The Old Testament

Last week we started our study of The Old Testament. On Monday we reviewed the story of Adam and Eve then we went to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum in Provo. Since Father Adam was given the task of naming all the animals I gave the kids a chance to try naming a few.

I thought the names they came up with were pretty weird...that is until we went upstairs and discovered some very strange real animal names. See if you can guess which ones are real:

1. Banteng
2. Blood beak
3. Duiker
4. Dooshe
5. Striker
6. Urial
7. Deno
8. Takin
9. Suni
10. Dik-dik

Later that afternoon when we got home, about five layers of chaos erupted and I was sort of wishing that it was time to reenact the story of Abraham and Isaac so I could take my kids up into the mountains, tie them up, and prepare to offer them as sacrifices. (I would have been only slightly relieved when the ram was found to replace them on the altar.)

Here are the answers to the animal names above.

2. Kate's new name for the Whooping Crane.

4. Mason's new name for the Striped Marlin.

5. Adam's new name for the Rattlesnake.

7. Colin's new name for the Grizzly Bear.

Next we studied Joseph. I read my adapted version of this story (I added more colors) and the kids colored Joseph's coat.

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of stories. We did Daniel and his tasty lions.

We played like we were Moses and the children of Israel. Colin made it to the Land of Promise first.

I even stood in for Goliath and let the kids - playing David - throw little plastic balls at my head. (This was a last minute idea since I didn't have the rocks handy for this game. I would recommend using rolled up socks if you ever wanted to try my version.)

After another hit, a fall to the couch, and an attempted decapitation I was beginning to regret this idea. Just then the kids decided they wanted a turn at being Goliath. I let them dodge the "stones," so while none of them got a hit to the head, it was still therapeutic for me to throw things at them. 

A Fierce Kaliath

We read about Esther and I dreamed about a Job Day where I took away all the things they loved (like their stuffed animal collections) and put heavy chore burdens on them to see if they would remain faithful then reward them with a night out to Planet Play if they could bear all things well like Job did. That plan was scratched when we decided to start a tile project on Saturday so Shem and I were the ones that endured a difficult day and then got rewarded at the end with a night out with new friends from our neighborhood.

On Friday we learned about Jonah and getting swallowed by a giant fish. To tie in with that story my friend Ann suggested we go to the Huck Finn Day in Pleasant Grove. As part of Strawberry Days they flood part of Battle Creek Park and fill it with fish. The kids got to go in and try to catch them with nets (and hands).

Adam was successful, but cried later when "Spots" died on the way home. 

Colin caught a fish that was gently released by someone else into his net. Someone gave Kate one of his/her fish at the end and you can see how Mason felt about not finding one of his own.

Next week will be devoted entirely to Noah, his ark, and all those pairs of animals.

And who said the Old Testament was boring?