Parenting

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

This year we did Christmas with the family on the 23rd & 24th - those where opening gifts and giving gifts to our family and friends. We mainly gave pictures as the gifts - trying to give more of a timeless gift instead of toys or add to their 'stuff'. For the kids in the family we made picture books (photo album book + 4x6 prints of family + 4x6 blank index cards with family relationship written on it = individual homemade kid photo book).

Then on Christmas day we went with the Jensen family and did hospital visits and took presents and candy canes to kids and workers at the hospital. So, the kids only gave on Christmas day - they did not receive any gifts.

The other part of Christmas that is our family tradition is our ornaments. We get at least one ornament a year, preferable from something we did or somewhere we went to together. It was neat to let Mac put the ornaments on the tree and tell her all the stories and memories that are represented on our tree. Then as we wrapped each present and put it under the tree, we prayed for the person/family.

I pray that the kids remember Christmas as a time to remember others, pray for them, and give them something special.

Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT

2010-11-26T15:38:00.001-08:00

Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

How to Make Children Mind Without Losing Yours by Dr. Kevin Leman

ABC Memory Verses

2010-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

All of the verses listed are from the NIV (unless otherwise noted). Also, some of the verses are shortened so that the first letter starts with the coordinating letter of the week and/or to make it easier to memorize (links are included to the full verse for the ones shortened). Found this info on: http://alysasawyer.wordpress.com/blog-post-index/new-testament-index/abc-memory-verses/

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:23

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”

Acts 16:31

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

Ephesians 6:1

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

Isaiah 43:5

“Even a child is known by his actions.”

Proverbs 20:11

“Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Galatians 5:22-23

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.”

John 3:16

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long.”

Exodus 20:12

“I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever.”

Psalm 89:1

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

John 14:6

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.”

Psalm 34:13

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.“

Deuteronomy 6:5

“Make music in your heart to the Lord.”

Ephesians 5:19

“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

“Obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.”

Revelation 14:12

“Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God!

Psalm 147:1

“Quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

1 Peter 3:4

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

Exodus 20:8

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.”

Matthew 6:33

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Proverbs 3:5

“Under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield.”

Psalm 91:4

“Visit orphans and widows.”

James 1:27 (NKJV)

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Matthew 25:21

“eXcept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3 (KJV)

“You are the light of the world.”

Matthew 5:14

“Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Luke 19:5

Parenting Magazine Tips

2010-08-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

Mighty Mop: Wet the reusable pad on the ProMist mop with a homemade, eco-friendly cleaner or solution of your choice. $20; ocedar.com

Steam Cleaner: Safely sanitize practically everything in your home with a Personal Steam Cleaner. $60; haanusa.com

Screen Divider: page 192. Paint trim and shelf brackets in the same color. Hot-glue cork squares to both sides of first panel, trim excess with utility knife. Apply chalkboard paint to both sides of second panel; let dry. Prime both sides of third panel with magnetic primer; let dry, then paint color of your choice. Use wire brads to attach trim to edges of each side of all panels. Attach hinges to inside edges between each section, about 12" from top to bottom, with screws (included). Hot glue each set of brackets back to back and nail into both ends of screen divider with 2" nails. You'll need:

(12) 4' pieces of 1" trim
(12) 22" pieces of 1" trim
(4) wooden shelf brackets
2 quarts of indoor latex paint (1 quart each of 2 colors)
paintbrushes or rollers
(3) 48" x 22" = 1/2" thick plywood panels
(16) 12" x 12" cork squares
utility knife
hot-glue gun
chalkboard paint
Rust-Oleum magnetic primer ($22; amazon.com)
about (50) 1 1/2" wire brads
(4) hinges
screwdriver
(6) 2" nails

Mac's Daily Preschool Schedule

2010-08-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Habits Training

Accuracy
Attention
Candor
Cleanliness
Courtesy
Even Temper
Gentleness
Kindness
Modesty
Neatness
Obedience
Order
Perfect Execution
Punctuality
Regularity
Remembering
Respect
Thoroughness
Truthfulness

Outdoors

Free Play
Exploration
Garden

Read-Alouds

Kai's Suggested Reading: simply charlotte mason list
Mac's Suggested Reading: simply charlotte mason list

Beginning Reading

Practice identifying the beginning sound of words; learn vowels are a, e, i, o, u

Copywork

Write upper- and lower-case letters with felt-tip marker on wall chart or poster board on wal

Math

One-to-one correlation in counting
Puzzle

Handicrafts (Keep this in mind when selecting handicrafts and life skills)

Beading
Calligraphy
Carving
Ceramics
Chalk drawing
Charcoal sketching
Clay sculpturing
Crocheting
Cross-stitching
Embroidery
Finger painting
Flower arranging
Gardening
Iron sculpturing
Kiting
Knitting
Latch-hooking
Leather tooling
Loom weaving
Macrame
Oil painting
Pencil sketching
Photography
Picture framing
Pottery
Quilting
Robotics
Rubber stamping
Scrapbooking
Scroll sawing
Sewing
Spinning fibers
Spool-knitting
Videography
Watercolor painting
Weaving
Weaving pot holders
Whittling
Woodworking

Life Skills

Auto mechanics
Baking
Canning
Changing a car tire
Changing a lightbulb
Checking the car’s oil
Cleaning: mirrors, sinks, toilets, tubs and showers, baseboards
Clearing the table
Cooking
CPR
Driving a car
Drying: clothes, dishes
Dusting
Electrical wiring
Emptying trash
First Aid
Folding: clothes, towels, sheets
Mopping
Mowing the lawn
Organizing: closets, cupboards, sheds, attics
Painting a room
Plumbing
Raking leaves
Setting the table
Sweeping the floor
Vacuuming
Vegetable gardening
Wallpapering
Washing: clothes, dishes, windows, car
Welding

Life Skills but also Business Skills

Computer skills
Keyboarding/Typing
Tracking personal finances

Art

Display large prints of great artists, one at a time. Tell artist’s name if child is interested. (Or can join with older siblings/students for picture study.)

