What goes in ... has to make sense

I really like the school Aidan is attending, and I'm glad for that, because when we moved here in February -- in the middle of the school year -- there weren't many openings for a stray student in other schools. Sure, he had a rough time fitting in (kids can be horribly cruel at such a young age) and handling the shock of being uprooted, but the school was wonderful in dealing with his needs and, frankly, just taking good care of his little self.

I'm especially loving the class he's in now -- a Transitional Kindergarten class that's considered "first-grade ready." Whatever -- he's doing great. I get a kick out of seeing his worksheets each day, stuffed into his bright red book bag -- drawing straight lines and following patterns; putting an "x" through a letter that doesn't belong in each grouping; starting to write numbers. I see that there's a lot of comprehension going on, a great deal of "listen and then do ____ and _____," and so far he seems to be thriving. Every Monday I can expect to get several papers in the bag for me: first is a list of everything they will be working on for the upcoming week, and then their memory verse for the week.

OK, I'm all for memorizing Bible verses. I did it when I was a kid, and while I can't say I retained all of them over the years, I can still rattle off a few. I am always amazed at those individuals who seem to have the entire Bible at the tips of their tongues, having the ability to pull up a perfectly appropriate verse no matter what the situation or conversation. My great-aunts were like that; I think they spoke more Bible verses in conversation than actual conversation. Sometimes I wish I could have such a ready, working knowledge of the Bible like that, being able to call up a verse when needed.

Aidan was excited about the prospect of learning a weekly Bible verse, so we decided to get creative about it. We have a tall, skinny, gray cupboard in one corner of our kitchen, and the side of that cupboard faces Aidan's seat at the table. We first printed out a very colorful sign that says "Aidan's Memory Verse" and each week we print out the designated verse and hang it on the cupboard. So each time Aidan sits down to eat, we go over the verse. Not only is it helping him to read, but those verses slowly make their way into his brain. It's a pretty good system.

Now that we're a few weeks into it, I have a bit of a beef: the actual verses he's assigned are ... well, kind of inappropriate for a 5 year old. I don't mean "inappropriate" in the sense that he's getting some juicy tidbits from the Song of Solomon ("Mommy, what body part looks like a gazelle? That's silly"), but rather "inappropriate" because they're really difficult! The first verse was a snap: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Cool -- a great start. But then they've just gone way beyond that, especially these last two:

- "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted" -- OK, maybe that isn't so bad, but he struggled with it. First, the phrasing is odd for a 5 year old: "Let them ..." (them? why not us?); "His name alone..." And I think it took him the entire week to get out that crazy tongue-twister of a word, "exalted." The first part was fine; the second half was hard for him to wrap his little head around. It's just not how a little kid thinks.

- "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians). OK ... where do we start? It's just a doozy. Let's just say it's already Thursday and this verse has gone nowhere.

There's got to be some easier verses in the Bible saying the same things -- verses that are constructed more simply so a little kid can make sense of it, rather than just memorizing words that don't make a lot of sense. Retention of words doesn't mean a whole lot; remembering the context and import does. Aidan has a fantastic memory for such a little guy, but if what he's memorizing is just a jumble of words, then it will get into his head, but not into his heart. He likes it when I explain what this stuff means to him (and trust me, we have fairly lengthy conversations at lunch time about "exalted" and "working for the Lord") but then he ends up recalling what we talked about and not the verse. But I'm not surprised -- the conversation meant something to him; it was on his terms.

"Let the little children come to me ..." and let's teach them how to speak like Elizabethans. I hope next week's verse is a little more kid-friendly.