Conversations with God: Two Centuries of
Prayers by African Americans connect us
to the broader expression of Christ through
the limitless diversity of his Body. In this
way, our own faith is enlarged, stretched,
a Lndaennric ghued. age
As we move through our days keeping
Scripture in our minds and hearts, reading
aloud to our children from classic and
historic works, reciting poetry together,
and giving an ear to the rich historical
traditions of the Church, we find that our
days are vibrant and full. Within this
nurturing environment our children can
feel free to ask questions, discuss ideas,
and respond to the work at hand. This is
now our opportunity to draw them out
through the skill of narration. This begins
when the child is in the tenderest years
while reading simple Bible stories, picture
books, and fairy tales. We ask the child to
tell the story back to us, modeling to him
the development of language. We must be
careful not to instruct the child at this
point, as each individual will respond
differently to a work of art. We may need to
clarify something he didn’t grasp the first
time, but this time of listening is what
Mason refers to as “masterly inactivity”—
that is, the importance of being quiet and
allowing the child’s expression to come
through untainted by preaching/teaching. 4
In Mason’s paradigm, because children are
responding to the best literature, the
Scriptures, and the beauty of well-crafted
works of literary art, their responses over
years of practice will reflect these sublime
influences. Narration is the most efficient
way to get the reluctant writer to begin
organizing his thoughts at the youngest age
so that the discipline of writing becomes a
natural outflow of a mind accustomed to
and comfortable with the process of
Leisure
expression.
It was Seneca, the first-century Roman
philosopher, who said, “Leisure without
literature is death and burial alive.” How
often have we as mothers heard, “Mom,
I’m bored to death!” If Seneca is right, then
the child’s lament is not far from the truth.
As people of the Word, we know that
the Sabbath rest is an important element of
the well-balanced life. As humans we must
rest, and we must rest regularly to renew,
refresh, and restore our bodies, minds, and
spirits. But how can we rest creatively so
that our recreation is just that—a recreation of healthy bodies and minds? I
think Seneca’s admonition is well taken in
this point. By using leisure creatively, we
don’t merely vegetate, but rather we meditate, cogitate, and rejuvenate. Leisure
affords us the opportunity to do so. At
creation, when God had finished his work,
he rested and observed. His leisure was
not passive, but he saw “what he had
made, and behold, it was very good.” This
is the cogitating—thinking deeply and
carefully about something. Meditation
carries this further as we then ponder the
works of God—his wisdom and beauty—
and search out the treasures of his knowledge. Through these exercises we find
rejuvenation for the joyful return to our
tasks at hand.
Play is the child’s definition of leisure,
and Charlotte Mason “recommended four
to six hours outdoors each day” for growing
children. 5 Of course, this is not always
possible in places of severe weather, but
where climate allows, children should
spend significant hours outdoors. Running,
hopping, skipping, jumping, climbing, and
dancing will all make for happy, well-rounded children. When weather doesn’t
permit, then children must be given blankets and chairs for tent making, costume
dress-ups, and sack lunches to take on
imaginary expeditions in basements or
attics or under the kitchen table.
For children the enjoyment of leisure
time is critical to their mental, physical,
and emotional health. In our hectic,
driven-to-achieve society, our children are
often over-scheduled, pushed, and
harassed so that they have little free time
to just be. Just being is essential to the
whole child, for in being they find the
time to allow their imaginations to take
wing and design fantasy worlds of adventure and fun. It is the development of
imagination that allows the child to vicariously identify with others, which is the
first step to empathy—one of the most
critical developmental traits of the moral
individual.
Literature, liturgy, language, and leisure
are all effective tools we’ve been given as
people of faith to build lives of purpose,
vision, and joy. Let’s use them joyfully
today.
Rea Berg has homeschooled for nearly
twenty-five years and loves organic
gardening, travel to historic sites, nineteenth-century literature, and dance. Rea
has a B.A. in English from Simmons
College and a graduate degree in children’s literature. She has written numerous
guides for studying history through literature and has brought back into print many
classic children’s works. With her husband,
she owns Beautiful Feet Books (
www.bf
books.com) and can be emailed at
rea@bfbooks.com.
Endnotes:
1. Tileston, Mary Wilder. Joy and Strength for the
Pilgrim’s Day. Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1901, page 39.
2. Macaulay, Susan Schaeffer. For the Children’s
Sake: Foundations of Education for the Home and
School. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1984,
page 82.
3. Macaulay, Susan Schaeffer. For the Family’s Sake:
The Value of Home in Everyone’s Life. Wheaton,
Illinois: Crossway Books, 1999, pages 87–88.
44. Ibid., page 38.
55. Ibid., page 207.
