Debi Pearl

BESTOWING FROM YOUR BOUNTY

Over two decades ago, someone gave me a painted tile for use in my kitchen. Hot containers of food rest on this trivet which protects the counter from burns. Though it’s been glued back together, chipped and lost the bracket for hanging, the tile remains in a place of honor, surviving several moves.

The painted tile is decorated with the last two lines from the poem “The Art of Living.” After all these years, I these words are meaningful to me as I consider the blessing of being able to share with others. I used to dread occasions when I might have to give because I was so focused on what I DIDN’T have. This changed when I began to take an inventory of my resources.

24 HOURS IN A DAY
Time is limited for all of us, making it a precious gift. Great wealth is not necessary for you to let someone know they are special. One of my boys still remembers a week from his childhood that he fell asleep hearing my used sewing machine grinding. By the end of the week, he had his own super hero outfit and cape. This past November, I was cleaning out a closet when I discovered he had saved that old mask and a shirt I had made for him long ago.

TALENTS
Several weeks each year were used by my grandmother to crochet special gifts to give to family members at Christmas. She didn’t get overwhelmed, rushed or overspend, but rather made good use of the time and materials she had on hand.

USE YOUR IMAGINATION
It’s nearly impossible for me to be creative if I’m not first grateful for all that I have. When my attitude is right, I’m then able to consider the possibilities. Paint and other decorations can give used and free items a second life. Children would thrill to have a chair with their name on it or a customized bike. Once you’ve trained yourself to spot creative opportunities, you’ll just need a little planning. What are your talents? Could you combine several small items to make one? Do you know of off-season sale items that could be given later? Do you have surplus items that someone else might enjoy? Craft items, sewing supplies and old tools are often available for the asking.

SHARING YOUR DELIGHT
It wasn’t enough for me to just give to my children, but I also wanted them to know the thrill of giving. A craft project may be too complicated for them to do alone, but they can help label, package and distribute the gifts. Sometimes, we just make things before we’ve decided who the recipient will be. Part of the fun might be trying to guess who will get the homemade cookies we’ve just spent a couple of hours baking.

Part of the fun for our family is being able to surprise others with unexpected gifts; it’s a rewarding experience.

I’ve located the entire poem and included it below. I don’t have the name of the author.

THE ART OF LIVING
To touch the cup with eager lips and taste, not drain it;
To woo and tempt and count a bliss, and not attain it;
To fondle and caress a joy, yet hold it lightly;
To watch the sunset in the west without regretting;
To hail its advent in the east, the night forgetting;
To smother care in happiness, and grief in laughter;
To hold the present close, not questioning the hereafter;
To have enough to share, to know the joy of giving;
To thrill with all the sweets of life -- that's living.

FLOWER CHAIN SCHOOLING

How would you like to enjoy a project with your child that offers variety and repetition of needed skills? What if that same activity provided your children with precious memories of time spent knitting their hearts to your own?

 

Making chains and garlands of flowers can accomplish this and more. A son can be taught this skill so that he might one day present treasured keepsakes to his wife or daughters. Your daughter will feel much like a princess with a wreath of flowers on her head.

 

This project requires sturdy stemmed flowers. Some of the flowers that work well for this include: asters, black-eyed Susan, daisies, globe amaranth, red clover, zinnias, bachelor buttons, chrysanthemums, dandelions, marigolds, and tithonia.

 

Use flower-picking as an opportunity to practice counting. You’ll need twenty-five or more blooms. Once collected, you both can sort them into equal piles. Another alternative is to sort them by colors or sizes. These valuable skills are enhanced with repetition.

 

Plant identification is another practical skill to be learned. Note which ones are edible. Do the plants have other uses? Learn to identify the parts of the flower. Show your child where the stamen and pistil (the name for the style, ovary and stigma) are located. What are the functions of these parts? The ideas are endless.

 

Plucking a flower firmly but gently exercises fine motor skills. By reaching for the swaying flower blooms, a child develops hand eye coordination.

