Monthly Archives: October 2020

Seven Words that Could Change the World

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com.

Train up a child…

Seven Words that could Change the World

         Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone in the world had good manners and an attitude of humility? There are seven words that could create a humble, repentant, and thankful attitude.  They are words that every child should learn to use intuitively.  They are words that would do away with rudeness and self-centeredness.  They are “excuse me,” “I’m sorry,” “please,” and “thank you”.  

         To say “excuse me” and “I’m sorry” in a meaningful way requires an attitude of repentance.  It requires an individual to put the other person’s feelings before one’s own feelings.  It also creates within a child an attitude of caution in the use of words or actions that may be offensive to another.  It requires giving up one’s own desires for the benefit of those in the immediate vicinity.  

         The word “please”, when said in a meaningful way, requires an attitude of humility.  Rather than feeling above a person to demand something for self, an individual must lower self to a position of “if you think I am worthy, I request a favor of you.”  The very act is a demonstration that the person saying the word considers him/herself in a lower position than the person to whom the request is being given. It is a “magic word” that causes the person being addressed to be more apt to give the favor than if it were demanded.

         Obviously, the words “thank you” express appreciation when said in a meaningful way.  As we observe children who are required to say these two words, we often see them pause just a bit before they are spoken.  In this time of pause, a child is forced to realize that something is owed to the person doing the favor.  As the child realizes this fact, he/she also realizes, although perhaps unaware of it, that their enjoyment of the favor is dependant on the other person.  In this respect, humility is fostered in the same way that saying “please” fosters humility. 

         It is so easy to teach children to say these seven words, yet parents often forget to do so.  If all children were taught to say these words, they would grow up with better attitudes and everyone would get along with each other.  People who are humble do not put themselves above others.  People who appreciate what they get are not people who demand more and more of others.  People who appreciate what they have are not constantly trying to get more at the expense of others.  People who are humble do not put others down.

         Using the seven words named are simply a matter of good manners.  We know that the basis of all good manners is kindness and consideration of others.  It is such a simple and easy thing to teach children to use these words and mean them.  Wouldn’t it be nice if parents, teachers, grandparents, and other adults in positions of influence would help to change our world by doing so?  

Can Kids Tell Facts from Opinions?

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…)

Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child…

Can Kids Tell Facts from Opinions?

         It is too bad that many adults don’t seem to be able to discern facts from opinions.  Learning to do so can begin in childhood.  It is interesting to observe that many times children seem to be more adept than adults in recognizing truth and facts from opinion.  Unfortunately, sometimes they lose this ability as they grow older.  When individuals cannot discern opinion from fact, their picture of society becomes skewed.

         Textbooks in schools often include sections addressing facts vs. fiction and facts vs. opinion.  Often teachers hesitate to use limited time to address this important aspect of learning.  There are things parents and others working with children can do to enhance this ability in children.  Adults need to be alert to opportunities in everyday conversation to draw attention to what is fact and what is opinion.  Wise use of questions can require children to use facts to back up their own opinions.  Discussion of conversations of acquaintances and news programs can draw attention to the need of careful scrutiny of information presented.

         It is easy to glibly go about our activities and not pay attention to what children are saying.  We mistakenly think “they will grow out of it” when we actually do listen and hear things that are not accurate.  We need to be more alert and “jump in” at opportune times to point out the difference in fact and opinion when we hear children talking about something.  General statements need to be broken down and analyzed to help children see truth.  It is easy to say, “That teacher is no good!” Children often say this when they are having a hard time with some work.  In such cases, adults need to require children to be detailed and give facts to support the claim.  Sometimes a child simply needs to be told, “That is your opinion.  Perhaps other children think differently.”  Since the child will probably give only negative information, positive facts should be used to counter what the child says to show both sides.  Children express opinions very often.  Finding an opportunity to work with the child on facts should not be difficult.

         The value of using questions with children cannot be overemphasized.  Questions require thinking.  When opinions are expressed, a good question to use is, “What are the facts you are using to back up your opinion?” Another question to use is, “Where did you get your information?” Still another is “Is the source of your information dependable?” “Can you think of some facts that people may use to form a different opinion?” is yet another good question.  This forces the child to look at the other side.

         School age children should watch some news on TV each day, but it should be screened first.  Parents need to discuss the news with the children to help them see the difference between facts and opinions of the reporters.  In addition, opinions expressed by friends of the family should be discussed and facts presented.

