Yesterday was an amazing day! I had one of my favourite preschooler friends over for a lesson in the morning and we got to talking as we were completing a paint with water (and watercolours!) picture.
"Who's your mom?" queried my little friend.
"My mom is Mrs. Edwards who teaches you about Jesus in Children's Church, " I replied.
"And my mom teaches me and [brother] and [sister] at home," she said.
"That's right. And my mom used to teach me and my brother and two sisters about Jesus at my home when we were little. Now, she doesn't have any little people living at her house, so she teaches you about Jesus in Children's Church."
"This paint is white, just like the colour Jesus made my heart," she remarked, moving on. I just treasured this little snippet of conversation because it shows what a difference moms are making. I praise God for a mother who raised me to know Jesus, who taught me to spend time in God's Word and in prayer everyday by setting me the example of doing this herself. Sometimes I don't always see eye to eye with my mom about everything, but I respect her opinions because she has lived out her life demonstrating faithfulness in all she does. She taught me to obey not because she was right (which she was), but because in obeying her, I showed my love and obedience for Jesus. (This early teaching, by the way, saved her a lot of grief when it came to the teenage years!) I remember her reading Little Pilgrim's Progress to us as well as countless children's books, poems, and Bible stories, not because they catered to her interests, but because she wanted to instill in us a love of literature. It is a direct result of this early influence that I was reading at 4 and have a library of over 2000 books today, including a treasured copy of Little Pilgrim's Progress (as well as the original) which I found a couple of years ago in a thrift store rummage!
Anyways, all that is just to say that I love moms and I think they need a lot more encouragement than they get some days. So if you're reading this, and you're feeling guilty because you didn't have time to construct the Great Pyramid out of sugar cubes this week amid running the eight year old to hockey, dance, soccer, swimming, and guitar lessons and making fresh play dough for the 4 year old while hearing her recite the alphabet and feeding the baby and getting meals and making sure the house runs smoothly, please remember that the choices you are making for your kids now have a lasting impact and above all, stay close to Jesus. "Apart from me you can do nothing." John 15. Have a blessed week!
Jennifer
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Still Praying
Well, I'm still looking for full-time preschool / day care kids. This has certainly been an exercise in trusting God. I do not consider myself to be entrepreneurial by nature, so starting my own business and not having a regular paycheck can tend to cause slight panic attacks until I remember that I'm not in this on my own. God has given me a passion for this little corner of Northern Ontario and a passion for educating children to high, Christian standards. There are so few teaching jobs available in the Public or Catholic boards, and we don't have a local Christian school... yet.
What does a Christian preschool mean? It means that every morning, we start the day off with prayer, trusting God to lead us into the learnings He has for us that day. We thank Him for the weather, whatever it may be, knowing that by the "word of His power" He is "upholding all things" (Hebrews 1:3). We thank Him for daily providing for our needs - our snack, our lunch, the roof over our heads, our families. We read Bible stories that tie into our theme - Jonah for Oceans, Noah for Rainbows, Joseph for Clothes... We listen to music that honours God and reminds us of who He is and what Jesus has done for us - Jesus Loves Me, For God so Loved the World, He's Able... It means that we look at all of our science experiments through the lens of God's Intelligent Design of the world - monkeys climb because God made them that way, ice melts because God knew we wouldn't want it to be winter all the time, God gave whales blubber to keep them warm in the cold water... In everything we do, we want to "remember our Creator in the days of our youth" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). It is not my job to force kids to make a profession of faith. It's not even my job to lead them through that process. It is God's job to capture their hearts and lead them to Himself through the work of His Holy Spirit. It is their parent's job to daily live out their faith at home, to answer their kids' questions about God, and to lead them in prayer when the time comes. If I can keep on praying for them and encouraging them to see God's hand at work in their lives and in the world around them, to live their lives for His honour and glory, I will have produced much fruit!
This entry may have turned out to be more mission statement-y than I originally intended, but it was good for me to stop and consider why it is still so important for me to advertise as a Christian preschool, when that "label" may turn some people off. I am a Christian and this is the only way I know how to live. God honours faithfulness to Him. Jesus, let me be faithful.
