Finding Life in Dry Lessons
If lessons are meant to be creative, mine fail. This year, lessons are pretty much straight from the book. Commendable plans smolder in my thoughts. Our idea books are perused often, but not by me. My son has taken to finding his own creativity. I applaud his efforts.
When I asked him to record the characters in Pilgrim’s Progress, he hunted for Alternatives to Worksheets. Not taking into account my paper-cutting, creative-sketching, engineer-type son, I traded it on Paperbackswap. (My friend Mandi is putting it to good use.) Similar books grace our shelves, so I did not think it would be missed. It was, but only momentarily. Once Bug explained his idea, I found another tab book as an example. He finished his lesson with flourish.
Enter guilt. Where is my creativity? I should be adding interesting projects to make school exciting. If I battle laziness, and quit being distracted, maybe my son will not draw incessantly at the bottom of every assignment. Then again, maybe that isn’t so bad. His mark of individuality is on each page, and every doodle tells a story. I need some of his inspiration. Thus the thoughts clash in my heart. I can choose guilt and despair, or forgiveness and hope.
In Pilgrim’s Progress Hopeful and Christian are captured by Giant Despair. Thrown into the dungeon and tormented the prisoners refuse to die, so the giant plans to kill them. Fearful captives intercede through the night. Then Christian delivers a passionate speech,
What a fool, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.
The key does indeed unlock the doors, and the companions escape, free to continue their path to beloved Celestial City. Like these two pilgrims, I cannot remain burdened by fear any longer. Wallowing in guilt cripples. There are keys for me to use. They are principles to challenge my negativity.
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. Philippians 1:6
I am unfinished. The grace of God is my hope as I forge ahead on this pilgrim journey.
A battered reed he will not break off, and a smoldering wick he will not put out, until he leads justice to victory. Mathew 12:20
I am not ashes yet. The breath of the Holy Spirit blows on my heart to ignite my soul.
Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. Pslams 30:5
With the keys firmly in my grasp, I hear the chains clatter as they hit the floor. The gate swings open, and the paralyzed giant is no longer a threat. I am free!
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~Renae Deckard
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I love Pilgrim’s Progress. We have it on video. One is cartoon, the other real.
What a lovely way to apply that lesson.
Feeling Free and Refreshed!! Good for you!!!
Blessings!
~Jacque
Jacque,
Thank you. I am always amazed at the way God can speak to me through my son’s lessons.
I didn’t know if we would need to get Little Pilgrim’s Progress or not. I decided to try the original version, and my son was hooked from the first page. We just keep the dictionary nearby. :)
We are enjoying The Dangerous Journey video version, as well. The still pictures are nicely done, and the narrator engaging. The link is in my sidebar, if you are interested. I don’t purchase many videos, but that one might be worth it.
Even as I felt for you, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece! Great insights! I’m not sure though if I’m brave enough to break open the original PP with my daughter.Hmmm…
Warmly, Miiko
Miiko,
Thank you. Not all moms are as melancholy, but most are hard on themselves. I hope by sharing my struggles you are encouraged.
My son has always loved words and poems, so Pilgrim’s Progress has been wonderful for him. He actually likes all the words that end in -eth. We will study it more in depth when he is older. Right now we are just enjoying the story and the language.
My children have really been enjoying Dangerous Journey on the AIG website which is Pilgrim’s Progress with more modern language and nice illustrations. Now they act it out…one of the sections was added on and detracts from the story, but you can skip that part.
Great insights, Renae. And I think we are continually challenged by our children to improve and to adapt to help them. It reminds me of the verse we all know so well…train up a child in the way he should go. Not the way we would have him go.
I think you are teaching your son a great deal by allowing him the flexibility to look through your resources and modify assignments. He will learn a great deal from that and it will also guarantee that he isn’t just “spoon fed” or that your homeschool becomes activity-driven which is very easy to do.
Dana,
That is the version we have been watching. We really like it. I think that is partly what inspired my son’s tab book. He wanted to sketch the characters.
Thank you for your encouragement. I tend to see the negative, and often my expectations for school don’t match reality. But as you’ve said before we are usually the hardest on ourselves.
My son has always enjoyed adapting his assignments. I’m glad we have the time to go slowly. I don’t want to take his joy away.
I loved this post. We all have times when we lay in the dungeon afraid of the giant!
Renae, I appreciated this honest, revealing post, and I can relate to those feelings of fear, guilt, and inadequacy. I’m definitely hard on myself, too. Thankfully I have a husband who always tells me what an incredible mom I am (even if he’s not always right!) :-)
Mrs. Darling and Jennifer,
Thank you for you kind words. We cannot remain paralyzed by our fears. Our children are too precious.
Jennifer,
I am glad your husband is so supportive. It helps when others walk beside you.
This is excellent Renae! I can also relate to feeling inadequate. Lies Satan is so good at convincing us of. God is so faithful in reminding us that His grace is sufficient for every area of our lives.
Tell your son I am so sorry to have taken his book of inspiration – my kids can relate – they have looked through this book over and over again since we got it in the mail! ( :
Warmly,
Mandi
Mandi,
We all feel so inadequate at times. Thankfully God’s grace is shown in our weakness.
I’m glad your kids like the book! Bug is no longer upset with me. I showed him the rest of my stash. :)
[...] Last week, we learned how to make a simple circuit and Renae from Life Nurturing Education shared Finding Life in Dry Lessons which is well worth the read if you have not already done [...]