Saturday, March 13, 2010

Lessons from the Duggars - Part 3

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 9:36 PM
Another thing I did, as we began this new way of organizing and splitting up tasks, is look to the Bible and character traits that I want to teach my children that coincide with what we’re learning. The first character trait is SERVICE. I explained to the children (yes, even the two-year-old) that God wants us to serve each other and work together as a family.
The first scripture we are learning (we are going to study SERVICE for the month of March) is Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.
“Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”
We are reading this scripture every day and talking about what it means. First, we talked about how each person’s load is lightened when we work together. You can accomplish something faster, better, and more effectively when you work together.
In accordance with the idea of service and working together, we also implemented another organization tip from the Duggars. We started the buddy system. Now, for families of only one or two children (especially if they’re close together) this most likely won’t work.
The premise behind the buddy system is that an older child is assigned to be a big buddy to a younger child. The Duggars split their children in “over eight” and “under eight” categories. Since my children are all under eight, that won’t work for us. But, the older two are capable of helping out. So, buddies we have.
It helps that my seven-year-old and two-year-old share a room and my five-year-old and the baby share a room. The oldest of the older two paired with the oldest of the younger two and youngest of each set makes sense and already has a foundation set.
I was surprised how excited everyone was at the idea of having buddies. They took hold of the idea and now enthusiastically (most of the time) help out and hand with their buddy. It will be exciting to see how much they will grow in their relationships and teach each other along the way. (Plus, I don’t have to strap the two-year-old in her car seat anymore! Her big buddy does it.)

1 comments on "Lessons from the Duggars - Part 3"

Anonymous said...

I just happened on your blog because of the reference to the Duggars, a family I find inspiring and refreshing. By the way someone has posted a lot of the episodes on you tube so you can watch them there.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RBkTjQzE_g

I wanted to congratulate you on taking some ideas from their book and using them to help you organize your family. I well remember the days when I struggled with 4 little ones even though I am now a grandmother!

I was also encouraged by your witness for our Lord. It is great to see a young mother with her priorities in place. Blessings on your journey. Millie

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Lessons from the Duggars - Part 3

Another thing I did, as we began this new way of organizing and splitting up tasks, is look to the Bible and character traits that I want to teach my children that coincide with what we’re learning. The first character trait is SERVICE. I explained to the children (yes, even the two-year-old) that God wants us to serve each other and work together as a family.
The first scripture we are learning (we are going to study SERVICE for the month of March) is Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.
“Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”
We are reading this scripture every day and talking about what it means. First, we talked about how each person’s load is lightened when we work together. You can accomplish something faster, better, and more effectively when you work together.
In accordance with the idea of service and working together, we also implemented another organization tip from the Duggars. We started the buddy system. Now, for families of only one or two children (especially if they’re close together) this most likely won’t work.
The premise behind the buddy system is that an older child is assigned to be a big buddy to a younger child. The Duggars split their children in “over eight” and “under eight” categories. Since my children are all under eight, that won’t work for us. But, the older two are capable of helping out. So, buddies we have.
It helps that my seven-year-old and two-year-old share a room and my five-year-old and the baby share a room. The oldest of the older two paired with the oldest of the younger two and youngest of each set makes sense and already has a foundation set.
I was surprised how excited everyone was at the idea of having buddies. They took hold of the idea and now enthusiastically (most of the time) help out and hand with their buddy. It will be exciting to see how much they will grow in their relationships and teach each other along the way. (Plus, I don’t have to strap the two-year-old in her car seat anymore! Her big buddy does it.)

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just happened on your blog because of the reference to the Duggars, a family I find inspiring and refreshing. By the way someone has posted a lot of the episodes on you tube so you can watch them there.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RBkTjQzE_g

I wanted to congratulate you on taking some ideas from their book and using them to help you organize your family. I well remember the days when I struggled with 4 little ones even though I am now a grandmother!

I was also encouraged by your witness for our Lord. It is great to see a young mother with her priorities in place. Blessings on your journey. Millie

 

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