Jennifer
What does a Christian preschool mean? It means that every morning, we start the day off with prayer, trusting God to lead us into the learnings He has for us that day. We thank Him for the weather, whatever it may be, knowing that by the "word of His power" He is "upholding all things" (Hebrews 1:3). We thank Him for daily providing for our needs - our snack, our lunch, the roof over our heads, our families. We read Bible stories that tie into our theme - Jonah for Oceans, Noah for Rainbows, Joseph for Clothes... We listen to music that honours God and reminds us of who He is and what Jesus has done for us - Jesus Loves Me, For God so Loved the World, He's Able... It means that we look at all of our science experiments through the lens of God's Intelligent Design of the world - monkeys climb because God made them that way, ice melts because God knew we wouldn't want it to be winter all the time, God gave whales blubber to keep them warm in the cold water... In everything we do, we want to "remember our Creator in the days of our youth" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). It is not my job to force kids to make a profession of faith. It's not even my job to lead them through that process. It is God's job to capture their hearts and lead them to Himself through the work of His Holy Spirit. It is their parent's job to daily live out their faith at home, to answer their kids' questions about God, and to lead them in prayer when the time comes. If I can keep on praying for them and encouraging them to see God's hand at work in their lives and in the world around them, to live their lives for His honour and glory, I will have produced much fruit!
This entry may have turned out to be more mission statement-y than I originally intended, but it was good for me to stop and consider why it is still so important for me to advertise as a Christian preschool, when that "label" may turn some people off. I am a Christian and this is the only way I know how to live. God honours faithfulness to Him. Jesus, let me be faithful.
Jennifer
Friday, February 18, 2011
Back Online!
Well, I finally have internet access again after my move! This is very exciting, but does not necessarily guarantee that I'll be writing any more frequently!!! My self-education journey continues to progress. Here is a list of my 2011 Reads so far:
Anne of Green Gables series (all 8 books, a yearly reading selection since I've been 12 years old! I still cry in every book!)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis - I had to read it before I saw the movie!)
Gullivers Travels (only Lilliput & Brobdingnag - again, I just watched the movie! Aside: Jack Black is hilarious!)
Brothers Far From Home: The WWI Diary of Eliza Bates (I'm on a bit of a WWI kick right now - it started with Rilla of Ingleside)
The Wingless Bird, Catherine Cookson
Sinners and Shadows, Catrin Collier
Danny Boy, Anne Bennett
(The last three were recommendations from our local librarian... I don't think she quite understood what I was looking for... they were basically romances about women not about the actual events of WWI... oh well, the last one, Danny Boy, I actually quite enjoyed. It is the story of a woman and her husband who had to leave Ireland to get away from the IRA and their search for employment in England, among other touching events.)
Megiddo's Shadow - excellent about Cdn. Yeomanry trooper sent to the Dardanelles
If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona MacGregor, Toronto, 1918 (Jean Little)... amazing read - I finished it in one afternoon and I cried buckets!
Currently, I'm reading All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque which is written from a German protagonist's perspective and is exceptionally interesting.
I'm also attempting to get through Confessions by St. Augustine, but it's a pretty hard row to hoe! If I can get a couple of Books done per month, I count myself as doing well!
In addition, I'm doing tons of reading from the Old Fashioned Education grade 3 reading list relating to Ancient History. She does have some excellent selections and the Science Readers by William J. Long are amazing... they make me want to become a naturalist!! (http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/)
I'll try to be back soon with more of an update on the preschool program, but wanted to get these readings recorded while they were still fresh in my mind!
Happy life-long learning!
Jennifer
Anne of Green Gables series (all 8 books, a yearly reading selection since I've been 12 years old! I still cry in every book!)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis - I had to read it before I saw the movie!)
Gullivers Travels (only Lilliput & Brobdingnag - again, I just watched the movie! Aside: Jack Black is hilarious!)
Brothers Far From Home: The WWI Diary of Eliza Bates (I'm on a bit of a WWI kick right now - it started with Rilla of Ingleside)
The Wingless Bird, Catherine Cookson
Sinners and Shadows, Catrin Collier
Danny Boy, Anne Bennett
(The last three were recommendations from our local librarian... I don't think she quite understood what I was looking for... they were basically romances about women not about the actual events of WWI... oh well, the last one, Danny Boy, I actually quite enjoyed. It is the story of a woman and her husband who had to leave Ireland to get away from the IRA and their search for employment in England, among other touching events.)
Megiddo's Shadow - excellent about Cdn. Yeomanry trooper sent to the Dardanelles
If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona MacGregor, Toronto, 1918 (Jean Little)... amazing read - I finished it in one afternoon and I cried buckets!
Currently, I'm reading All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque which is written from a German protagonist's perspective and is exceptionally interesting.
I'm also attempting to get through Confessions by St. Augustine, but it's a pretty hard row to hoe! If I can get a couple of Books done per month, I count myself as doing well!
In addition, I'm doing tons of reading from the Old Fashioned Education grade 3 reading list relating to Ancient History. She does have some excellent selections and the Science Readers by William J. Long are amazing... they make me want to become a naturalist!! (http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/)
I'll try to be back soon with more of an update on the preschool program, but wanted to get these readings recorded while they were still fresh in my mind!
Happy life-long learning!
Jennifer
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