Several months ago, I heard an idea about having a daily ritual of a “closing board” where you close out the day with intention, togetherness, reflection, and gratitude.
I loved the idea, but then it slipped through the cracks and I forgot about it. … until a few days ago… and I decided to start implementing this. I wish I would have started this at the beginning of the school year, but oh well. Better late than never.
We’ve modified it a bit for now, and I’m sure it will evolve over time.
What we’ve done this first week is jot down things on the board throughout the day that we have been learning about. It’s a space for us to capture little nuggets and gems. And then I take a picture of the board during the late afternoon so we can look at the picture and talk about everything during dinner. This is a fun way to be able to share things with Jershon that we’re learning and it’s also a way for us to reflect on what we learned that day and feel gratitude for the gift and privilege of education.
I thought it might be fun (and help me with record keeping) to do a weekly post on my blog with our daily gems for that week.
April Topics from The Well-Educated Heart rotation: Abraham Lincoln, African Americans, Africa, Egypt, and Animals
Monday, April 20, 2020:
- During our scripture study, we discussed what it means to receive & retain a remission of our sins.
- “And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
- And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.” (Mosiah 4:11-12)
- We also talked about what carnal means and how its a focus on pleasing our bodies with temporary pleasures (which come in a variety of forms.)
- And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men. (Mosiah 4:2)
- “The kind neighbors gathered to honor the memory of her whom they all loved. They listened to the comforting words of the minister, sang hymns, and joined fervently in the prayers that were offered. From that day Abraham Lincoln was a nobler boy. He seemed to feel the force of his mother’s teachings and to resolve to become a man who would be an honor to his Christian mother. When he was president of the United States he once said: All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” (Stories of Abraham Lincoln, Freedom Series, by Cravens, Baldwin, and Scoville pg.12)
- “Rosa loved pets and always had them about her. Sometimes she had pet birds. Sometimes she had pet goats. Once she had a pet sheep which she kept on a little balcony outside of her window. It was a strange place for a sheep to live, for Rosa’s home was up six flights of stairs. Once in a while her brother put the sheep on his shoulders. Then he took it down the long stairs and carried it to a field not far away. How the little sheep would run and play! Rosa’s brother always took it safely back again to its little home outside the high window.” (Story about Rosa Bonheur, My Book of Delights, Book Eight, Compiled by Marlene Peterson, pg. 30) – true story, by the way. 🙂
Tuesday, April 21, 2020:
- During our scripture study, we talked about remembering the goodness and mercy of God. We listened to this talk that went along with this really well. We talked about how to receive a new heart (spiritually) and how to keep our hearts from wandering from God.
- “By firelight he studied law without a teacher. Soon he became a lawyer in the courts. Abe saw that words could free or jail a man. He found that words could change the way folks thought.” (Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters)
- “Abraham Lincoln – born in a log cabin, child of the frontier, head in a book – elected our sixteenth president! From the wilderness to the White House. He learned the power of words and used them well.” (Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters)
- “When George Washington Carver was a little boy, he liked to walk in the woods and listen to the birds. He loved the flowers. He loved them so much, he wanted to learn all about them. He said, “Anything will give up its secrets if you love it long enough.” (Story about George Washington Carver,My Book of Delights, Book Eight, Compiled by Marlene Peterson, pg. 79)
- “Sometimes people were mean to her because the color of her skin was black. One time she was visiting in a home and a little five year old girl said to her mother, “Tell that lady to wash her hands. They are black.” Mary was not mad. Instead, she put her arm around the little girl and said, “God made men just the way He made flowers – a beautiful bouquet of colors.”” (Story about Mary Bethune, My Book of Delights, Book Eight, Compiled by Marlene Peterson, pg. 85)
- “By her own example Sojourner Truth showed the world how someone born with nothing, not even freedom, can rise up to become very powerful, to help other people, and to make a difference in history.” (Sojourner Truth: Path to Glory by Peter Merchant, pg. 47)
Wednesday, April 22, 2020:
- “But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.” (Mosiah 4:30)
- This verse was part of our scripture study and it provided the perfect opportunity to teach the kids about what I wrote a few days ago with The Magic Mask. We talked about how watching, in this case, means to take care of, to observe, to be intentional with, and to use righteously.
- “Harriet died at the age of ninety-three. She had made at least nineteen trips south and brought more than three hundred people out of slavery. “I’ve never run a train off the track, and I’ve never lost a passenger,” she liked to say. Today, Harriet Tubman is remembered as the “Moses of her people” and one of the bravest soldiers in the fight against slavery.” (Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman by Monica Kulling, pg. 48)
- Evelyn also practiced writing some words in cursive (your and the).
Thursday, Apirl 23, 2020:
- “And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2)
- The Spirit works a mighty change in our hearts and gives us new hearts.
- “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.” (Mosiah 5:7)
- When we are baptized, we enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. We become His and He is ours.
- “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful. Beauty is God’s handwriting – a way-side sacrament; welcome in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank Him for it, who is the Fountain of all lovliness, and drink it in simply and earnestly with all your eyes; it is a charmed draught, a cup of blessing.” (Charles Kingsley, The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts level 4, pg. 63)
- “I have been driven many times upon my knees… I had nowhere else to go.” (Abraham Lincoln, My Book of Delights, Book Eight, Compiled by Marlene Peterson, pg. 95)
- Follow the Drinking Gourd
- We learned about Peg Leg Joe and how he helped slaves escape to freedom by teaching them a little song called Follow the Drinking Gourd.
- We also can escape bondage by following the North Star – Jesus Christ.
Friday, April 24, 2020:
- “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. (Doctrine & Covenants 25:12)
- We sang a lot of hymns during our morning time and talked about how singing with our hearts, and our voices, is a form of prayer.
- “Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.” (Mosiah 5:15)
- “Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.” (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)
- We spent a good chunk of time learning about how to set and achieve goals. The boys have been working on some goals already these past few months for the Children and Youth program, but it was clear that we needed to have a real discussion about how to choose what goals to set and how to be consistent. I taught them about the Floors and Ceilings concept that I learned from Brooke Snow, among other things. We went through the 4 categories of growth (spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social) and make sure that they picked a goal for each category and then wrote out a plan to accomplish each of those goals.
What a sweet day to draw your day to a close and to consolidate the learnings of the day!