Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut. 11:19)
THERE WERE FOOTPRINTS all over the floor. Taped in a row going down the hall, these colorful prints were a normal part of childhood in our home. As a teacher, I felt it was important to teach little ones lessons using all of their senses. We sang number songs, formed letters with macaroni, and counted out simple math problems by stepping on colorful, numbered footprints on the floor. It worked. They quickly grasped numerical concepts and progressed well through other lessons. I learned from great teachers—children comprehend more if they can actively learn.
Don’t you suppose our Father God understood that concept long before we did? Isn’t it interesting that Scripture doesn’t tell us to have our children always sit in neat rows, without moving, while we lecture them on important truths? Besides the fact that their wiggly bodies can only keep still for so long, He knew they would remember better if those lessons were reinforced by normal activities. Sermons are rarely as effective as the parables of ordinary life.
To teach in this way requires a choice on our part. We must be willing to turn off our phones and other devices long enough to really focus on Him and on the precious children He has given us. With our focus right, we’ll be ready to catch those teachable moments and give them lessons they’ll never forget.
Look for opportunities to teach your children as you go along the way.
Karon L. Storment lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with her husband, Jim. Together they direct Bethany House Ministries.
