The Warren & the World is Story Warren’s weekly newsletter, providing a round-up of our favorite things from around the web as well as a review of what was on our site over the past week. We’re glad you’re here!
Around the Web
Hermeneutics for Parenting: Study the Word
Eric Dodson has a piece at Grace to You on the importance of studying scripture with your kids.
- As I struggled to watch my beloved football team losing a playoff game, my young son sat beside me. As he often does, he began a string of questions. “Who are they playing, Daddy?” In a moment of depressed sarcasm, I replied, “A bunch of lousy cheaters!” After a few more questions he got up, went back to play with his toys, and my team lost the game. A few months later, my son again sat beside me while watching a sporting event. This time he phrased the question a little different: “Dad, who are the lousy cheaters this time?”
In his six-year-old mind, any team playing against Dad’s team were “lousy cheaters.” He hadn’t understood the that the tongue-in-cheek label didn’t apply in every context. He heard the words, but he failed to grasp the meaning.
“God is an artist!”
Gene Veith writes of the great First Artist, whose work reminds us where to look for creativity.
- One highlight of our time on Kangaroo Island: My 8-year-old granddaughter was showing me the shells she collected on the beach. We were marveling at the swirls and the shapes, the harmonious colors and the intricate pattern of the markings. She exclaimed, “God is an artist!”
That’s a fine theological observation for an eight-year-old or for someone of any age. That’s also a fine aesthetic observation.
8 Ideas for Cultivating a Culture of Memory in the Classroom
The year I lived in Hong Kong in elementary school, my mom determined that memorization would be a good portion of my curriculum. To this day, I can remember poems and passages that we worked on that year. Lindsey Brigham Knott writes on the value of cultivating a culture of memory.
- Further thoughts for cultivating a culture of memory, this time in the classroom:
Repeat important things monthly, weekly, daily. Last year my students read Aquinas’s Student’s Prayer at the beginning of class on the first day of each school week, and by the end of the year, all of them could say it by heart.
Don’t Miss These Nonfiction Standouts for Ages 6 – 11
Over at Imagination Soup, Melissa Taylor has a list of nonfiction books great for your elementary schoolers.
- From sports facts to dinosaur poop and historical biographies, these latest nonfiction books give readers (ages 6 – 11) plenty to learn and read.
Around the Warren
Sara Ernst and Dragons Really Do Love Tea
James Witmer interviews Sara Ernst, author of Dragons Really Do Love Tea.
- If I had to make a list of “Story Warren Values,” somewhere on that list would be the idea that nurturing imaginations is NOT a job only for professionals and experts, but comes best from parents who share their own imaginations and loves with their children.
I recently had a discussion with Sara Ernst, who wrote and illustrated Dragons Really Do Love Tea and, though we were discussing the book, I think her embodiment of this value is my favorite part. Have a look.
Love Never Ends
Kelly Keller recommends The Corner Room’s new EP.
- A while ago, much to my delight, I had the chance to review The Corner Room’s first project, Psalm Songs. Today I’m introducing you to their follow-up project, an EP concentrating on I Corinthians 13, entitled Love Never Ends.
My appreciation for The Corner Room stems from the quality music they produce while making the lyrics direct from the ESV scriptures.
Something to Do with Your Kids
Did you know September 1 is Hummingbird Day? Here are some cross-disciplinary activities to help your family learn more about hummingbirds.
And Something to Watch
If you haven’t yet seen this video and song about cats flushing a toilet, well, why not?
Thank you for reading. We’re on your side.
Carolyn Clare Givens is a displaced Northerner exploring the foreign ways of the South. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her literary cat, Lord Peter Wimsey. She's the author of The King's Messenger and Rosefire and in her free time helps run Bandersnatch Books.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.
Latest posts by Carolyn Clare Givens (see all)
- The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 43 - December 5, 2024
- The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 42 - November 30, 2024
- The Warren & The World Vol 12, Issue 41 - November 23, 2024
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