It’s Yom Hadar! That is Day of Excellence. We celebrate it every week, on Friday. You know all those things you’d like to do in educating your children, but they get crowded out by all the things you think you have to do? Those things that really create an environment of excellence, but somehow you don’t think you can skip math or reading to do? I’m talking about things like Poetry, Classical Music, Art History, and other such comforts of life. Things that take life and education out of the mundane and ordinary, and raise it to something extraordinary, of excellence.
We begin Yom Hadar with Family Communion time, and the Lighting of the Candles. The table is covered in lace, and we light 2 candles, in crystal holders, representing Creation and Redemption – the physical and spiritual lights God has given us. We take Communion together, reflecting on what’s in our hearts, and God’s cleansing. The “bread” is usually “Cheerios” on china plates, the “wine”, sparkling grape juice served in wine glasses. (A breakfast of bagels usually follows.) We pray together. We sing the great Hymns of praise together. We share from the Psalms together. We read a devotional on and rehearse the Westminster Shorter Catechism together.
We aren’t die-hard Calvinists, but we find much Truth to be learned from the Catechism, as we instruct our children in God’s Ways. We use Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade, which brings the Catchism out of the rote memory class, and into the devotional mode. There are 6 daily readings for each of the Questions, explaining the answer with Scriptures to look up and read.
After this Family Worship time together, we like to each share from God’s gift of Individuality. Each bringing a presentation of their own uniqueness. Perhaps a picture they’ve drawn, a craft they’ve made, a poem they’ve written – or just rehearsed, a Scripture they’ve memorized, a piano piece they’ve learned, whatever they have to give from themselves for the Glory of God.
On Yom Hadar we also do studies of Excellence, again these are things beyond our normal everyday fare. We read and study Poetry and Literature, as well as elocution. We listen to and learn about Classical Music, and Hymns, as well as their Composers. We forge ahead in Music training and instrument playing, and I hope to add more voice training. We study Art and Artists, and again apply it through our own art training. We work on Foreign Languages – currently French and Sign Language, although Greek and Latin foundations have been past studies and we will get back into them again.
As I read this, it sounds like we do a lot! Yet each thing only takes a small amount of time and it is no more lengthy than our other learning times. And it is such a sweet, enjoyable time together. The children cherish it. On Thursday night, someone always reminds, “Don’t forget. Communion tomorrow.”
Most of our lives need far more enrichment. These things that get shoved aside, due to “normal” living, are what makes a Life. Jesus said He came to give us Life in all abundance – a full and fruitful life. When we see the good and excellent things of life not as add ons that we wish we could do, but don’t have time for, but as the spice that makes an ordinary life, and education, something extraordinary we will live in more days of Yom Hadar – for the Glory of God.
