Goals of this blog.... what I bring...

Day 3- 31 days

Why is this blog any different than other blogs?   
it's me. I'm different, possibly a bit eccentric, but definitely different than your ordinary blogger.  

Short version: I love kids. I love learning. I LOVE God's Word.

Life goal: I want to make kids love learning with God's Word!   (and I'm trained to teach in fun, relevant, rigorous, and engaging ways) So I should be able to BLOG a few of those ideas mixed together! 

Details (some will say USELESS details)   but this is for people like me who NEED to really know even their 'internet' bloggers who will become role models, mentors, and in many ways real but imaginary friends! 

I am a parent (of 3 kids at the moment, ages 2, 6, 10). I am a trained elementary teacher with a reading endorsement.  I am a teacher trainer who prepares future teachers at Emmaus Bible College to educate children of all ages.   I am a previous (until 10 years ago) regular camp counselor and program director.  I am a Sunday School Superintendent and passionate children's ministry leader.   I've been teaching Sunday School regularly for 25 years!  ( I started at age 15 teaching-- so YES, I am 40 years old!) 

Can you remember I'm a teacher- so I need to start with my goals and rationale... if you can bear with my teacher talk, you might find it helpful!

Goals/Rationale:
Goals:  

• to connect reading strategies/pedagogy to the Word of God.  
• Reading research encourages real readers to use at least 6 comprehension strategies, when we teach these strategies to kids, we think aloud, we model, and we get them to internalize it with MANY types of text.  Do we also teach this with the BIBLE?  
• Kids would read the Bible daily as soon as they become a 'reader'. 
• Kids find reading the Bible fun!  Their knowledge of who God is will be built on the foundation of who God is through the stories of the old and new testaments! 

Rationale:

• Parents and teachers work hard to create real readers, but so often, we focus only on children's literature which is often ALL fantasy! 
• Even when we use non fiction and a variety of texts for reading instruction, do we every specialize and teach kids to really read the Bible for themselves? 
• HABITS are good.  If we want adults to read the Bible every day-- why do we not make it a habit from childhood?  and if we want it to be a habit, it must be fun, it must be engaging, it must be 'easy' enough to do, and 'hard' enough to learn.  Somehow we grow up and all of a sudden most adults have no idea how to 'fit' in a daily quiet time of reading the Word into their busy lives.  Yet most adults desire to be in the Word.  So if we can get kids into the habit from early on, they would see their Bible reading as essential to daily life and not have to grow up and 'find' time to do it. 
• I've met many adult women who don't know how to study the Bible, and seek a secret strategy to really dig into the Word.  The Bible is a living, active Sword. There is no 'secret' way to understand it.  It's the best book ever, and it comes complete with it's own Interpreter (the Holy Spirit).  

• The Bible is God's Story- it reveals Who He is-- and the sooner a person can grasp that, the sooner that individual can claim and trust in the ONE who is the WORD.  It is a life map for all who turn to it.