As a homeschool family, you have many opportunities to see how your kids are doing. But even with that close connection, sometimes it's difficult to get down to core ideas and beliefs. This is where discussing stories together can be so powerful.
In one of the Sonlight titles--Peace Child(?)--the passage about Judas betraying Jesus was met with cheers. Why? That culture celebrated backstabbing. It was even better if you could get the person to think you were a friend. So Judas using a kiss to turn in Christ was the epitome of success. Talk about fundamental differences in perspective!
Even in small areas, discussing stories can reveal things near and dear to your child's heart. Is he moved with compassion for the injured animal? Is she stirred by the injustice of the situation? Does the description of how things were built then spark his imagination? Does she want to try her hand at making the meal depicted in that passage? Can he not stop talking about a particular situation in the book? Does she still make up stories associated with that moving passage? Those are ways to see how God has made and gifted your children. And I think those are great hints to where you may want to point your children to fly.
As you discuss the stories you read together, you may discover that you didn't read the same book. You may catch one theme and your child may have caught another. That's one of the things I like about great literature: There is depth you can explore together.
Did you have any conversations or insights come up while you were reading stories together this last year?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
P.S. Peace Child and Out of the Dust are both titles in Sonlight's Core 100 program.
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