Monday 24 March 2014

What happend to us?

It has been a while since I last posted. Just wanted to say were are still here.

Our family has been through an emotional time and we are now getting everything back in order again.

School holidays here actually kicks in from about Friday for the next week, but we will be taking this week off and maybe next to just get everything back on track. I will use this time to organize and plan.

Watch this space, I will be back soon. I still need to post our last SOTW activities :)

Blessings

Maryna

Friday 7 March 2014

Bible memorization the fun way

In our house we make God part of everything we do. It is critical that children  have an intimate relationship with God. Also to build a Godly character and know what is expected of them an how to act on it.

As part of building a relationship with God one needs to know the Word of God.


We use a wonderful series of books called Learning the Word for Life. These books can be purchased from Bible Draw which is also better known as Picture Bible. If you are in South Africa you can buy the books from Oikos Ministries in printed format. 

The main idea behind this series is to teach children (even adults) to memorize verses from the Bible by connecting it to a picture/illustration. First you would read the entire verse or verses to your child. Then you will brake it down in sections as the Parent book indicates (see below). On day one you will introduce the picture and what it represents and teach that portion of the verse to the child. So they will when they see the picture know what each illustration represents. Every day in the week for four days you will do this and then by the last day in the week the entire picture is completed and they will know the verse.

This series consists of three portions (books) each with a parent and student book. This is a great introduction to the follow up books which is the Picture Bible books: The New Testament and The Old Testament.
 
In the picture below you can see how each topic is divided into sections. Each with one section of the picture and the verse below it (parent book). On the right hand side you can see the outlined page as it appears in the student book. I have written ours in Afrikaans underneath each verse section as we are doing it in Afrikaans.

Example from the Parent book

In the picture below you can see what the student book looks like. On the left they can write their dialogue with God. We use it to write the verse out in Afrikaans. On the right you can see what the incomplete picture looks like.


Example from the student book

Here is examples of how the kids been doing it. Yes I actually have a book too :)

From Makayla's book

From Matthew's book



The kids love doing this and it is amazing how quickly they learn these verses and are able to even after weeks still recite them back to me. I also really enjoy doing these books. It is important that we don't just give work to the kids to do, we need to be part of everything and learn and grow with them.

Make God part of your day, every day!
 
Blessings

Maryna

Monday 3 March 2014

Sport Activities

Last year the kids started doing Figure skating and are still doing it.

This coming weekend will be their first official grading tests.
 
With their big love for the ice and moving really fast, they have also now tried their hand at ice hockey. Matthew decided to officially join the DurbaKnights Ice Hockey Club. Makayla can after the next lesson decide if she wants to also join the ice hockey club.



DurbaKnights is Durban's official ice hockey club. They are currently making use of the ice rink at Galleria in Amanzimtoti. The Durban rink is currently undergoing a massive renovation. Once completed it would be an official Olympic size rink. We are looking forward to this. It is also a lot closer for us to travel to that rink.


Currently the kids are using the club's kit. If they move up to more advanced we will get them their own kit. Matthew does have his own hockey skates. 


Ice hockey is not for those who are afraid of getting hurt. It is a very fast contact sport. It is also a fantastic team sport. It is great for kids to build self confidence and help them to overcome shyness.

I will make more future posts of their sporting progress.

Blessings

Maryna