Q: How can I help my child find beauty in a subject he does not enjoy?

Dear Friend,

What a great question! Let’s back up a few steps and ask a couple of preceding questions to ourselves.

What beauty do *you* see in that subject? We must ask ourselves this since we cannot expect our child to discover a beauty we ourselves do not yet see or taste.

Further still, what is beauty? And where did we receive this assumption that beauty does indeed exist in all knowledge?

Let’s begin at the beginning. God is beauty. Let’s sit here for a bit and drink in that truth…

Beauty originates from the Creator God. Beauty is defined by Him. He imbues beauty. He placed the “beauty sense” in us. He made us ache for beauty.

Everything God spoke into creation, He called it “good.” In other words, He called it “beautiful.” Amen?

Beauty, therefore, reminds us of God, draws us to Him, leads us back to Him if we’ve gone astray, searching for beauty elsewhere.

When sitting at my dining table, planning for the upcoming school year, it is a delight to ask, “Lord, to what purpose should this subject be included in her feast?” In other words, “Which aspect of Your beauty will she be invited to see in this body of knowledge?”

When you and I have a reply to that question, and experience it ourselves, we can then be a competent guide for our child, up the well-worn footpaths.

Spend time sharing the view with your child. Step back from the checklist of pages you have to “conquer” that term for now. Share your experiences. Share the experiences of others (biographies) who have been consumed with the glories of that particular arena of knowledge. Find people in your community who are passionate and create learning opportunities together (e.g. co-ops, online classes). Passion is contagious. Living ideas are contagious. They are fuel for the Holy Spirit to use to ignite imagination and nourishment in our child’s soul.

In the maths, grammar, sciences, literature, the arts and handicrafts, may you experience the “terreautiful”[1] beauty of God that is “touched with the fullness of [His] divine presence”[2] and the “hush of holiness”[3]. Ask of Him, and He will show you His glory.

Then, when you extend your right hand, your child will take hold of it, eager to experience its wonders with you.

For the King & His kids,

Min

[1] C.S.LewIs

[2] Timothy Willard

[3] Timothy Willard

NOTE: This article was first published in Vol.5 Issue 2 (beauty) of the commonplace Quarterly.