Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Field of Peace by Joyce Meyer Book Review


# 1 New York Times Bestselling Author and Inspirational Speaker Joyce Meyer Helps Kids Discover Inner Peace
Through a Baseball Game at Everyday Zoo
 


I am absolutely in love with Joyce Meyer's new children's series from Everyday Zoo.  This is the second book from the series.  The first book, which I reviewed last year just stole my heart!  And this book has won me over again.  Boyd the Giraffe (the pitcher) wants to win the championship baseball game, but when Arnold Armadillo develops a strange malfunction everytime a ball comes near him and curls up, Boyd knows they are doomed.  He plans to exclude Arnold from the game, but ends up feeling unsettled inside his heart.  After Coach Pouch encourages him to seek God's peace, Boyd finds Arnold and the game finishes with a home run by Arnold as he rolls around the bases.  In the end Boyd feels that being peaceful is even better than winning. 

“When we make good decisions that please God, we feel calm and peaceful inside.”
Following the success of her debut children’s book, Every Which Way to Pray, hailed as refreshingly unpreachy and theologically accessible” by Publisher’s Weekly, #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer returns with FIELD OF PEACE (Zondervan; September 2012; $15.99). 

 It is the second installment in the “Everyday Zoo” series of inspirational children’s stories, with illustrations by Mary Sullivan.

Named one of the most influential evangelical leaders in America by Time Magazine, Meyer has penned more than 90 books and inspired millions around the world through her renowned ministry and national radio and television broadcasts. Now she is continuing her outreach to children by teaching valuable Christian lessons set against the vibrant backdrop of the fictional Everyday Zoo. 

In FIELD OF PEACE, Meyer introduces two new Everyday Zoo characters who get a lesson in inner peace through a series of events leading up to the annual championship baseball game. Boyd the Giraffe, star pitcher for The Wilds, has his heart set on winning the trophy.  But an incident on the field leaves his teammate, Arnold Armadillo, incapable of catching or hitting the ball.  Boyd worries that Arnold will cause The Wilds to lose the big game. 
When presented with an opportunity to exclude Arnold from the championship, Boyd must decide which is more important—winning the trophy or being a good friend, pleasing God and feeling at peace with his decision.
As the baseball season heats up this fall, readers will relate to the FIELD OF PEACE and get a sense of the calming nature of the national pastime, especially in light of Meyer’s poignant lesson in inner peace.  Children will discover how to maintain that peace, even during the big game!
Fans of Every Which Way to Pray will recognize Sullivan’s colorful illustrations of adored returning characters, including Hayley and Harley Hippo.
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Zonderkidz™, a division of Zondervan, inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. As the leader in Christian children's communications, it produces bestselling and award-winning Bibles, books, board books, graphic novels, audio, video and digital products that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids under 16 and the people who love them, from family members to educators. Zonderkidz is the publisher of the NIrV (New International Reader’s Version) Bible translation, the third-grade reading level edition of the NIV that is ideal for children and those who speak English as a second language. Visit Zonderkidz on the Internet at www.zonderkidz.com.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

How I will do lesson plans for Shrade's Preschool







Let's just say, my lesson plans for my son are WAY different than my lesson plans for when I was a teacher.  I thought in homeschooling it would be so much easier and I would have complete structure in my lesson plans, but it has not been so.  Mind you, I'm just doing preschool.  I am finding TONS of ideas on the web and that's my problem.  How do I break it down to what I want to do and not feel overwhelmed?  So here are a few ideas if you want to try a simpler approach, yet get in a variety of fun things to do.

Last January I took an online class through Bureau of Education and Research (BER) called Teaching Preschool.  Since I was going to homeschool preschool I thought it might help me and it did.

There are 10 activities that center around a theme:
*Theme
*Circle discussions
*Literacy activities
*Songs and fingerplays
*Art projects
*Number sense activities
*Large motor and movement activities
*Fine motor skills and sensory activities
*Dramatic play
*Science and discovery

I am choosing do one letter a month as my theme for the next two years.  So I will center my lessons around these 10 areas.  This gives me some structure, flexibility, creativity and best of all a variety!  You will see in my blog posts that I will show you most of these things.  I'm excited to share what I am doing with Shrade as we enter Milk N' Honey Learn and Grow Preschool!  Come join me!

I will not be going into detail in my lesson plans in my blog posts as I do not want to spend all of my time on the computer, but I will give you highlights and links that will help you if you are interested in what I am doing.

Summer Reading Challenge 2012 Week #1










So, last year we read 330 books for the Summer Reading Challenge. And I just reread my post from the end of the summer and I said that I wanted to set a goal for this summer. Well, last summer was very tough and I'm surprised we read that many so I am going to aim for 500 this summer! Check out all the details at No Time for Flashcards and enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

Week #1-77 (we were very ambitious!)

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Summer Fit Learning Giveaway!!




Summer Fit     Preschool to Kindergarten: Prepare Preschoolers Mentally, Physically and Socially for Kindergarten is the perfect answer to keeping kids busy, active and current as they go throughout their summer.  Summer Fit helps to "prepare children mentally, physically and socially for the grade ahead."  This resource is based on national standards and is teacher recommended.  For kids age preschool-5th grade.

Head over to my other blog The Knowlton Nest to enter 
this LOW entry (just one person so far) giveaway!!
Ends June 13!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Parenting is Heart Work: Correction Ideas that Touch the Heart






Here we are at session #3- Correction Ideas that Touch the Heart.  I am so excited to share just a few things from Parenting Is Heart Work by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller and our home group session.

Many times parents use anger to accomplish the task of correction, but in this lesson Scott and Joanne want to show you a few different ways to do this.  First of all, correction is an opportunity for heart change.

A good correction routine starts with words (1 Timothy 3:16).  Teach your child to be responsive to words of correction.  Also, teach your children to take a break.

Taking a break is sending your child on a mission to change their heart.  The child determines the length of their break and the motivation to return is that the child is missing out on the benefits of family life.

We have recently started using the break with our 3 year old.  We tell him that after he settles down he can come back when he is ready to LISTEN and OBEY!  We cannot engage him in any heart change discussion when he is angry.  We are learning to correct through love and not anger.  I think that is the biggest benefit.

There are also steps of repentance that is discussed in more detail in the book:
1. Settle down
2. Admit doing wrong
3. Acknowledge a better way
4. Commit to do what's right
5. Feel sorrow
6. Desire what's right

Have you used any of these techniques?  Is taking a break different than time-out and how so?

Taken from  Parenting Is Heart Work.

Next time: A Toolbox of Consequences






Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Letter Learning: Matching letters

I'm enjoying finding all the things I used in my classroom that I can now use with my son. I have this set of alphabet flashcards that has 3 pictures for each letter and on the back of each of the three one has a capital letter, a lowercase letter and both. My son pretty much knows all his letters and it's been great to see him connecting letters to beginning sounds in words.

I put out four cards on the table (1 letter card and 3 picture cards with one matching the letter). He had to match the first letter with the picture that starts with the letter.  It was pretty easy since all the letters are on the bottom of the picture, but I also had him name all of the pictures to increase his vocabulary.

I will share other ideas that I use with these flashcards in other posts.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Summer Reading Challenge 2012 with No Time for Flashcards




Shrade, Jessna and I are going to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge sponsored by No Time for Flashcards

This year we are counting books, so I took a big piece of paper and made it a tally sheet!
Every week we will fill out the tally entry (see sidebar).

At the end of the summer (Aug 26) there will be a drawing for a $50 gift card to Amazon.


Happy Reading!