Showing posts with label Music and Poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music and Poetry. Show all posts

Friday, February 27, 2009

Ruby's Story

What can we learn from Ruby Bridges? Courage, bravery, compassion, peacefulness, forgiveness, faith and so much more. This beautiful story written by Robert Coles is based on the real life experiences of six year old Ruby during the 1960's. Sunshine is so touched by this story that she has been discussing it with the family daily. Ruby's story is so powerful; I feel blessed to revisit it and share it with my own children. My favorite part of the story is when Ruby stops in the middle of the angry mob of people and prays for them.

Read more from the School Library Journal:

Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960. Coles tells the brief story of her daily walk past furious white adults, her time alone with her teacher in an otherwise empty classroom because white parents kept their children home, and the dramatic moment when she prays in front of the furious crowd for God to forgive them. An afterword explains that later in the school year, parents slowly began to send their children back to school and eventually the crowd dispersed. Although neither the text nor the realistic watercolors are notable, children will find the story of Ruby's courage and steadfastness inspiring. It has a strong religious element with a scene of Ruby's family in church, as well as the dramatic picture of Ruby praying, which will please readers who find too few references to religion in their books.-Kathleen Odean, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI

Listen to this inspiring song by Lori McKenna: Ruby's Shoes

Many blessings,

Jen

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Be My Valentine!


Today, I received a sweet surprise from a friend. A little bag filled with treats, a tea bag, and a wonderful message. On a heart, she wrote:

A friend loveth at all times.. Proverbs 17:17





This was a little wake up call for me. With all of the cute heart crafts and conversation heart math and all of the other fun things going on in our house, I have left out talking about Valentine's Day in relation to God's love for us!

God's love is greater than anything we could ever imagine, so how in the world did I miss this opportunity at this holiday to focus on it?? Well, it's not Valentine's Day yet, so I decided today to integrate some bible study this week with my Valentine's Day activities. One thing that I'd like to do is read a bible verse each day that focuses on love and discuss what this verse means to them. These will be posted on hearts and used as decorations. Below are a few of the verses that I'll be sharing with the girls.

1 John 4:7
Let us love one another, for love comes from God. (NIV)

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times..

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (NIV)

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (NIV)

Proverbs 13:24
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. (NLT)

Another idea that I have is to sing Christian children's songs or read poems that focus on love, such as Jesus Loves the Little Children, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus I Adore You, and More. Here's a cute song that I found on http://www.dltk-bible.com.

To the Tune "Are you sleeping Brother John".

Jesus loves us, Jesus loves us
all the time, all the time.
Even when we do wrong, Even
when we do wrong.
He's so kind, he's so kind.


A few great resources:
Fruit of the Spirit Unit
A Kid's Heart
Bible Rhymes and Songs for Kids

Celebrate God's love this week- Happy Valentine's Day!

Many Blessings,

Jen
The Breast Cancer Site