Brain Neurons and Life Long Learning

Last month our Relief Society held a Parenting class. The instructor was an experienced father and social worker who seeks truths (he's my Visiting Teacher's Dad). One of the things he shared with us is that human brains change over time. Neurons are connected and disconnected throughout our lives. A lot change as babies, adolescents and seniors - "it's like waking up with a whole new brain everyday"! This knowledge has allowed me to be more forgiving when dealing with my children when I expect them to know something that they've known before. Also he told us that when we have stress or anger, we lose our ability to be creative. And parenting requires creativity!


Leo has been displaying his neuron growth. For example, two Sundays ago, while the sacrament bread was being passed, he noticed that he was the only one in the chapel in our family that did not take a piece of bread. Oh the unfairness! He protested as it passed him by on our row and again as it passed him on the row behind us. I learned a lesson and this past Sunday he was not skipped (and was thus quiet).

I have taken life long learning to a new level in our home. Last July, I decided that since my children were not being taught at school the rhyme

"In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

and didn't know which happened first the Civil War or the Revolutionary War, I needed to educate them myself. I created a timeline and it hangs on our wall in the dining room.

It starts with 1440 with Gutenberg's printing press and goes through Leo's birth. I have included dates of importance (birthdays, anniversaries, temple dedications, when my parents got their first TV sets, MLK's "I have a Dream" speech, wars, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan). I have also put pictures of composers and the different periods of music.


The next idea came from Caitlin during 'Soup Day' at Summer's house. Do you read the cereal boxes at your house? All of us who can read do at our house. (We ALL know the story behind the creation of Honey Bunches of Oats!) I have now covered up the cereal boxes with things I want us to read/memorize. We've got math facts for Roderic (and Hyrum), the Beatitudes, the first 3 Articles of Faith, key signatures and other scriptures. Some of the papers are in sheet protectors and some aren't. All are attached to the boxes with masking tape. When one box is emptied, I move the page to another box. It has been fun to sit next to Hyrum at breakfast and hear him doing math.


In the study guide for the New Testament lesson 9, it has this idea for a family discussion:

Display a map. Ask family members how a map could help them plan a trip. If your family has recently taken a trip or will take one soon, discuss how a map was used or will be used on the trip. Explain that in our journey toward eternal life, the scriptures and the teachings of the living prophets are like a map, helping us know how to return to our Heavenly Father.

And I thought, what a great idea for giving out kids a visual of how much driving we'll be doing country we'll see this summer on our Epic Vacation. Roderic, Hyrum and Sabrina can all point to Boise on the map. They know where Layton is. And Roderic and Sabrina can point to New York. I'm thinking it would be fun to put pictures of family members on the map where they live and perhaps pictures of our vacation locations.

And look at this scripture I made for Hyrum.


He gets to read it during Primary on Sunday and I thought this was better than me just standing next to him whispering the words into his ear for him to repeat. We're working on it.

And Roderic is giving the talk in Primary, so last night I gave the FHE lesson on the POTATO method of giving a talk. I first heard of this method on keepapitchinin.org
Pray and Prepare
Opening on Topic
Tell Two or Three examples of the Topic
Answer why or how this matters
Testify
Over