Sunday, September 14, 2008

Darn that 1st grade History

We are learning about the Ancient Egyptian Nomads and how they settled in Mesopotamia, and became a big empire. This entails teaching about Greek Mythology and the beliefs of the Egyptians. (Yes, I did check that I was teaching the right material for FIRST GRADE).
Well, my darling children had quite a few questions for me as we learned of the underworld, the god of the Nile, and the sun god. Here are a few that I remember:

1) Do they just believe in a lot of gods for different things but Heavenly Father is the main one?
2)Is Jesus one of the gods they believe in?
3) Why isn't Jesus married?
4) How are we Heavenly Father's children if He isn't married?
5) Why doesn't everyone believe in Jesus?
6) People believe in different things, but how can Jesus, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost be the same person? Who do they think they (the Trinity) look like?
7) Why do people that go to different churches say "God" a lot, but we don't.
8) Is the Holy Ghost always going to be a spirit?
9) When is Jesus going to come down again?
10) If the whole world is going to be burned, then where will we sleep and what happens to all of our stuff in our homes?
11) Why doesn't Jesus just tell everyone that he is real like he did before?"

And the kicker...

12) So, everyone believes different things but we are the ones that are right?

It was wonderful to have this "teaching moment" to be able to answer some questions- but my goodness, they started to go a little deep and I think I got a little squirmy. Might have some philosophy majors in the works. They are just going to have to deal with their practical mom and her "need to know" attitude. Man, and I've been worried that they would ask how the baby comes out when it is done growing inside. Go figure!

6 comments:

Jannet said...

I laughed when I read this post. Aren't kids great for asking the hard questions?
Good luck with the baby question- I already got that one and answered it on accident with a magazine detailing the month-by-month of baby's development, ending with a suprise full pictoral description of a natural child birth. At least now she knows, even if I wasn't quite prepared.
Now, the hard one came when we were talking about chicken eggs and fertilization and the neccessity of hen and rooster parts to make a living chick(I was trying to reassure her that she wasn't eating baby chicks). My brilliant daughter of course made the connection and asked how the daddy part got into me to make a living baby..... I still haven't thought up a good answer.

Jessica Parnell Tucker said...

Yah, we were watching funniest pets and people and an adult commercial came on. I couldn't find the remote fast enough. Thankfully, Rhet thinks quick on his feet and started roaring and being a monster to wrestle them. He does this often, they totally forgot that they were about to ask. Whew.

Lauren in GA said...

Whoa...you have got some deep thinkers there with some great questions!

I read Jannet's comment, too...Lenna is brilliant...good luck to her...it is so hard because you want to answer your kids' questions but you don't want to boggle their little minds.

Seriously though, they had great questions.

Tiffany -- the mommy said...

I love that you homeschool, you get so many teaching opportunities! These questions were great!! kids are so great!

Julia said...

Wow, my girls don't even have a clue yet "how" boys & girls are different. We've just never had to face that yet! They asked me the other day if Jesus thought he was a girl when he was little because he has long hair & wore dresses. Hmm, is that what makes a girl?

We have talked about all the ways the fetus develops & they have a great story book called "Hello baby." It shows a mommy's tummy & the baby at each stage of development, as well as what it's like to bring baby home. Your girls would like it too, I think.

I love kid's questions, but I have to say that it definitely is different raising children in the "Bible Belt." I still remember being proselyted at Walmart in Evans. Such a fun place to live!

Anonymous said...

And you just thouht you were going to have a lesson on social studies...ha! Talk about teachable moments and being flexible! You never know how the lesson's direction will turn. :)

And I can just picture Rhett playing monster for the distraction! Too funny!