Monthly Themes

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Each month we will focus on 1-2 specific themes and one fruit of the spirit.  The themes are loosely connected to the natural season of each month to help build an awareness of our natural world and the cyclical passing of time for our young children.


September:  We will study trees and apples in particular, while briefly touching on the topic of changing seasons to lead up to the next month's closer look at Fall.  This is the first month of the 'school' year so we'll also train our children in proper behavior and routines for learning time.  Hence, our fruit of the spirit for this month is self-control.

October:  Now that most areas of the U.S. and Canada are experiencing full-fledged Autumn we will read more books and do more crafts all about Fall and the changes that come with it.  Since this is also a good time to harvest our gardens we'll also look at pumpkins.  The fruit of the spirit for this month is kindness, something we can tie into the celebration of Halloween with the concepts of sharing and generosity as well as All Saints Day, where we may honor those who have passed away, performing acts of kindness for them by placing flowers on graves or saying a prayer for them.  

November:  As we lead up to celebrating Thanksgiving here in the U.S. our focus will be on Self, Family, and Friends.  The children can do projects to bless their friends and family in anticipation of the holiday season and learn about their own family trees and where they fit into the family.  Love is the fruit of the spirit for this month as we spend time with those we love on Thanksgiving. 

December:  With a short 2 weeks of learning time in order to leave plenty of room for traveling and holiday preparations we'll simply focus on Christmas themed activities.  The fruit of the spirit for this month of Christmas is Joy.

January:  Coming back after a short break for traveling and celebrating the holidays, we can learn all about this next season, Winter, and the snow that often comes along with it.  The quietness of winter after the busy holiday season brings to mind Peace, so that will be our fruit of the spirit to practice.

February:  With Groundhog Day in February, we'll briefly review how the seasons change and elaborate on what we've been doing with the calendar by talking about time in general.  For some of the older kids participating, this can even include telling time down to the minute, but for the younger crowd we can focus on first, next, last, and the times of day, including morning, afternoon, and evening.  The fruit of the spirit for February is Faithfulness, a good lead-in to the season of Lent for those faith traditions that recognize Lent.   

March:  As March drags out the winter season, bringing rain and a change in weather, we can practice the fruit of Patience with our children.  The wide variations in weather should hopefully give us a chance to go into the different kinds of weather, causes of weather, and how we dress and play in different kinds of weather.

April:  We will plant seeds and introduce the season of Spring as the weather warms up this month.  Easter also typically falls in April and continues for several weeks after Easter Day, allowing for talk about new life using seeds as an example.  Gentleness is the fruit of the spirit for April.

May: Since the weather will be clearing up and allowing us all to get outside more, we'll talk about how we get places with transportation and movement this month.  Our fruit of the spirit is Goodness, which is shown in many ways but can often be joined with Generosity.

1 comment:

  1. I came over from BBC today! This looks like a terrific blog and great for a beginner. I also like Hubbard's Cupboard!

    ReplyDelete