More on For His Pleasure

by Becky Wyand

1. Col. 1:16-19 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him:  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.”

Here we see a clear picture of the Father and the Son.  We see also that the Father is pleased when the Son has his exact, deserved, and honored place.  May we make it our mission to teach this to our children.

Remember: If we had the proper picture of God it would be easy to give Him pleasure.  Study therefore to KNOW Him. 

2. Thinking Skills

Word problems in Math are excellent brain stretchers.  Begin with the very young child asking him to think about the answer to a problem you give orally.

Listen, please!  What I have observed is that the very young have wonderful opportunities with this problem solving.  But when Math books are used, the opportunities to “think about” numbers and their use dry up!  Be alert to this, and try to do at least one oral math problem a day.  Don’t worry about it being too hard or too easy.  If it is too hard, help with the answer; keep your compassionate and helpful attitude.  If it is too easy, let the answer roll!  Try to make the problem a bit more difficult the next day.

3. Discipline

You are the best person to assess the needs of your child.  Remember that God is faithful and anxious to make a child’s needs known to you.  Your observation is the best tool for discerning discipline needs.  Do NOT over-look the value of observation. 

Then after you have observed something (an unacceptable behavior) do something about it.

Do NOT panic.

Do NOT run from one answer to another.

Do NOT wait for him to outgrow the unacceptable behavior.

Do NOT look at everyone else as being too strict or harsh.

Do pray very specifically, expecting specific guidance.

Do search the Scriptures to see if they tell you what to do.

Do accept Godly advice without personal persecution.

Do remain faithful to your responsibility.

4. Self-Image

Please feel free to discuss this topic with me as I feel we must discuss it, but I have trouble writing about it.

You have probably thought to yourself, “He has a poor self-image.” (If you haven’t thought it, you have at least heard someone else say it.)  Please consider self-image from this point of view.

When a child sulks and expresses poor self-image, he is really saying, “I didn’t get my way.”  Before you throw this away or stop reading, please follow my thinking.

• I will concede that I do not know everything about self-image.
• I want you to listen to this possibility.

The child sulks because he is he last one chosen for the ball team.

Why is he sulking?  Perhaps because he wanted to be thought of as a good player.  OR because he wanted on So and So’s team.  Maybe he wanted the other guys to like him better.  We could go on and on about why he sulks.  But did you notice, the root of the reason is the same; what he wanted.

What to do?

When you see your child displaying signs of “poor self-image,” ask yourself, “why?”  Then begin to work with your child about this.

For example: Maybe your child is expected to read orally in a group but can’t read.  He begins to think that he is dumb and everyone else is smart.  Perhaps this affects his behavior and attitude at other times.

            What to do???

• Pray
• Talk openly about the problem
• Ask, “What is God doing?”  “Why would God do it this way?”  “How is this for my good?”  “How is this seeing God operate out of love for me?”
• Begin growing into the person that God has chosen for you (parent and child)
• Agree that I will do my part to learn to read (overcome whatever the obstacle was), but be willing to gladly accept God’s plan.

In conclusion, now when I notice a self-image problem, I will not jump to boost the image.  Rather I will work to get at the root, assuming that it is usually, “I think too highly of myself.”

5. Dictation

This school year we have been focusing on dictation as a method for teaching.  Let’s look at some reasons for encouraging this method:

• To review and academic subject, such as spelling
• To encourage complete focusing
• To practice thinking skills
• To require complete listening
• To help learning to follow directions
• To show excellent examples, as in sentence structure
• To test for a certain skill or information