Delilah ! Please send your mailing address, and your size (check the chart here ) to aprongirl@gmail.com. Congratulations, Delilah and thank you to all who entered this contest. Many blessings!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Chick Fil A
We had a blast at Chick Fil A, meeting up with my friend, Molly, and her two precious children. It just so happened to be the second anniversary of the opening of that Chick Fil A, so there was a cake and festivities.
Anastasia was one happy camper, even being allowed to eat cake prior to lunch.
This innocent looking cow is what nightmares are made of. Let me tell ya....Stevie and Annie are both terrified. They would cling to me every time the cow came by. Annie still tells me how scared she is of it. This Friday, July 10th, which happens to be Annie's 2nd birthday, is cow appreciation day at all Chick Fil A's, nationwide. Dress like a cow and receive a free combo meal. I am hoping to try to go, but I am not sure if my youngest two will be too thrilled about dressing like a cow or seeing it again.If you need a laugh, enjoy this hilarious Chick Fil A video by Tim Hawkins:
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Teaching the Scriptures to Your Children
Colossians 3:16 exhorts us to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom". My desire as a mother is to fill mine and my children's hearts with Scripture. The book that most impacted me about the importance of soaking up the Word of God, is Ten P's in a Pod. It is a beautiful, true story of a traveling family, the Pents, who lived by faith and hearty doses of the Word of God. Even some of the youngest children could quote entire books of the Bible. Whenever it was mealtime, this family would read the Scripture, thus satiating their bodily and spiritual hunger. Prior to this, I had always thought that reading a short verse or two would be best for little children. Rather, this book showed me what God can do by letting His Word dwell richly in you.
There are many excellent Bible materials to utilize in your home, but if nothing else, never underestimate the value of simply reading through the Scriptures with your children. Nothing could be more fundamental. I haven't used any formal Bible study materials with my children, yet, but the following appear to be excellent choices.
Hold that Thought
Hold that Thought has a variety of notebooking and timeline materials. They are very inexpensive compared to competitors. They have a Bible book for kindergarteners, which looks like an excellent introduction to the Bible. They also have devotional sheets and advanced Bible history materials. If you blog about Hold that Thought, when you place an order, they will permit you to choose one free item, of equal or lesser value.
GrapeVine Studies
I have noticed that when I keep my children's hands occupied during Bible time or history lessons, they retain more and are better able to concentrate. Grapevine studies can be done with multiple aged children at a time. Your children draw while you read them the Bible lesson. Karla has written an excellent review of GrapeVine Studies.
Alone with God Bible Studies
In depth Bible workbooks on individual topics such as: Jonah and Ruth, Esther, Acts, and I Samuel. These come in KJV or NIV. These Bible studies can be used as a formal Bible curricula and/or as a devotional.
Keepers of the Faith Character Books
Keepers of the Faith produces character books on a variety of character traits, which are full of relevant stories, bible verses, applications, etc.. I think it would be so helpful to do an in-depth study on each character trait, one by one. Some of the topics include: charity, cheerfulness, courage, contentment, compassion, diligence, patience, truthfulness, modesty, wisdom, obedience, etc.. You can find sample pages here. I can imagine how terrific it would be to study these traits with all of my children and to (hopefully) see the practical application of each character trait, in their lives. The hardest thing, to me, is choosing which trait to learn about first. I think it would be very feasible to work through a booklet every month or so. I recommend ordering from Joyful Home Resources because each book is $7, including shipping.
Veritas Press
Veritas Press has Bible cards to display as well as memory songs. The Bible cards would be excellent, especially for younger students who do well with visuals. They have Bible materials for each grade level, so I recommend searching their website.
Doorposts
Polished Cornerstones is for ages 5-adult, and it covers many character traits for young ladies. I think this would be amazing to go through, with a daughter! Plants Grown Up is the guide for young men. These hefty , 500 page guides can be used for all your daughters or sons, ages 5 through adult, and are non-consumable. I also really like their new Put On Chart. If you notice one of your children not living out the character traits, you can take him/her to the chart and explain that we are to put on compassion or kindness, etc.. The Ruby dolls look like so much fun to make with your daughters as you learn about the Proverbs 31 woman. Their Biblical Character Training materials can be found here.
If you have utilized any of these materials, I would love to hear your review of them! I would also love to hear about any Bible materials that have been a blessing in your home. May God bless you as your raise your children in the "fear and admonition of the Lord".
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Curriculum Choices
Even before my children were born, I was a curriculum aficionado. I had read The Well Trained Mind and had strong opinions about many facets of home education. I still collect curriculum catalogs as if they were going out of style. Thus far, having three children, six years of age and younger, I have not had to spend much for their education. I have definitely sampled quite a few math curricula with my eldest, from Singapore, to Horizons, to Spectrum, to ACE. If anything, she will hopefully be well rounded after trying so many approaches! (In my overzealousness to home educate, I started her with book work at 3 years of age. Needless to say, she doesn't care for it as much as her four year old brother does, who I was much more relaxed with.) Our favorite part of home education is ample time reading a plethora of books together. Looking back on these first six years of educating my children, it is a blessing to think of the relationships that we have formed and bonded through, when reading books. My best buy, so far, has been Phonics Pathways , an all-in one, no frills approach to teaching reading. It is chocked full of spelling rules and allows me to use precisely as much time as I deem necessary, towards phonics instruction for the day. This book, a mere $11 (used), is a treasure to me, and will serve as an invaluable resource in my homeschool. Spiritually, two resources have been the most influential with my children: Teach them to your Children and Alice in Bibleland stories. Teach them to your Children is arranged alphabetically and teaches character traits and bible verses, through 26 stories. The Alice in Bibleland stories beautifully retell many Bible stories, in poetic verse.