 

Find a cozy spot to sit with your child and demonstrate how to cut a slit just below the flower’s head using your thumb nail. Pick up another flower and place its stem through the opening. Make another hole in the new flower’s stem, just below the blossom. Encourage your child to help you place a new stem through the hole you created in the second stem. This builds fine motor skills.

 

This is repeated until your garland is long enough to fit your head, wrist or neck. Once you’ve reached the end of your chain, take the last stem and make an opening in it large enough to allow the first flower’s head to fit through. Use the last stem to tie a knot. The excess ends can then be woven into your garland or trimmed away.

 

 

Adorn your child with the finished project in anticipation of Daddy’s arrival home.

 

To your child, you just spent time with them, showed them how to make floral decorations and had a great time. You will know that you just used one outing to cover several subjects: sorting, color identification, counting botany and learning how to finish a detailed project. Not only will your child benefit from these things, he will be enriched listening to your stories and gain an appreciation of the beauty of God’s creation.

 

 

Page 224, THE VISION by Debi Pearl

"We lay there together, our heads close and our fingers intertwining. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she handed me a long-stemmed clover and ask me to teach her how to weave a crown for her head. . . . .
“She ran about picking clover to bring to me. I poked my thumb nail into the stems to make tiny holes in order to threaded another stem through it until I had made chains of red and white clover to wind around her head."

Schooling Davy Crockett

Mooooom! Can we do school yet? I wanna learn more about Jonah!"

I looked up from checking my email to see two little boys in coonskin caps, plastic rifles, homemade tomahawk, and fringed shirts. "Puhleeeeeeease? Can we start NOW?"

Sure, Davy!" I replied.

I met him at the kitchen table with colored pencils and a printout of the text of the book of Jonah. We've been going through the short story (only 4 chapters) and marking key words. We went through the first chapter of Jonah. Every mention of Jonah was marked with a fish, mariners were marked with a boat, etc. This slowed us down and required that we looked at every word carefully.

Hidden in our 'learning how to study like Daddy' exercise were some grammar lessons: capitalization and pronouns. *wink* I've also thrown in some map reading activities. All of the questions are answered from the text, which can be a challenge when we think we already know the whole story. Davy comes by this trait honestly, unfortunately *blush.*

Davy doesn't realize that he's learning parts of speech, creative writing, study skills, etc. He thinks we are just ferreting out interesting facts that he can dazzle Daddy with when he gets home.

Each day, he writes out things he learned from the text.

His list for the first chapter included:
1. He learned a new word -- mariners -- and what it meant.
2. He learned that the mariners went from calling on several gods, to making a sacrifice to God after surviving the storm.
3. He learned that Jonah was a prophet. (Apparently, Davy Crockett didn't think God would use a rebel for that purpose. *smile*)

So, we recorded our findings sitting there at the kitchen table. Davy wore his best fringed shirt and jeans (with a hole in the knee) for the occasion. We sat there with a Bible, a map, extra paper and colored pencils, determined that every word be given careful consideration. Learning SO much -- especially ME.

I learned that if it is framed as an adventure, my never-wants-to-fail son is a happy learner. He's not afraid of a struggle. He thrives on the feeling of accomplishment that comes from seeing his own progress. He isn't a BIT interested in seeing a good grade on a test. Grammar or writing exercises for the sake of practice would just tempt him to rebel. He needs to see it all as a means to an end -- learning with a purpose.

One day, he will have a family of his own to teach. He realizes that he NEEDS to know how to study these words and KNOW their meaning for himself. He's learning how to be a teacher, to bear the weight of man-things. . . Such a HUGE task for a skinny kid . . .

Yet, when we were done, he flopped his coonskin cap back onto his head, shouldered his haversack, picked up the plastic rifle and with shining eyes said, "You think I'm doing good, mom?"

"Yes, son, you're doing GREAT!" I replied.
He stood a bit taller on his bare feet and said, "I'm going outside, okay?"

Sure, Davy -- king-of-the-wild-frontier -- go play!