Holy Week Reprise

Holy Week was a lot for the children. We made it to 17 services of the 19 (including those of the previous Saturday and Sunday). Teddy always gets excited about the service of the Twelve Gospels on Holy Thursday evening, but is usually too tired to participate by holding a candle.

This afternoon, Timmo found the Holy Week books that we haven't put away, and brought me one, happily saying, "Book!?" Then Lucia got the other one, and they were paging through, asking me to join them on "Amen" and singing to each other, "Holy God, Holy Mighty!"

After Timmo went up for a nap, Teddy investigated the books and found "The Service of the Twelve Gospels!!" Then he asked me to sing the Alleluias, and he chanted the verses. Then he started in on the first gospel pericope. He read aloud for quite a while, with Lucia copying some of his words like a defective microphone (just a few, quietly, here and there). Then he chanted as if to end, and blessed Daddy with the book. Daddy, however, teased him, saying, "Hey, you're cheating. That's not the end!" Teddy looked a little tired, so I told him he could stop now or keep going as he liked. So he kept going.

I had to leave at this line, though, coming from my chatterbox five-year-old: "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now."

(Before I left, he only had "five more pages" to go of that first gospel reading...)

Vocabulary: I Corinthians 4:9-16

For some reason, I thought it would be an excellent idea to have TG read the epistle of the day, review the vocabulary he didn't know, and reread the epistle with the new vocabulary.  Well, the epistles have lots of words a five-year-old doesn't know, and they can be complicated, abstract terms.  So there's a lot of jumping around and looking things up and thinking on the parent's part to squiggle these words around so TG can get a hold of them.  For instance, I got out the pan and the scouring pad for the word "off-scouring."

revile: say bad things to or about somebody

After reviewing the definition a few times, I asked if he could revile me.  TG looked a little wary, like this was some sort of trap.  I said, "Can you say a bad thing about me?"  He said, "No!"  Surprised, I said, "Why not?"  TG:  "Because I'm nice!"  Okay. Point taken.

defame: damage the good reputation (of somebody)

I asked who had a good reputation at church, and he said, "Daddy," so I said, "What if somebody went around saying that Daddy had hit Mommy?  That would be defaming Daddy's reputation."  TG, not quite getting it yet, said, "After Daddy hits you, I will say: Daddy, you're defaming Mommy!"

My forehead is starting to hurt, but we're getting there.  And at least the bottom of the frying pan is cleaner.