So far, I have enjoyed piecing together my children's curriculum. Now that my eldest will be starting first grade in the fall, I am trying to decide whether I want to continue down this route. Money has become an issue, as well, so my husband and I are trying to make wise decisions without spending a lot of money. Currently, these are my homeschooling plans, as written. I have been excited about Galloping the Globe for a very long time now. It is a complete unit study for K-4 and the book is $20 at Rainbow Resource. The units focus on missionaries who have lived in the various regions of the world. My heart yearns for my children to mission oriented, so I feel that studying this way, for the year, would be a blessing.
By the time I factor in various recommended materials and a math program, etc., the price is close to what I would pay with a packaged curriculum. The curriculum packages that I am most drawn to are Heart of Dakota and My Father's World. Both of these look like biblically-based, Classical/Charlotte Mason geared curricula, which is what I prefer. My question for you is this:
If you are used to hand selecting your own curricula, have you ever purchased a package deal and then regretted it?
What has been the single most influential curricula choice that you have used with your children?
Please pray for me as we make our final decisions about curricula for this fall! (Please also pray that God would direct us to a good deal on it.) I know the most fundamental thing is forming strong relationships with my precious children. I just want to enjoy learning right along with my little blessings! I thank you so much for your input! Many blessings to you!
Graphic courtesy of ArtDaddy .
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Church Bags
Bringing activity bags to church helps keep my two, eldest children quiet(er) in church. (My youngest, who is nearly two years old, is still needing quite a bit of training. Two year-olds can be a lively crowd, let me tell ya!) I have found that when my children's hands are kept busy, they have an easier time paying attention to the sermon.
The following are a few possibilities to pack in a church bag:
Yarn for Finger Knitting (no needles required!)
Homemade sewing cards
Bible
Christian coloring books
Coloring Pencils
Notebook (for copywork or sermon notes)
Preschool Activity Bag (one activity per church bag)
Water Bottle
Snacks (Avoid anything that is crunchy or messy. Raisins or other dried fruit works well. )
Church bags definitely make keeping my children with me in church, much more feasible. They definitely work for me and my family!
If your children have church bags, I would love to hear what you pack inside!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
HAVA Baby Sling Giveaway
Babywearing is such a blessing to mothers , as it gives them time to complete many tasks while bonding with their children. As a way to encourage appreciation for babywearing, Nurtured Family is graciously hosting a giveaway on my blog, of the newest addition to the SlingEZee family, the HAVA Baby Sling. The HAVA Baby Sling is comfortable, lightweight, and stylish. Take a look at those gorgeously yummy colors; I am definitely partial to the Olivia and Sophia fabrics.
HAVA Baby Sling Features:
- Lightweight and compact (half the size of SlingEZee)
- Zippered pocket in the tail
- Lightweight rail padding, a third of SlingEZee's rail padding
- Padded rails can be pulled through the rings for greater adjustability
- Decorative ribbon on the tail
- Small, contoured shoulder pad
- Beautifully pleated and gathered around the rings
- Comes with the SlingEZee instructional DVD
- Packaged in a cute zippered see through bag with rope handle
For additional entries:
1. Post about this giveaway on your blog. Leave your blog post link in the comments section of my blog.
2. Follow my blog or subscribe to my blog's feed. (This applies to new followers.)
3. Follow me on twitter.
4. Re-tweet on twitter about this contest giveaway.
The giveaway runs until Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 12 p.m. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Comments that don’t follow the giveaway guidelines will not be considered for entry in the giveaway. Be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you!
Contest is now closed.
Monday, June 15, 2009
My Babywearing Stash
When I heard that Steph at Adventures in Babywearing was hosting a babywearing stash "show and tell", I couldn't wait to join in on the fun!
It wasn't until I had my third child that I became an avid babywearer, since that is when I got my first Ergo. Prior to that, I only had the ring sling, which I found extremely difficult to adjust.
I had heard so many terrific reviews of the Ergo, that I decided to give it a try. Even my husband became so fond of the Ergo, that he purchased an extra one for himself. The Ergo has been an absolute blessing to me, as it was the only way that I could get any household tasks completed, during the first year and a half of my daughter's life. Though my daughter (who is nearly 2) prefers running around, now, she still brings me the carrier when she wants some Mommy snuggle time. I cherish all of the memories of her snuggled close to my heart, in the Ergo.
Should God bless our family with another little one, I would love to try a Moby Wrap or a Sleepy Wrap for the first several months.
Don't miss Brittany's breathtaking baby wearing stash. She was my inspiration for putting my baby carriers on the clothesline.
Please congratulate this precious family...
The McClenahan's precious daughter, Cora Paige, left this world this past February. Her family has a very exciting announcement here. Please send your congratulations on to the McClenahan's!
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