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Ways to Teach I am, I can, I ought, I will
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We are brand new homeschoolers– my dd6 is in first grade. I’ve been trying to introduce “I am, I can, I ought, I will” when we do circle time, which is when we sing a children’s song or hymn, have a little family prayer, read a scripture, and read some family poems. For “I am” we just recited “I am a child of God” over and over, which was simple but worked really well for her younger brother (who is 3). Her other brother 20 months) just runs around the whole time, and I don’t try to push it.
Anyways, I wanted to share what we’re doing for “I can” then ask what other ideas you guys have for “I ought” and “I will” to really help them internalize it and make it something they can fall back on when they find themselves really needing it.
For “I can,” I wrote down a lot of examples on strips of paper that were things that could be difficult for a 3 or 6 year old to do. For example, “sharing a favorite toy with my brother or sister,” or “thinking of something happy when I’ve just had a bad dream” or “understanding a math problem that seems very confusing” or “comforting a friend who is feeling sad or scared.” Then I folded up the strips of paper and stuck them in a mason jar. During our Circle Time, I introduced the new phrase “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” explained it briefly, then let them each take turns picking a paper. DD read the paper, then after each strip we recited the phrase again, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Sometimes I’d re-emphasize that no matter what good thing we need or want to do, and no matter how hard it seems, through Christ we can do all things. I plan on doing this same exercise (5 or 6 strips a day) all week, since my kids are young enough simplicity and repetition works really well.
What are your favorite ideas for teaching this motto? I’m especially curious about “I ought” and “I will,” especially since those are the mottos that seem to, I dunno, require more of whomever is trying to apply them. I really want my DD to understand them and want to make them her own. Thanks for your ideas and experience!
I made and printed out some colorful pictures to hang on the wall, and then my daughter (7) made a poster to put under the pictures for each. For example, we spent a week on I am, and her poster has lots of things written on it about her, an outline of her handprint, and our memory verse that goes along with it. We just did one part of it per week, and they’re all hanging in the playroom as reminders when we need to be reminded. 😉
For I ought, we used 1 Corinthians 10:31, and for I will we used Psalm 119:30. You’re right – repetition works well. I figure we’ll need to revisit each of these each year as she grows up because some of this will change for her. Right now, “I will” has things like “obey my parents”. That will still be important, but as she gets older, it might change more toward how she will stand on her own in the face of peer pressure or other influences she encounters. I mean, even at 36 years old for me, I can still learn from this motto. I don’t think we’re ever “there” with learning this stuff – we continue growing throughout our lives. Just a little perspective. I want to keep this motto family-centered as well as school-centered.
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