Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sweet Successes

Sometimes I wonder how much Grant gets out of FHE, family prayers and family scripture study. What can a one-year-old understand about prayer, love, and the atonement? Whether or not Grant understands much is a non-issue; we just want to establish a habit of spirituality in our home. Grant only says a few words, but he seems to understand a lot. And I think he understands more than I ever imagined.

1. During our lesson on showing love to our family I asked Grant, "How can you show Mommy that you love her?" His response was to climb into my lap and give me a hug. Perfect answer!

2. Grant sometimes sits quietly during prayers, but most of the time he doesn't want to sit still. The other week we were saying morning prayers and Grant climbed into my lap and folded his arms all on his own. Now he folds his arms whenever he hears "fold arms" or "say prayers".

3. Grant can point to Jesus in pictures. We will look through the new nursery manual together for pictures of Jesus.

4. Grant has favorite songs and he resquests them by actions. For example, if he raises his arms above his head he wants to sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam". If he craws his fingers up his leg he wants to sing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider". Clapping hands means he wants to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It". But his all-time favorite song to sing is "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man". We really only sing the wise man verses. He can now do all the actions by himself. I recorded it for my mom to watch. I'm singing and I don't have the greatest singing voice, but I think I managed to stay in one key for this song . . . I think. Anyway, if you decide to watch it I would recommend muting the sound.

7 comments:

Cannon on Cannon said...

Boy, Sadie's going to have to work hard to match the "cute factor" of her big brother!

Anonymous said...

Grant is growing up so fast I can't wait till I get there. He is so cute.

Janae said...

Oh man. He is so cute. Ainslie has started using FHE songs to her advantage. Now when she wants to stay up a few minutes later, she says "Temple" and wants us to sing "I love to see the Temple." How can you say no to that?

Brad and Chelsea said...

He's getting SO BIG!!! i can't believe how fast they grow. You guys are an amazing and wonderful example to me still. Thanks for sharing these precious "tid-bits"

Becca said...

You guys are doing a great job teaching Grant. I believe strongly that babies and little kids understand a lot more than adults give them credit for. When James was only days old, I got the inspiration to teach him how to pray--that he has a Heavenly Father who loves him and understands him perfectly, that he doesn't have to speak out loud or even use words. He can think in pictures and Heavenly Father will understand. How wonderful it is for kids to have someone who understands them perfectly! Mom and Dad sure fail to do so often enough.

Even if Grant doesn't remember the words of the lessons you are teaching him now, he is feeling the spirit and experiencing truth. You are raising him up unto the Lord so that when he is grown, he will not depart from it. Keep going strong!

*Cute video!

P.S. I post on my public blog - announcingbecca.blogspot.com - every time I post on the private blog. If you add it to your blog roll, you'll know when to check out the private blog. Does that make sense?

Texas Harveys said...

Isn't it the greatest feeling when you see the fruits of all your teaching and often frustration. It actually worked! Good job.

Emily Gibbons said...

It's nice to see others working to teach good gospel study habits to kids who may or may not understand! Way to get the important habits established! How far along are you?