NY or Bust!
Yay! The littlest guy and I are on our way back home.
I really needed to get away. My focus has waned over the past few months. Life is changing significantly for me and my hormonal imbalance spawned by the hysterectomy is hazing any chance of clarity I may have.
Thus, I flee.
Follow me on Twitter as I tweet my way through this physical, spiritual, and emotional journey.
Love
What is love?
The Art of Elocution
Formal elocution from the child’s commonplace book should be executed once a month for no more than one hour.
This is an interesting discovery. Elocution, in my opinion, is a lost art. What was once a required subject in the rhetoric stage, now is nearing extinction. 21st century children mechanically move through their lessons, halfheartedly rattling off a slew of words that hold no intrinsic value.
And truly, who can blame the child? It is hardly their fault that they receive a barrage of opinions via textbooks and abridged stories. What they truly need is time. Time is a precious and rare commodity these days. However, its importance should not be overlooked.
Children need to spend time reading and allowed to savor good literature and poetry — time to make the piece his own. This is the fundamental foundation of elocution. For a child who reads well will be able to recite in perfect prose as he is able to bring forth the intent of the author using perfect articulation, inflection, stance and gesture — or more generally, impressive diction.
Choose beautiful works — ideas are the nutrients for brain growth and development. Encourage the practice of keeping a commonplace book. This is usually a special notebook in which ideas of the great men and woman of years past are carefully copied for preservation.
Source of inspiration:
You might also enjoy:
- Clegg’s Elocutionist (outlines advanced techniques, but also includes many selections useful for elocution)
- Reading as a Fine Art
The Knowledge of God
[162]
For children aged six to twelve, the best commentator I know of is Canon Paterson Smyth, who wrote The Bible for the Young. He is one of the few writers who knows how children think and can help them with difficulties. He knows how to inspire their thoughts and guide their actions.
Between the ages of six and twelve, children [using Paterson's book] cover the narrative stories of Old Testament Biblical history, and the Prophets as they correspond to the lives of the kings. The teacher begins the lesson by reading the passage from Paterson’s book that illustrates the scripture reading. For example,
‘This story takes place on the battle field in the Elah Valley. The camp of the Israelites is on one side of the slope, the big tents of the Philistines are on the other slope. The Israelites aren’t huge men, but they’re agile and clever. The Philistines are huge brutes, stupid thick-headed giants. Samson used to play tricks on them and make fun of them long ago. Both sides are agitated,’ etc.
There might be some discussion after
[163]
reading this passage. Then the teacher will read the Scripture text and the children will narrate. The commentary merely serves as a background for their thoughts. Their narrations are usually very interesting. They don’t miss even one point, and they add colorful touches of their own. Before the end of the lesson, the teacher brings out any new concepts about God or points of behavior that may have been included in the reading. She emphasizes the moral or religious lesson in a reverent, sympathetic way, and doesn’t attempt to tell them how to apply it personally.
Independence or Dependence?
“True independence of character empowers us to act rather than be acted upon. It frees us from our dependence on circumstances and other people and is a worthy, liberating goal.” ~ Stephen Covey
Today I learned that I must make the effort to schedule and prioritize my life, rather than scheduling life around circumstances and people. I can visualize what I should be doing and it makes complete sense.
I think I have been trained by the military to respond when you are summoned. Therefore, this mentality has seeped its way into the crevices of *my* life.
In order to grow from this experience, and move from dependence to independence and onward to interdependence, I must begin to do what I know is right. Tonight, I will make a concerted effort to schedule my life. Everything else will have to fill in wherever there is space.
This reminds me of a little experiment I did with the primary children at church called, Making Room for What’s Important:
Materials:
- Jar – represents the amount of time we have available for one week.
- Rocks – represent the important things that must be tended to in our lives.
- Pebbles – represent little tasks that could add up to some sort of significance, but not usually.
- Sand – represents “twaddle”
- Water – amount of time to sleep
You must put these items in the jar in a particular order for them to all fit. Mix up the order and not everything will fit. And so it goes with our priorities in life. We must insure we do the big things first. If we do, the small things fit in fine… What are these?
- Values or Life Purpose
- Weekly goals that coincide with my life purpose
- External events that I have no control over
- *Me Time*
- Pebbles in life
As I move through the week, my intention is to move from dependence upon life’s events to independence ~ living my life on purpose.
Paddle-to-the-Sea Book & Movie
For those you who are reading Paddle to the Sea the old movie from 30 years ago is on youtube.com It’s in 3 parts. In addition, you can watch the movie and read the book online at this site here. The movie refers to the map. I highly recommend Beautiful Feet’s oversized maps.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=LfQuTBmW4RU
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=dEQO87AF0S0
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=KiRGBvd7E3o
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