HOMESCHOOLING BEGINS WITH HOME
Reading to Children

Personal Example

Reading to children is included in this series of Christian Homeschooling Articles which addresses the following themes:

1. Relationship
2. Stewardship
3. Scholarship
   • Skills and Knowledge
   • Family Reading Example: dialoguing with older children
     (This article)
   • Your Child’s Portfolio
4. Easy Recordkeeping

Establishing the routine of reading to children opens their hearts to receive from us moms in a non-threatening way as we build relationship with each other.

This article gives you a peek into how I used the following book to dialogue with my upper elementary/junior high child.

The women and children who followed the men, including Lorenzo's aunt and two younger sisters, suffer the same hardships, and many do not survive the arduous trip on foot to Texas.

Santa Anna is portrayed as cruel and self-centered, desiring personal glory at all costs.

Enduring physical hardships and personal tragedies, Lorenzo is transformed from a simple farmer to a soldier, and from a child to a man.

Told from his perspective, the story provides a different point of view on a well-known historical event. Readers will sympathize with both the Mexican soldiers and with the rebels. A book that captures and holds young people's attention.

Lana Mile
Duchesne Academy, Houston, TX

Copyright 2001
Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Near the end of this story, Lorenzo is placed in a position where he has to choose whether or not to forgive Esteban. The scene is quite touching because the characters in this story were well developed—we felt like we knew them personally.

At the time we were reading this particular book, one of my children was wrestling with forgiveness. I had been praying for and talking about forgiveness with this child for a few weeks.

As we came to this part in the story where Lorenzo had to choose whether to forgive Esteban, my heart leaped. What a perfect opportunity the Lord had placed before me to discuss forgiveness with my child!

As we sat outside on the glider while the other children played at the swingset, I placed my hand around my child’s shoulder and our conversation went something like this:

That was the gist of our conversation. No lecturing. Just discussing the choice a character in a book had to make and applying Biblical principles to that discussion as I affirmed what my child understood and shared about my thankfulness for Christ’s forgiveness in my own life.

I’ll let you read this story with your children so you can see for yourself what Lorenzo chose. You’ll be so surprised at the ending of this book. It’s one of our favorites now.

I was so thankful for this opportunity to reach deeply into my child’s heart:

• to see what this maturing youngster already understood about forgiveness; and

• to learn where I needed to pray for my precious one to grow in this area of forgiveness.

Reading this story together,

• helped me to point my child to a deeper understanding of the purpose of forgiveness without lecturing or “coming down hard.”

• gave us the opportunity to discuss forgiveness meaningfully in a non-threatening environment as we cried together and grew in relationship while sharing a good story about history.

I pray this example gives you a glimpse into how simply reading together provides opportunities to develop relationship with your children—opportunities to point them to the Lord by sharing naturally.

Five additional articles to encourage you:

• Setting up “reading to children” routines

• Reading to elementary and junior high school children

• Reading to children of various ages

• Identifying quality books for your season

• Validating a young child

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