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Dropping Everything

Posted by on February 21, 2012 1 Comment

I’ll admit it: I don’t particularly like being interrupted when I’m working on something I want to check off my list.

Perhaps I’m just not a very good multi-tasker…or perhaps I’m short on patience when it means sacrificing my own goals or agenda.

Whichever the reason, I felt God pushing into my heart, urging me to let go not long ago on one of those bizarrely summer-ish days when the sun tore through winter clouds and spilled over the brown earth. It was roughly 5:30 and I was in the middle of making dinner.

My daughter, who had been obediently tidying up her bedroom, came downstairs and joined me in the kitchen, looking at me like she just wanted my attention. Actually, she wanted…me. Not me distracted by vegetables that needed chopping.

I hastily tossed our (gourmet) dinner into the oven, adjusted the heat on the stove top, wiped my hands on a clean waffle-knit towel, and bent over the countertop.

“Do you want to go for a bike ride?” I asked. “Just once around the block before dinner?“

She couldn’t believe it.

I could hardly believe I was doing it either. I mean, there were beans and garlic bread to think of.

Yet when our tires rolled along snow-free pavement and we felt the chill of February stroking our cheeks, it was marvelous.

I looked at my daughter as we kept pace side-by-side. “So, sweetie…how was school today?”

Guess what: she chattered the whole way around the block. I got to hear about kids I didn’t even know were in her class. She told me about her friendships and the concerns she had about school. She bloomed.

It’s hard to drop everything in the middle of dinner prep when it seems so critical to be manning the stove and properly seasoning your proteins. It’s hard to divert your attention from something that the entire family’s counting on.

Yet that bike ride meant the world to my daughter that day, and it probably lasted all of 8 minutes.

8 minutes out of the 1,440 God gave me that day.

I think I have to be willing to let go more often and let the pieces fall where they may. I have to be willing to drop everything…but in the meantime, to gain more than I’ll ever be able to hold.

What memories have you made when you’ve dropped everything?

 

Filed Under: Enjoying Nature, For Fun, Time with your Daughter, Treasuring Your Kids | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , ,

“Baseball” Homework

Posted by on February 15, 2012 1 Comment

One of my dear friends shared this idea with me as a way to engage the whole body while practicing something cognitive. She plays catch with her kids and with each toss practices states and capitals, but this morning we just stuck with the states…as in, “Can you name one?”

Sounds simple enough, but after this Superbowl my 6 year old thought that “New England” was a state.

I guess I can’t blame him.

We balled up a clean sock and headed to the living room where we started playing catch. With each toss the person throwing the sock had to name a state.

NOTE: Africa is not a state, either.

The point is, getting your child to work on the very basic concept of states vs. regions vs. continents can be fun and can be done in PJ’s before lunch.

Other ideas for catch:

  • MATH: with each toss, say a number and an operation, taking turns solving the problem. (6 + 3 = 9…toss each time you say each of those parts)
  • GEOGRAPHY: take a page out of my friend’s book and say a state, toss, then have your child catch and say the capital.
  • HISTORY: if you’re into the Presidents of the US, toss the ball each time you say a name, reciting all 44 in order.
  • SPELLING: say a word and with each toss, provide a letter to spell the word. OR, for older kids, say a letter without announcing the word, and have them add on until you’ve made a word together. See what you come up with!
  • SCIENCE: practice the components of the table of elements, geological time periods in order, examples of animals going up and down the food chain.
  • RANDOM: mom states a topic and tosses the ball. Each child who catches has to provide a fact about that topic.
  • BIBLE VERSES: mom or dad recite a verse, toss the ball, and the child who catches it provides the book/chapter/verse. OR, in reverse, mom says the book/chapter/verse, and the child recites the passage.
  • FOR VERY SMALL CHILDREN: say the alphabet with each toss. Mix it up and start somewhere in the middle to see if they can adjust. OR, do the same with counting: numbers, by 2′s, by 5′s, by 10′s.

The possibilities are endless! How can you see yourself using catch to make practice more fun at your house? I’d love your comment!

