Tag Archives: summer activities

Experience is the Best Teacher

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by Pat Lamb (www.patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

Experience is the Best Teacher

         Now that the end of school is near, thoughts naturally turn toward summer activities.  It is a good idea to plan activities for the summer that will teach children those needed things that the school curriculum cannot cover. School vacation is perhaps the only opportunity to teach children what they need to know to provide a good home for their children when they grow up. It also provides an opportunity for family outings that will enhance a child’s understanding of what is taught from books in school.

         Providing experiences during the summer months is the best way to teach children.  These experiences should include the actual doing of housecleaning, cooking, and home maintenance.  In addition, trips should be planned to take children where they can experience first hand some of the historical sites or places of interest.

         A good way to plan the summer is to sit down with the children and ask each to say what he/she would choose to do to help in the home. Children who make a choice are more likely to do the task. If the parent simply gives an ultimatum, the children will complain more.  Ideally, a discussion will occur where the parents explain the reason for the children taking part in the home.  They need to know that it is for their own good as well as to help the family. Chores appropriate to ability need to be selected by each child and a chart should be made to indicate when the child accomplishes the activity.  

Whenever possible, dad and mom need to work side by side with the children to demonstrate how chores are to be done. It is tempting to demand perfection on a child’s first try. The child needs time to master chores and should not be expected to excel right away. Dad or mom can demonstrate how to mop a floor, wash windows, vacuum, polish furniture, dust, or clean special items around the house.  Both boys and girls should be helping in the kitchen with food preparation and cleaning. 

Short or long vacation trips should be planned that will not only be fun, but will be educational.  State and national parks are wonderful places to take children. These trips really do a great deal to add to a child’s vocabulary and when certain events are studied in school, children can relate what they experienced to the reading in the textbook. When a child has a large vocabulary, that child is better able to comprehend what is being read.  Children automatically increase their vocabulary through experiences.

One often overlooked experience that children definitely need is that of church attendance.  How sad it is to realize that there are many children who have never attended a church service.  How can children understand how our constitution came about if they have no knowledge of spiritual beliefs?  How can they grow up to appreciate the reason for the forming of our country if they know nothing about the spiritual beliefs of others?  There are churches all around us and it costs no money to take children to see what happens in church.

It is so very important to keep children busy. If they aren’t kept busy with positive activities, they are left to contrive their own busy-ness, and that is often not a good thing.

Places to Go and Things to Show

parenting, Raising kids,

Train up a child…

 

Places to Go and Things to Show

 

Now that summer is almost here, thoughts turn to family outings. We are blessed to have many places in our area that are fun and educational for the entire family. I know that all children love theme parks and I have nothing to say against them. However, it would be wise to provide a variety of experiences for children to enhance their understanding and enrich their vocabulary. Providing worthwhile experiences for children goes a very long way toward improving their performance in school and life itself.

Following are some ideas for family trips within the area that would be of great benefit to children: It is important to take the time while there to thoroughly see all there is to offer and talk about what is seen. Some of these places have good books that can be purchased and brought home to give the children excellent reading material during the summer months.

  • Wilson Creek Battlefield is located near Republic within easy driving distance.
  • Pea Ridge Battlefield located this side of Rogers, AR.
  • George Washington Carver Memorial near Joplin at Diamond, MO
  • Roaring River State Park located near Cassville. There is a trout farm at the park and one-day fishing permits can be purchased. Campgrounds are available for tents or RV’s. There is a beautiful lodge and restaurant and they will cook a trout that you catch for you. You will want to visit the gift shop and pick up a copy of the book, “Roaring River Heritage”. There are interesting stories in the book about a woman doctor who came there in the old days. Also, there is a story about the CCC boys who worked there during the depression years and a woman who claimed to be a seer. …
  • The Passion Play at Eureka Springs, AR, draws visitors from all over the world, yet many people in our area have never seen it. It would be good to go early and take the Holy Land tour. Replicas have been built showing many things from Bible times. A replica of a tabernacle with the Holy of Holies, the altar used in Old Testament times, a vineyard with a watchtower, Christ’s tomb, Peter’s fishing boat, and the upper room where the last supper was held before the crucifixion are a few of the things one might see.
  • The Butterfly Palace is a wonderful place for children to learn some science.
  • Manufacturing sites are very educational for children in helping them understand what goes into making some of the products we use or preparing some of the foods we eat.
  • Particularly for those who like rocks, there is a museum at Golden, MO, that has many interesting rock formations as well as arrowheads and other items.
  • The museum at College of the Ozarks has arrowheads found in this area and grandparents will appreciate seeing the car used in the Beverly Hillbillies TV series.

 

These are just a few ideas. With a little investigation, I’m sure many more could be found.

Let’s plan a summer with worthwhile activities and not let it slip away wondering where it has gone. Children are only young once. We need to enjoy them and do all we can to prepare them for their future.