Music

Play the works of great composers, one at a time, in the background during meals or driving. Tell composer’s name if child is interested. (Or can join with older siblings/students for music study.)

Poetry

Read poetry aloud together at least once a week. Some poetry books are listed in the Read-Alouds. (Or can listen while you read poetry to older siblings/students.)

Bible

Read aloud the great stories of the Bible. (Or can listen to and participate in older siblings/students’ Bible readings and Scripture Memory.)

Discipline

2009-10-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

1. Make a choice (husband & wife) on your discipline method. What actions do we disciple for?
2. Be consistent.

We really focus our parenting efforts on first time obedience: http://childwisechat.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/first-time-obedience/

When they are young, under 2, we redirect: http://www.babyhearing.org/LanguageLearning/PositiveParent/redirecting.asp

Also, I believe most children are really just "testing the boundaries" - so establish good boundary lines and discipline every time they go outside the acceptable boundary. To find out more, a good read is: http://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Kids-Dr-Henry-Cloud/dp/0310200350

The First Haircut

2009-09-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's some advice after seeing Kai's haircut today. Mac did much better than him at sitting still - so it definitely depends on the personality of your child. So::: do a practice run. Set up the space how you want (him sitting in a chair by himself or someone holding him) and (cape or no cape). Then (without scissors) use the comb and water and your fingers to play with his hair in the same method you will to cut it. See how he reacts, then make any adjustments to the environment to help him.

Mac sat in the chair by herself, with the cape on, and didn't move until Brandy was done cutting her hair. She was about 1.

Kai sat in my lap, crying, wiggling, pulling at his cape, shaking his head, and screaming while Brandy cut his hair. He finally calmed down when I started singing to him and freed his hands from under the cape. He was about 1.

If you're child is like Kai, I highly recommend a professional cutting the hair so you can hold you child - and they can be in charge of the scissors.

Crying from 0 to 3 Months

2009-01-15T20:09:00.001-08:00

"neh" sound it means their hungry

"owh" means thier sleepy

"heh" means discomfort...thats when your check if thier hot or cold or if they need their diaper changed maybe your holding them wrong or their car seat straps are too tight etc...

"eh" means they have to burp

Raising Great Kids Workbook for Parents of Preschoolers Introduction

2008-10-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Value of Love.
Love God and love others.

The Value of Truth.
Parents are dispensers of truth and reality sometimes through direct teaching, sometimes through discipline, and sometimes by getting out of the way and letting consequences do the instructing.

The Role of Character.
As a parent you need to be much more concerned about what kind of tree (good or bad) your child is becoming than about any particular fruit you might see on a single day.

An Understanding of Sin, Immaturity, and the Image of God.
We believe, first, that children are created in the image of God and have a lot of good things about them from the start. Second, children are sinners, and all of their goodness is affected by sin. Third, children do not show up already assembled; they are immature and must be "put together" by the parenting process.

These beliefs lead us to assert that everything a child does is not necessarily bad, or good, or immature. You have to discern which is which. Furthermore, you can't judge a behavior, in and of itself, out of context of character.

Neediness vs. manipulation
Image of God manifesting itself (good assertiveness) vs. disobedience (sinful rebellion)

It is important to:

give what they need to immature children who are incomplete
discipline children who rebel again truth, you, God, and structure
nurture the very potential God build into them

The Value of Freedom.
God created humankind to grow in self-control (Galatians 5:23). So it is important for you to play a role in your children's lives that will help them gain control of themselves and their own lives.

Freedom undergirds everything God has for people (Galatians 5:1) and this freedom is to be used responsibly in the service of love. Don't fear the freedom of your children, but require responsibility from them.

The Role of God.
Character is never complete without an understanding of who one is before God. Healthy people have the ability to see who God is, to love him, to obey him, and to take their proper role under him.

How will we teach our children in the ways of spiritual training and guidance?

The Process.
Parenting is a process... what you need to do as a parent will change every day. We will focus our time focusing on principles with process in mind, rather than chronological development.

Godspeed.
The three main points:

Balance the role of love with the need for limits.
Value the worth of children without turning them into little gods.
Children have much potential, but need a lot of both nurturing and correction to achieve that.

Lord, give me discernment and creativity as I look for ways to help my children become a person of godly character. I'm thankful that you will be with me every step of the way, redeeming my mistakes, guiding my efforts, and blessing my attempts to raise my child to live a life that pleases and glorifies you. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

On Becoming Baby Wise

2008-10-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

The best book I've ever purchased! Basically the schedule we go by for our children is eat, wake, sleep. This book takes that concept and explains it in detail. I thank God for the Ezzo's words of direction for our family schedule. I ordered the whole On Becoming... series from gfi.org for only $40. I love the easy read and simple to follow charts and summaries in each book.

On Becoming Birthwise
On Becoming Babywise (birth to 5 months)
On Becoming Babywise II (5 months to 1 year)
On Becoming Toddlerwise
On Becoming Pottywise
On Becoming Preschoolwise
On Becoming Childwise
On Becoming Preteenwise
On Becoming Teenwise

Baby Center

2008-10-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I did when I found out we were pregnant was sign up with www.babycenter.com. I love getting weekly emails of how our baby is developing. They also have great articles for info on pregnancy, parenting, and child development. I enjoy the articles because most of them go right along with what my pediatrician says. I avoid most people's comments, because they tend to only be opinions.