Sometimes in the mornings, I read the Bible to my children. Last week, I decided that I wanted to focus on wisdom, and I got a good idea.

I had some old posterboard that I pulled out and I drew three columns, labeling each column: wise, simple, foolish. Since King Solomon said that finding wisdom was like finding treasure and jewels, we put jewels on our chart. I let the children glue some foam beads I had all along the column edges. I told them the beads were like jewels (fake jewels from a hobby store would have been nice, but I didn’t want to put off the project to get supplies). I’m not a perfectionist; I’m sure some artsy types could make this look really great. I just wanted it to look great to my children.

Then I told the children that we were going to compile words from the Bible that tell us about these three kinds of people. I would read the chapter, and then when they heard something that fit on our chart, we’d write it down.

We’ve been doing it all week. I’ve adapted it some from my early intentions. They’re not old enough to catch the characteristics without some exaggeration, emphasis, and pointed questions when I read. I’ve also not been reading the whole chapters because I don’t want to discourage them. Basically I read the chapter until I see their eyes start to wander, and then I read a verse that they can grasp in this context. I also learned that it was a good idea to read the chapter ahead of time and have an idea of what verses I was going to emphasize.

Another change I made was that I started writing down their questions about wisdom on the chart. David started asking questions, and he asked if I was going to write them down. Writing down the questions motivates them to think of things to ask, and often it’s related to what I’m reading. I could let them draw pictures that match

They’re excited about the project, and that makes me excited. I’ll give some specific questions and conversations tomorrow.

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Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Wisdom