... hangin' with Dad

Well, Saturday was a wonderful day for most of us... Dad and the four youngest boys spent most of the afternoon in the shop working on our broken mini van. It's been quite a project, but they've finally made it to the climatic stages and will soon be descending to completion.

Today, they put the engine back in.

However, as you can see by the pictures at left, Nathan and Noah got a little distracted. Here is the result of two imaginations, a little sense of adventure and a lot of crazy-boy wacky-ness.

For His Own Glory

One of the things we have loved about home schooling is the ability to teach all day long. The flexibility of the homeschooling schedule leaves room for impromptu classes and field trips, as well as many other things.

One of the best little impromptu classes that Mom taught the two youngest boys was the 50 states and their locations on the map. Nevin was almost 7, and Nolan was 5. They relished the time with Mom and picked up on the names and shapes of the states very quickly. We were pleased to see them put their knowledge to good use the following summer when they were quizzed by a family friend.

The boys were together observing a large American flag flying over head and our friend asked, "How many stars are on that flag?"
"50," Was the simple answer.
"And what do those 50 stars represent?"
"50 states," Well, of course. :-)
He continued with questions about the states, talking about the 13 colonies, and the smallest and largest in the Union. When asking what the largest state was, the boys pondered for a moment. Nolan, ignoring suggestions for "Texas" from other nearby friends, shouted excitedly, "Alaska!"
We all smiled.

Another favorite learning experience has been going through the Westminster Shorter catechism and the children's First catechism. 3 year old Aliza has been learning the first several of the children's catechism, and to hear her sweet voice recite each answer is so precious.

Today during lunch Ashlee was reading off different questions, quizzing Dad, Mom and the other children for the right answers. It was great family time, and the older children, as well as Mom and Dad, were amazed with the simple truths contained in each answer.
"Who made you?" "God." "What else did God make?" "God made all things." "Why did God make you and all things?" "For his own glory."

We were struck with the importance and reality of that when Aliza and Mom sat, later that evening, on Angela's bed talking about the simple topics that entertain 3-year-olds. Our kitten Fitzwilliam naturally came up.
Mom asked, in a silly tone, "Why did God make Fitzy with a tail?"
Not stopping a moment to think Aliza answered as if trained, "For His own glory."

Those in the room were speechless. And then we tried to stifle our giggles.