Filed Under: Checking for Understanding, Creativitiy, For Fun, Games, Having fun with your kids, Homework Helps, Teaching Geography, Teaching History, Teaching Letters & Numbers, Teaching Math, Teaching Science/Biology, Teaching Scripture, Teaching Spelling | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , ,

Valentine’s Day + 1

Posted by on February 13, 2012 Leave a Comment

click photo for credit

I had the best intentions, friends…thee best. I had planned to create some printables and a grand scheme for Valentine’s Day, but alas, a busy life with unexpected sickness sent my plans to the backburner.

Instead, I want to share a fun idea that we do each year on Valentine’s Day, and then offer a special devotional for you to do with your family (taken from this month’s Unofficial Homeschooler Monthly Newsletter).

For the past several years, my husband and I have postponed our own date and celebrated the 14th with our kids, doing our best to model love within a family as being the most important kind of human love they can know. Our prayer is that this kind of love will become a weighty anchor as we inch closer to the teen years and our children begin to explore “the other kind” of love.

Borrowing an idea from our pastor, we serve a very special meal for our kids much like we do on New Year’s Eve. We unearth our wedding china and present a love feast at our dining room table (rather than huddling stools around our kitchen island as we often do!). We dress up and make it special—like we’re on a date together. 

In a few years we’ll all be begging our kids to date us!!

During this meal we write Valentines to each other and express our love specifically on paper. We offer examples of the small moments that have made for big memories, and then we read them aloud at the table.

After dinner we plan scavenger hunts or make cookies for the neighbors or read a new book together– we mix it up. This year, one of the things we’ll be doing is this devotional; why not try it at your house?

There’s no better time than Valentine’s Day to bring your attention back to the source of all love: Our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture Focus: 1 John 4:7-21
The Bible is full of all kinds of words that describe our great God. This Valentine’s Day:

  • read the scripture focus with your kids
  • have your family write down all the words or key phrases that describe God while you’re reading
  • when you finish with the passage, discuss all the things you wrote down.
  • talk about the themes that you hear emerging. Are there repetitions? Are there strong patterns?
  • try to find a “theme” for each member in your family (for example: we live in God, and He in us; God loved us first, etc.)
  • have each member of your family draw something that represents his/her theme (don’t write the theme on the paper yet!)
  • when finished, trade drawings and try to guess each other’s “God themes.”
  • once all pictures have been discussed, write the theme somewhere on the paper and display them all to remind your family of God’s love this Valentine’s Day.

 

Filed Under: Dinner Activities, Family Night, For Fun, Holidays | Tagged: Tagged With: ,

PBS Writing Contest

Posted by on February 9, 2012 Leave a Comment

Not long ago I told you about a PBS-sponsored game-creating contest that had the potential to win you BIG BUCKS! Adding to the fun, I just received another email notification that another contest is underway, and this time it’s aimed at the world’s upcoming writers! Believe me, if I fit the age criteria I’d enter myself!

Here’s what you need to know:

“Do you have a young Charles Dickens in your home? A child who loves to read and write?   PBS KIDS is launching a contest perfect for the young creative minds – it’s the annual PBS KIDS GO! Writer’s Contest, a national initiative designed to promote the advancement of children’s reading skills through hands-on, active learning.

The contest encourages children grades K-3 in communities across the country to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their own original work.

Children will be encouraged to write and illustrate stories and submit them to their local stations, which will select winners and award prizes.  These winners will then be entered into the national level of the Contest where a panel of judges will select the winners.  National winners will be announced and prizes, including tablets, e-readers and MP3 players will be awarded during summer 2012. 

It’s easy to submit, and can be done right on your computer. And every participant who uploads digitally will receive a free animated digital book of their story that they can share with others, including parents who can purchase bound copies of the entry as a keepsake for years to come.

As in years past, winning entries in each of the Contest categories will be featured on the site, PBSKIDS.org/writerscontest, and visitors to the Contest site will continue to have the opportunity to create “Story Mashups” with winning stories.

More information on participating local stations, general entry rules and contest resources can be found on www.PBSKIDS.org/writerscontest.”

 

 

Filed Under: Contest, Creativitiy, Imagination, Teaching Literary/English Terms, Teaching Reading | Tagged: Tagged With: , ,

Hearts Over Home

Posted by on February 2, 2012 Leave a Comment

Tonight I stood in our kitchen eyeing it with fresh perspective. I tried to pretend to be a guest, taking it all in. I tried to scope out details that have become so benign and mundane that I don’t even notice them anymore.

