Activities for Body and Beauty

I wish I could remember the resource that first brought the idea of "one activity for the body and one activity for beauty" to my attention. This idea is a real keeper. Simply, when our family looks at extra curricular activities, we look for one that will help us to care for our body and one that will help us to appreciate beauty. Currently, for beauty our children are taking piano lessons with me at home. We have discussed other options for the future such as chorus, acting, and painting. For the body, our daughter has taken karate for years and is becoming quite accomplished. Our boys are playing baseball and loving it.

Here are some other ideas that have helped us to choose activities. We pay attention to and encourage the children to consider their interests and talents. We start formal lessons when they have a strong desire and readiness. We look for activities that are close to home. We find great local opportunities and folks willing to share their talents. We stay within our financial means. We share activities when possible. For example, the boys play baseball while the rest of us cheer them on and the whole family follows the Diamondbacks. We also hold in our hearts that these activities are to bring challenge and joy as well as to do God's will.