Narration and discussion have been a cornerstone of our family’s learning style and I just wanted to share something that happened the other day.
A (14 yodd) came to me yesterday as she wanted to ‘discuss and debate’ some lyrics of an album that she wants to purchase. A has learned that lyrics and a performer’s lifestyle are very important to me- I look at more than the genre of music.
As we sat and discussed the lyrics of some songs I asked her if we could read some hymns out loud, to which she happily agreed. The difference that she could see is that the hymns are straight out- one doesn’t have to ‘read between the lines’ in order to grasp what is being sung whereas her songs had a special meaning that could be ambiguous UNLESS you knew the story behind the songs. She then went on to research articles, interviews and quotes from the band, which proved to be very beneficial to both of us. (I can see that some songs are performance based, while others are more directly for worship – participatory, not performance)
Not only could this be documented as an academic lesson (worldview, research, debate, reasoning, etc) it was more a life lesson as well as relational building. It drew us closer together so that she continues to feel free to bring anything to me (her words). Throughout this she is learning how to apply God’s Word to her daily life! I’m seeing that she is allowing God’s Word to shape her worldview. Wahoo! is anything more exciting than that?
I’m convinced that the early years of narration, leading on to discussion has helped keep our lines of communication open and in turn, allowed her to verbalise her thoughts as she goes through a thinking process.
Just wanted to share this little happening with you all and encourage you to keep focusing on narration and discussion with your children.