I stood looking at our memory chords thinking that they really don’t look very cute. They’re visible from the front door and just look so…dangly… . Since taking this photo my daughter has also added several inches of her own embellishments, and I’m growing wearing of the whole thing.

And that’s when it dawned on me: we have way too much clutter. 

Way. 

It seems that in every available space — on every possible surface — there’s a piece of paper or a picture drawn by little hands. There are photographs and Bible verses, lotion and a random bowl of stuff: keys, chap stick, dental floss, quarters.

(Now you think we’re Hoarders, don’t you..)

I want to throw it all away and have a house that’s welcoming and cozy, but could also be featured at whim on any page of the Carrera Marble catalog. In short, I’d trade these people straight up:

Ahhhh, I’m breathing so deeply it nearly hurts my lungs…

But as much I would love the clean and shiny, the Lord reminded me of why we have the memory chords. He reminded me why I have photos up and a prayer list on the fridge. 

It’s because the kitchen is the epicenter of our home, and while our home still has little ones with spongey minds and teachable spirits, I want them to soak it all up.

I want them to look in any direction and find a verse to hide in their hearts.

I want them to see the faces of our sponsored kids and read their names.

I want them to know that we don’t hold up a standard of perfection.

Our countertops may hold too much stuff and our cupboards may be crammed and unorganized, but right now — within reason — I’m doing my best to value their hearts over my home.

~~~

Do you struggle to display your treasures if it means not having the Pottery Barn home we’d all love?

 

Filed Under: Character Training, Kids in the Kitchen, Motherhood, Praying for others, Thoughts for Moms | Tagged: Tagged With: , ,

Unscrambled!!

Posted by on January 31, 2012 Leave a Comment

With our kids only just hitting mid-elemenary school, there haven’t been an abundance of opportunities to help them with homework as of yet. But last night our moment arrived: my son asked me to help him unscramble some sentences.

Sounds like fun, I thought. And it was!…until we got stuck on nearly every a few of them.

After verbally trying to work through the confusion together, we decided we needed another way. We needed to see the words and physically move them around so they made sense.

Here’s what we came up with (excuse the poor photos–the battery on our regular camera died!):

1. Write each word on a separate post-it note

2. Work together to physically move the words around until they make sense.

3. Write down your sentence!

Even if your child doesn’t come home with this homework assignment, it’s a great activity for your young readers and writers to order sentences. Why not think of a few of your own to try? OR, download my FREE practice page!

FREE DOWNLOAD!

For PDF of unscrambled activity:

 

Filed Under: Comprehension Strategies, Homework Helps, Sight Words, Teaching Responsibility, Teaching Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Quiet Weekend Moment

Posted by on January 28, 2012 Leave a Comment

If you need to exhale, and in turn, to breathe a little more deeply, please meet me over on Girl Meets Paper for a “Quiet Weekend Moment.”

~ ~ ~

PS: Last weekend I heard my link wasn’t working…please let me know if you encounter a problem!

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Weekend Devotions | Tagged: Tagged With: , , , ,

Setting Priorities At Home

Posted by on January 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

Do you ever feel like the end of the day comes too quickly–and you’ve got little or nothing to show for it? That your “to-do” list just isn’t getting done? Or maybe you manage to keep yourself busy, but you’re doing all the wrong things. You’re investing in the unimportant while the important is neglected.

I’ve been catching myself feeling that way this month and the Lord has really convicted me to do something about it. Read my thoughts over on Girl Meets Paper and see how another blogger gave me a wake-up call.

Filed Under: Character Training, Encouraging Selflessness and other-thinking, goal-setting, Thoughts for Moms, Time Management | Tagged: Tagged With: , , ,

When Your Child Is Teased

Posted by on January 25, 2012 2 Comments

Friendship issues are part of life, yet when they involve elementary-aged girls, they seem to be examined under a microscope.

photo: www.dalje.com

This evening at bedtime my daughter confided that one of the girls on the playground at school has been pushing her buttons in all the wrong ways. Among other things, they tease her by suggesting she should marry certain boys. 

I guess when you’re 8, that’s a hurtful kind of embarrassment.

So tonight as I tucked her in, we talked. I did my best to ignore the ticking clock and the fact that we were now epically past her bedtime. She snuggled up beside me and let it all spill out.

So what to do as a mom? I don’t think there’s a magic formula, but here are a few ideas to try next time your little one comes home with news of teasing:

