order to get the meaning, it required them to don the attitude of one that was in search of a hidden treasure. They would dig dig dig, (clunk clunk clunk being the sound of the digging), and then eventually they’ll have an uh-oh moment where they get it. Of course kids love stuff like this so they got very excited about that expression and it’s since become our thing. So each time we read a parable or a portion that uses poetic language, we say together, “dig dig dig, clunk clunk clunk, uh-oh, got it!” and then we try to explore the meaning together. So it’s in essence just a cute little reminder to them that it’s time to think deeply about something we’ve read. You’ll therefore notice that I include these segments in the recap for portions where we had to dig (typically going to other portions of scripture or making other connections) to find the meaning.
Finally, after giving the recap for the day, my intention is to add a segment at the end where I encourage you to replicate this study with your own littles, in your own way of course. It will resemble something like this:
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YOUR TURN:
Now it’s your turn to read and discuss some of these verses with your little ones. You are welcome to draw inspiration from how I conducted our study for sure! It’s the only reason I share! But don’t feel limited to it, allow the Holy Spirit to lead your and your children. Do bear in mind I don’t go into these studies with a plan. We just read and allow the Lord to lead the discussion. Also if you’re just beginning bible time or bible studies with your children, remember to start out keeping it short and simple and spread it out over several days. We don’t always spend this much time in a single day. But they were very chatty and had a lot to say and were very engaged so it made for a wonderful time. Also, my do bear in mind that my children are used to bible time by now so adjust according to your own family life and children’s needs but also know when to challenge them by gradually increasing the time. Of course the more you yourself read and study your scriptures, the more connections and ideas the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance. Some ideas to help you:
- Which verses do you want to emphasize with your children? You can simply ask your children what stood out to them. Even kids as young as 3 or 4 can tell you what JUMPED OUT as you read.
- Read short sections at a time if necessary and discuss briefly before moving on.
- Don’t feel the need to expound on every single verse you read.
- Which words do you anticipate they may not understand? Explain those
- Who can you use as a case study for the virtues discussed?
- What other resources/activities can you do with your kids to further bring home the point?
- Try to connect what you read in this passage to at least two other scriptures
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Alright so that’s all for this post. Hopefully this brings some clarity and aids you in getting the most out of this blog series. In the next post, we can finally start with the recaps! Until then..
In His Love & Light
Ivy