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May 2008: Family Heritage and Traditions May 2008: Family Heritage and
Traditions: In today’s ever-changing family structures,
children can easily forget (if they ever knew) who they are and where they have come from. Our
heritage connects our past, present, and future
families and provides an important way for children to understand themselves. Sharing our family
heritage is a powerful tool for fostering
understanding and empathy. In the past, telling
family stories occurred naturally as families did chores together or spent time talking on the porch or in front of the fire. Sharing our family’s stories
happens less and less in today’s busy, widely
scattered, and often-fractured families. This issue should help children to appreciate their family
heritage and traditions and to recognize their own role and place in their families.
Stories: In “Get-Together Stew,”
cousins Casey and Malcolm are introduced to their grandmother’s
tradition of preparing a delicious feast and then
giving it away to someone she feels needs it more,
while her family has a stew of whatever ingredients she can “get together” from the refrigerator. The boys mourn for the lost fried chicken and biscuits but then willingly decide to give up the delectable
chocolate cake as well. In “Searching for Johnny
Appleseed,” Max has grown up with stories that his family is related to the famous tree-planting pioneer. But when Max has a school assignment to write about one of his ancestors, he’s disappointed to learn the connection is probably fictional. In
“Starbird Ridge,” our continuing feature series, Jake is torn between the two sides of his family as his
uncle from Scotland and his aunt from Japan visit at the same time and engage in a friendly rivalry to
introduce him to as much as possible of their
respective cultures. In “Family Tradition,” a Wendell story for our younger readers, Ellie can’t
believe she has to help her mom and aunt tend the family
cemetery plots when she could be having fun at a friend’s picnic. But in caring for the graves and
hearing the stories of relatives she never knew, Ellie discovers she feels more connected to her family. In “The Trouble with Uncle Great,” Aaron is
annoyed that he has to share his room with his
visiting
great-uncle who always insists on moving his bed. When he finally learns the story of why his uncle does this, he feels grateful not only Uncle Great but for his immediate family as well. In “The Blue Moon Ball,” Anna’s dealing with lots of changes. Her
parents have divorced, and her beloved grandmother has moved to a retirement home. Anna longs to do something special for her grandmother’s birthday, but what?
Pocketsful of Scripture includes
readings from all of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.
Pocketsful of Prayer focuses on family stories and uses Joel 1:2-3 as its foundational text.
Coming Up:
June 2008: Caring for Creation:
“The earth is the LORD’S and all that is in it . . .” (Psalm 24:1). Children’s attempts, no matter how insignificant they may seem, to honor God’s creation are the focus of this issue. It is both celebration—thanking God for creating this wonderful world—and challenge—finding ways each of us can address earth’s problems. The aim of this issue is to help children understand that they are called to care for the creation and that they have the power to do that in a variety of ways.
July 2008: Summer Fun!
While we hope that every issue of Pockets is fun for the children who read it, occasionally we do an issue where fun is at the top of the agenda. This issue celebrates the sheer joy of being alive and aims to help children
understand that God wants us to delight in our lives.
More Upcoming Themes
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