On Our Easter Lemon Hunt (An Object Lesson)

It was four years ago that we started using lemons instead of eggs for our Easter celebrations.

April 2009

I was organizing Sunday School Easter activities for our community of believers.

Our regular meeting place at the time was on the banks of a holy river, on the ghats, and a private Hindu temple adjacent to the property.

April 2009

Many Hindus are vegetarian.  Eggs contain the potential for life. 

I didn't want to risk offending by hiding boiled eggs on the property.  So I chose to use lemons.

April 2013

And someone (I can't remember who) said, "Lemons work.  Jesus took the lemons of Friday and turned them into lemonade on Sunday."  And we do too.  And when we drink, we remember.  We remember how He suffered, tasted the sourness of our sin.  But on Sunday, He turned all the sour into sweet.  Redeemed it.  Made all things new.

 

On Our Resurrection Garden with Coconut Tomb (An Object Lesson)

Every year, to remind our hearts why we celebrate Easter, we create a Resurrection Garden. 

Daddy teaches them about Good Friday.  Uses a coconut to tell them.

Our hearts are dark and rough.  Like the outside of the coconut.

But on Good Friday, Jesus was beaten and crushed.  Daddy breaks open the coconut.

He shows them the inside of the fruit.  It's white, pure, fresh, good.  

Because Jesus was broken for us, we can be made clean too.

We use the coconut to symbolize the tomb in our Garden.

 We sing.  Of His love.  For all the children.

 

On Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Zesty Barbecue Sauce recipe 

(adapted from Betty Crocker)

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 4 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce*
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Heat all ingredients to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Or toss all ingredients into crockpot with 6-8 drumsticks (or 2 sets of chicken quarters), cook on high for 4 hours or low overnight (6-8 hours). 

*I can usually find Worcestershire sauce at the import store, but we recently found some that is made locally made by Weikfield 200 g for 40 rps.
 

On Palm Sunday Drama South Asian Style

We spent our Palm Sunday meeting with a small group of believers, all men.  The kids and I sat in the back corner of the ten by ten room on a mat made from woven plastic.  The raindrops had just begun to tumble outside the open, barred window.  We could hear the horns of vehicles driving by, unaware of the heavenly gathering inside.

While I tried to keep the children as quiet as possible and engaged in activities that pointed their hearts to the reason for the Day, my ears were also tuned to the groups' prayers and praises uttered in Hindi.  The men, mostly in their twenties and new believers, lifted their hands, bowed their bodies, beat the drum and the tambourine, lifted their voices, and whispered their prayers.  In one chorus.  Slightly off beat and off key, perhaps, but their hearts were joined.

And, as is the South Asian style, the leader of the group asked him if he would share the message.  Though he had nothing prepared, he opened God's Word and broke the bread, feeding the hungry.

We read Luke 19.  Then, he prompted the children and I to perform the story.  Timidly, I suggested he encourage the men to act out the events.  And so it began.

Characters were assigned.  Palm branches gathered and distributed.  "Jesus" returned with a goatee drawn on his chin and cloth draped on his shoulders.

The colt was tied up, the disciples obtained it, the owner questioning them then releasing his beast for the Master.  Jesus sat upon the colt, walked through the city.  The children and I lifted our voices, "Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  But we could barely be heard because of the men, though these young men did not shout.  No.  They did not say, "Hosanna".  Perhaps it is because they were new believers, or because of cultural differences in worship or in drama.   But what they did was better!  What they did...it captured the essence and the heart of the message of Palm Sunday.  The men sang!  I did not understand the words, but they sang.  They sang of Jesus, the King, the Savior, the One who has come and is coming!  And there was joy!  JOY!

On the Reasons for Our Curriculum Choices for Preschool for 2012-2013

* Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

I had tried The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. We didn't like it. I thought 100 Easy Lessons was basically the same thing. It's not. I had heard so many others say they used 100 Easy Lessons to teach their children to read that I thought I should give it a try since I had such a hard time finding something that worked for my oldest. I bought it and have been waiting to use it with Sugar Plum. I thought I would wait until she was 5 years old, but she wanted to learn to read because her big sisters were reading. About three weeks ago, even though Sugar Plum is just 4 years old, we started the lessons and she has been soaring with it! We are on lesson 18, and we only do a lesson when she asks for one. I'm not pushing her, though I am rewarding her when she completes a lesson, works hard, and doesn't complain. We skip the writing portion of the lessons because she's doing other activities to develop those muscles and skills, and I don't want to slow her down by adding in the writing - I just want her to read. We are both thrilled with this program!


* Sonlight P4/5

This is my third round with this core, though this is the first time I have had all of the books and consumables since I have just borrowed the core from someone else In the past. I always enjoy reading these books with my preschoolers. The older two sit in on the readings with us. They remember most of the stories from when it was their core, but some of the stories are new to them since I didn't have all of the books back then. Even the stories that they have heard before they are still delighted with. Sugar Plum doesn't always sit still through the readings, but she is always in the room and asks to see the pictures most of the time. Just delightful reading.


* Get Ready for the Code (Explode the Code series)

The older two girls have used these workbooks. Little Pumpkin was not a fan, but I feel like it was good practice for her anyway. She is just not a worksheet kind of gal. Sugar Plum, on the other hand, really enjoys workbooks and within two weeks moved to book 2 of Sonlight's Developing the Early Learner series. So, I got Get Ready for the Code to give her some phonics practice.


* Random math worksheets printed from the Internet to help with spacial development and number recognition.

I've collected free worksheets over the years, including Pre-K math worksheets, and have had them stored on my computer. I know some of them come from Confessions of a Homeschooler's K-4 curriculum, but I'm not sure where I found the others. They are just fun, age appropriate worksheets, games, or activities to help with number recognition and basic addition.