  1. Try your best to really listen. Close your laptop. Set your phone aside. Be present.
  2. Ask questions to deepen your understanding of the situation. Try to draw out both sides of the story.
  3. Offer plenty of hugs and discuss the wonderful friendships she does have.
  4. Ask her if you can pray together:
In your prayer, consider these elements:
  • Thank God together for the gift of friendship and for the trustworthy friends in her life.
  • Name those friends together, giving thanks.
  • Ask that the Lord would work on the heart of Ms. Tease and soften it to realize when her words are hurtful.
  • Pray that your daughter would have the courage to confront Ms. Tease in a kind but firm manner when rude behavior begins.
  • Ask Jesus to guard over your daughter’s heart so that she does not absorb this behavior as being acceptable.
  • Pray together that if playground time becomes a dreaded part of the day, that your daughter would again have the courage to tell her teacher and her parents.
I feel it may be important to note that right now I do not view our daughter’s situation as bullying, however moving from teasing to bullying certainly can be a fine line. As parents, we must remember that we are our kids’ advocates! If you feel that the playground has become a haven for bullies at your school, I encourage you to contact your building principal right away.

 

Situations of unfriendliness and teasing offer us parents a wonderful opportunity to extend grace to another and model a spirit of prayer. And even though prayer may not be our first natural inclination all the time, seizing the moment will provide valuable teachable opportunities for our kids.

 

How have you handled teasing at your home or at your child’s school?

 

 

Filed Under: Character Training, Discussion Ideas, Friends/Friendship, Praying for others, Spiritual Formation | Tagged: Tagged With: , ,

Identity In Christ

Posted by on January 23, 2012 3 Comments

Sometimes it seems the world shouts so loudly that we lose the ability to hear God speaking into our lives. We forget our identity in Him. We lose our Christ confidence and feel blown about by the changing tides of this world.

Or at least I do.

I’ve been working on a project for my other blog that has me studying various bloggers whose niche is similar to my own. Since that blog is about faith and mothering while walking in The Way, I looked for other moms trying to do the same. The idea of the exercise is to learn from these “veterans” by analyzing what works and what doesn’t work on my own blog. But invariably, you know what that means…

Comparison.

I felt the Accuser drawing nigh, whispering hot breath into my ear, condemning that I am not…

  • a diligent coupon clipper like Jill
  • a lover of mornings like Kat, no matter how hard I try
  • on a spending freeze like Alia
  • a design and decor goddess like Megan
  • a farmer’s wife who homeschools like Ann

Not, not, not.

And if I’m honest, realizing these things left me feeling empty, as though my worth hung in the balance of these lovely women; as though my contribution would be swept away unnoticed like autumn leaves in a storm.

Because if I’m none of those wonderful things, I thought, what does that leave me with? Does that mean I am…

  • a poor steward of our finances?
  • slothful and lazy?
  • extravagant?
  • uncreative?

As the double-edged sword of the internet threatens to slice away my joy, it is the Lord who draws nigh. And as I read John 2 to my children tonight, I was reminded that Christ’s first miracle was at Cana, and that those stone jars still have something to say.

Perhaps, moms, we look around and we expect to be at the same fork in the road as everyone else.

Perhaps, like the banquet master in this passage, we expect that the best should be brought out right away; that we shouldn’t have to wait.

Yet our Lord shows us something different here. He shows us that sometimes the best things come after the party is well under-way and guests have long been dining. They have celebrated with the bride and the groom, and they think they have bellied-up to the best the wedding has to offer.

But Jesus steps in and says, “I offer more…and what I offer is better. Just wait.”

Moms, what an assurance for us! What a comfort to know that what Jesus offers is better than anything we could have asked for. It may not be what we’ve been expecting, but he fills our needs in HIS perfect way.

If you’re counting stone jars tonight, comparing yourself to others and finding that you come up empty, may you—may I—wait on the Lord. Believing that He knows our need. Believing that He who started a good work will be faithful to complete it! Finding our identity in Christ rather than on the screens in front of us.

May we have the faith to wait…and the hearts to receive.

How do you struggle with comparison, and what has God taught you as you wrestle?

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Motherhood, Thoughts for Moms | Tagged: Tagged With: , , ,
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