         In my opinion, it is impossible for reporters and others to be completely void of expressing opinion no matter how hard they try.  It is like requiring a person to change his/her basic makeup to expect complete impartiality.  Even though a reporter may not say words to favor a certain point of view, there is still the matter of choice as to what is actually reported.  Body language often speaks louder than the words spoken. Individuals may simply ignore what they do not like and emphasize the news that fits their opinions.  It is so very important that children learn to decide for themselves the difference between facts and opinion.

Children Need Help with Social Studies

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children,Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or patlambchristianauthor.com

Raising Children…

Teaching Tips

“…bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” 

Ephesians 6:4 (NKJV)

During the many years I have taught both children and adults, I have learned a few techniques that have worked for me.  Since so many are now teaching their children at home, perhaps sharing them would be helpful. Of course, every situation is unique.  However, I have found that the following worked for me:

1)  Keep on a schedule.  Schedules give security and routines help in planning time.

2)  Questions work better than statements.  Questions force the learner to think. Statement reactions are usually “maybe it’s true and maybe it isn’t”.  Then it is usually forgotten.

3)  Repetition of instructions more than two or three times is not good.  When you keep repeating, the learner knows s/he doesn’t have to listen the first time because you will say it again.  Also, you may want the learner to repeat the instructions back to you.

4)  A soft voice is better than a loud voice.  Yelling is not good in any case.  If the child isn’t listening, you may want to walk to the child, stoop down, and whisper.  

5)  Repetition of learning matter is a good thing.  Some studies say that a new learning needs to be repeated at least seven times before it starts to “stick”.  This is especially true with math.

6)  Use as many of the five senses as possible. Multiplication tables can be written (touch and sight), and/or said aloud (hearing).  Candy M&M’s or wrapped candy can be used for counting (taste).  

7)  To force a child to read carefully, give the child a few pennies. Each time a mistake is made, the child must forfeit a penny.  (This works well with group reading to have the other children listen for mistakes and then the one who hears it first gets the penny.)  It holds the attention of the other children,  (When a group is reading aloud one at a time,  usually the mind of those not reading aloud wanders until it is their turn.)

8)  “Engage pen; engage mind” works.  A friend of mine won a national teaching award when her Pueblo Indian students (learning English as a second language) tested above the national average in language.  She said, “Pat, I do one thing.  Every morning I have the class copy something that I feel is important for them to learn.  I check it for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.”  What should they copy?  The Preamble to the Constitution, parts of the constitution, Scripture, rules for punctuation, rules for working math problems, portions of a text book, are all good possibilities.  This is a good activity if a parent has work to do to keep the child busy with something that is very good for the child.

9) Math builds on itself.  Start where the child is first having trouble. Understanding basics is essential to progress.

You may have noticed that I did not say “make learning fun”.  Fun should never be a goal, but may be a by-product.  Life is not always going to be fun!


Helping Children Become Good Citizens

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come: Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…)available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Helping Children Become Good Citizens

Teachers in school simply cannot teach children all they need to become good citizens.  Not only do they not have the time to do so, but truthfully, no teacher can remain totally neutral in teaching children.  Eventually, personal opinions will show through in selection of material taught, tone of voice, facial expressions, and many other ways.  It is truly up to parents to teach their children when it comes to matters of patriotism and our country.

How can parents effectively teach citizenship?  First of all, good citizenship must be practiced by the parents.  Parents need to teach their children how our constitution came to be and even how our country was founded.  Finally, parents need to point out the propaganda that would destroy our country.

It is so easy for parents to say the wrong things in front of children.  Learning is often caught rather than taught.  The tone of voice parents use and comments such as “politicians are all crooks” must be guarded.  After all, if parents think government officials are crooks, why should children honor the laws they make?  On the other hand, if parents respect the law, children will be inclined to do so as well.

Unfortunately, it seems that much of our country’s true history is not being taught in many of our schools.  There is much information available in local libraries and the Internet that parents can use to make sure children get accurate information.  It is often difficult to sift out truth from opinion, but the ability to do so will be needed by children throughout their entire lives.  It is easy to get swept up in emotion and overlook facts. School teachers are human.  They can get swept up in emotion as easily as anyone else— often with good intentions.  

Of course, children will make up their own minds as they grow into adulthood.  Parents, however, need to make sure they have facts, set a good example, and help children discern the difference between truth and opinion.