Forgiveness-
Grace-
Love-
Compassion-
Patience-
Thankfulness-
I'm sure that this only scratches the surface and that there are many other important concepts that are sometimes difficult to explain to our children. I would love to hear your suggestions of other words we could include as well!
Some of you have older kids and have experience in explaining these important words and some of you are just plain creative and can help me out. If you have any ideas, would you mind leaving a definition for any word(s) that you want and any ideas you have for helping explain it?
You are welcome to use any ideas or printables shared on this blog for your personal use only. Please do not use any photos without prior consent. If you decide to blog about something you have seen here, please provide a link back to this blog. Thank you!
Redeem/redemption
ReplyDeletehi! I found your blog through a friend and I'm so glad I did. What a sweet ministry you have going on here!!
ReplyDeleteJoy might be another little word to add that is rich in meaning. I'm learning with my kids that words that are sometimes hard to define are easier to demonstrate, practice and talk about along the way. We work words out "along the way".
Thanks again for all you are doing to inspire moms to live out authentic faith in front of their kids.
-carrie
Love this idea (to work on finding ways to help kids define big important words)... maybe justification, atonement, heaven and hell (eek, i'm working on thinking through these- my 4 year old has been asking a lot of questions, which has led me to re-examine what I've always been taught about heaven and hell), justice, faithfulness...those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful project! I'll be staying tuned to see how it progresses. I really love your dedication to teaching your children these important truths.
ReplyDeleteA couple of words come to mind (probably because we've been discussing them in our own family recently): Salvation and worship.
Thank you for your blog. It's a huge blessing to me!
Agree with those listed above. mercy. Praise. I have always told my girls that grace is getting something we donot deserve, like a cookie when we have not been well behaved, and mercy is not getting what we do deserve, like not getting the timeout or spanking when we should be punished.
ReplyDeleteThey all kind of intertwine. When we forgive, we are kind of giving others God's grace, which comes from love and compassion and God's patience for our human errors of which I am very thankful for! :0) I talk about how we feel in our hearts. There is a children's book called God's Dream. I don't know the author off hand...but it has been wonderful to put into pictures for little one's how we feel in our hearts when we fight and how we feel when we can forgive. We talk about forgiving others as Jesus forgave us by dying on the cross for us. My kids seem to get that. We always have our kiddos say, "I forgive you" when someone says they are sorry. They sometimes even say "like Jesus forgave me." It is so precious! We can heal our hearts with forgiveness and make them feel whole again.
ReplyDeleteI have found one of the best ways to explain and give example of godly character traits is through a book we are reading in our homeschooling- Hero Tales http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Tales-Treasury-Stories-Christian/dp/076420078X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325340202&sr=8-1
ReplyDelete- a compilation of various Christian heros such as Martin Luther and William Tyndale and others throughout history who have done extraordinary things. One of the great things about this book is that there are godly character traits for each section of the chapters that feature a particular person. For example the book touches on perserverance, vision, obedience and gives a very simple, concise definition of those traits then a Scripture verse that goes along with it. It's a great resource and my children (ages 22 months- 10) love it!
Can't really help much, I'm afraid, as my daughter's still a bit young for abstract defintions. However, I have passed on to you the Versatile Blogger award - please visit here to see the rules: http://educatingiona.blogspot.com/2012/01/versatile-blogger-award.html. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletehumm, I am new to your blog and already love it! I LOVE this idea... here are my thoughts.. they may not be perfect but are hopefully a start for you...
ReplyDeleteForgiveness-
not wanting to get back or even with someone when they hurt you (your body or feelings)
Grace-
a gift you don't deserve
Love-
I can't sum it up... Can't wait to see what you come up with. :)
Compassion-
Thinking about how others must feel and trying to help them feel better
Patience-
Waiting with a good attitude
Thankfulness-
Being glad for something that someone gives you and telling them so.