How are Caleb’s classes going?

It has been a few weeks since I started classes with Caleb, and I truly have had a wonderful time with it. I love watching how my little boy enjoys his classes, and it excites me to see him learn something new each time.

Caleb is a very technologically-savvy boy, and he has learned a lot by playing games on the iPad. So, I’m focusing more on his Bible classes, and then I review with him what he already knows. I also have to remember that he’s only two years old, so I don’t want to “pressure” him to learn things. Basically, we do fun things, and he learns as he plays. 

We have learned some shapes and colors; some he’s learned in English, and others in Spanish. For example, he says “circulo” (circle in Spanish), and “triangle” (in English). I think that is fine for right now, don’t you think? We are also learning about the days of Creation; right now we’re on Day 6. 

Here are some pictures:

Homeschool

Last week I started Homeschool with my little Caleb. He is 2 years old, so he doesn’t have very “extensive” classes, but they are little things that we do every day with the goal of introducing, reviewing, and learning new things. A friend of mine recommended a few Internet sites to me that have a curriculum for 2-year-olds. At first it seemed a little strange to me that there was a “2-year-old curriculum,” but I really loved the idea, since it helps to organize everything that you want to teach your children.

I have decided to use  http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/ as a guide and I am super excited. It has a a lot of good ideas and the best part is that it is based on the Bible (even though I don’t have all the required materials, I try to do the best that I can). The webpage is in English so I am adapting and translating the material for now. I’m also using a lot of ideas from other websites. I’m subscribed to so many different websites!

One of the other things that I’ve considered is little Caleb’s personality. Everyone that knows my son knows that he is very energetic and is always jumping off the walls. So, I don’t want to “make him” stay in a seat for hours, because he will get bored and won’t enjoy the things that he is going to learn. So what I decided to do is write down on a sheet of paper all the things that he is going to learn that week, and then I teach him a little bit each day. The “classes” don’t even last 10 minutes, but Caleb really pays attention and is happy to learn.

I am so excited, and I enjoy every moment teaching my son. I know without a doubt that God has given me the gifts and talents to teach children (which I really enjoy), so how can I not teach my own children, right? Well, I have embarked on this beautiful journey called “Homeschool,” and I love it.

Mary or Martha

We just started a study on the book “A Young Woman After God’s Own Heart” (by Elizabeth George) with some of our female volunteers. Well, we are really starting again, since last year we tried to do it but for different reasons we weren't able to. To start, we decided to have an “Afternoon of Cards,” which the girls really liked. 

Before we made our cards, we had our first group study time. I’m sure that you’ve heard that the best way to learn something is to teach it yourself… well, that is definitely true and I was able to do that once again. I had already taught about this subject, so I thought, “I already know this, it’s just a matter of reviewing it.” Wrong! I opened my book and notes and I found out that this was exactly the thing that I needed to hear (or read). If you’ve read the book, you know what Elizabeth George talks about in the first chapter, but if not, let me tell you. The first chapter is based off of Luke 10:38-42 and it tells us about Martha’s story. Let’s imagine for a moment the scene of the story. Jesus was going to the house of two sisters. Two sisters who even though they were sisters (sorry for being so repetitive) living in the same situation (expecting Jesus’ visit), they had two very different attitudes. On one hand we have Martha, who was so worried about everything that had to be done around the house, and making sure that everything was ready for their visitors. And rightly so! Jesus himself was coming to visit. She was so focused on everything that she had to do, that she forgot about the most important thing, enjoying Jesus’ visit. On the other hand we have Mary. I personally don’t think that Mary was being irresponsible and left Martha to do everything around the house, but rather, she found out that she needed to put the “good things” aside for the more important things. She decided to STOP everything and sit at the feet of the Teacher of teachers. Martha got upset about the situation and asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her, and I’m sure that she hoped that Jesus would pay her attention. How Jesus must have surprised her by saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” How embarrassing, right? Can you imagine how Martha would have felt after she realized what she had done? How would you have felt? Even though I’m ashamed to admit it, many, many times I’m just like Martha. I’ll even wake up thinking about everything that I have to do that day: “What am I going to make for lunch,” “How can I make my daughter sleep better,” “I have to keep the house clean,” “What am I going to teach Caleb,” “I need to spend more time with my husband,” “I have to finish this and this and this for the ministry,” and the list goes on. I am really so worried and upset about things that I forget the most important thing: Sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus to listen to Him. I’m not talking about having a little devotional time that you do just to clear your conscience or that prayer that you pray because you know you “should pray,” I’m talking about the time that you spend with your Lord, talking to Him and listening to Him, that time that is set aside just to listen to your Lord, to remove yourself from everything crazy in life and feed your soul with His Word. Reading verses 41 and 42 of Luke 10 and seeing how Jesus spoke with Martha, I can feel it so personally that I almost hear “Zarela, Zarela, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed.” Life really has many worries and we have many things to do. I have to be realistic – I have two babies that need their mommy, I have a husband, a house, and a ministry and I really thank God for each one of those things. But each one demands my time. And you know what the problem is? Many times I just worry about things, and I don’t allow God to take my burdens. I don’t stop to listen to Him and it’s there that things seem a lot bigger than they really are. I thank God so much for giving me the privilege of leading this class with the girls, but I thank Him more for speaking to me again by saying, “Zarela, don’t worry, choose the best thing, I’m here.” I don’t want to be like Martha anymore. I want to be like Mary, stopping and listening to the Teacher. I want to have a heart completely consecrated to the Lord. Now I want to ask you, are you Martha? Or are you Mary?

You will be my mother for my entire life, but I will only be your little boy for a little while

I just saw a commercial on TV where a little boy said, “You will be my mother for my entire life, but I will only be your little boy for a little while.” Hearing that really touched my heart and almost brought me to tears.

These past few days have been pretty crazy, and any Mom who has children at home understands what I mean. These past few weeks I have been juggling all my duties: being a good wife and mother, keeping the house clean, keeping up with my ministry, and making time for myself among other things. Many times I feel so tired and feel that I’m failing in everything.

Many times I try to do everything, knowing full well that it is almost impossible to finish everything that I need to do during the day. But what makes me the most upset is when my little Caleb takes my hand and takes me to his room, asking me to sit with him and play with him, and I have to tell him, “I can’t right now love, Mommy is busy.” My heart breaks watching his little face when he tells me, “But Mommy, I want to be with you.” Many times I put off what I need to do until 8 p.m. (when the kids are asleep), but other times I don’t.

I just want to enjoy the time that I have with my babies while getting everything done at the same time. I’m asking God to help me and I know that He will. I also know that time is passing very quickly and in the blink of an eye, my children will be grown up and living their own lives. I ask God to help me not only to be a good mother, but also to enjoy every moment I have with them.