10 Ways to Keep Kids from Accumulating Too Many Toys

Hi Friends-  Summer is a great time to think about weeding out the toys since the kids will hopefully be playing outside in the sunshine!  So, Molly from Live In Nanny has some great tips for after you have cleaned out the toys and how to keep for acquiring more!

10 Ways to Keep Kids from Accumulating Too Many Toys 

Scripture Adventures Summer Sale!

A Parenting Formula from Moses  

Reading the Bible regularly with your children develops a love for God's Word, a solid knowledge of gospel principles, and a testimony of Jesus Christ. As kids really dig into the doctrines of the gospel, they are hungry for more. Take advantage of that enthusiasm by teaching them truth!

What Did Moses Teach About Parenting?
Moses taught the Israelites, "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do all the words of this law" (Deut. 32:46). As the Israelite parents listened to God's Word through Moses, they learned to teach what they learned to their children. Moses warned them of their responsibility to train and require their children to live God's way.

What Does that Mean for Parents?
Moses gave the Israelites a formula for successfully living and teaching God's Word to their children. He told parents, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deut. 6:5-7).

Step 1: Set Your Heart on God
Notice that Moses counseled parents to first set their own hearts and minds and love on God. We must first love Him and His gospel with all of our heart. Our children will see our example and learn to love God, too.

Step 2: Talk About God with Your Children
Next, Moses commanded his people to teach their children by talking about God's Word always: "when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." As parents, we should be taking every opportunity to talk to our children about God! Pray together, read the Bible together, comment to your children when you recognize a blessing from God.

Step 3: Make God a Way of Life
Teaching the Word of God to our children isn't limited to Bible reading time or Sunday church meetings. It's a way of life. As we continually talk of Christ and his gospel, our children will learn to love the truth. In the words of Moses, "Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God" (Deut. 12:28).

For more ideas on teaching your children about God's Word, visit www.scriptureadventures.com. 

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You can also download sample pages, but you will really want the actual resource.  :)

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Parenting is Heart Work- Ending Discipline Times with Impact

Here we are at session #5- Ending Discipline Times with Impact.  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.

In the Spring we went to a parenting seminar by Scott and Joanne and what they shared about the Positive Conclusion was absolutely what we needed with our 3 year old.  In fact, we used it the day we got home.  Over the last few months we have been using this method and we have seen him learn to talk through the problems and come to a solution with our help.  It has given us a great way to reinforce our values to him and he remembers!

So here it is: Positive Conclusion
After a situation occurs and my son takes a break and he has time to calm down we ask these three questions and say this statement.

1. What did you do wrong?  (confession)
2. Why was that wrong?  (heart, behavior)
3. What are you going to do next time?  (equip)
Go ahead and try again!

Give your children a sense of hope and move forward.

Let's explore these a little bit further:



Question 1: What did you do wrong?  Helps to draw the child out, causes their heart to grow, helps them to take personal responsibility and articulate themselves.
Question 2: Why was that wrong?  Time for teaching values and behavior rules (obey, show respect, be kind), helps the child process the offense and creates dialogue.
Question 3: What are you going to do differently next time?  Talk about the right thing to do, they will be better prepared in the future, gets the info from the head to the heart and it takes patterns to change patterns.
Statement: Go ahead and try again.  Send them off on a positive note.

Benefits to the positive conclusion: teaches a mature way to process, resolves conflict, helps child think about problems and how to move in the right direction and provides the basis for a mature apology.

Here is an example of a mature apology:  It was wrong that I did _______.  I know it was wrong because _____________.  If I find myself in that situation again I will ____________.  Would you please forgive me?  (taken from the video by Scott and Joanne)

I loved this lesson most because I use it EVERY DAY!!!  I hope that you will use this and start to see a change in your child's heart to lean toward God.


Taken from  Parenting Is Heart Work.

Next time: Teaching Children to Accept No as an Answer

Summer Reading Challenge 2012 Week #2

 Check out all the details at No Time for Flashcards and enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

Week #1-77
Week #2-69

Total so far- 146
Goal- 500

All About Learning Press- Freebie!

  

Hi Friends-  I'm looking at early reading curriculums and I found this awesome freebie to share with you from All About Learning Press. Shrade and I took a safari adventure with ZigZag Zebra and he learned to listen and comprehend stories using sequenced pictures.  This is just one component to reading along with print awareness, phonological awareness, letter knowledge and motivation to read.  These 5 skills are taught throughout the curriculum to build a strong foundation for reading.  So take a look at this free activity book and have fun with your child.  This is just the beginning to a life of reading.  You will the find the products at All About Learning to be thorough and comprehensive along with huge dose of creative fun!

Click on the picture to get your free reading activity book!

Parenting is Heart Work: A Toolbox of Consequences

Here we are at session #4- A Toolbox of Consequences.  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.

There are different ways to get your child from A to B.  Consequences are tools to change the heart.  You need to use them strategically.

Here are the tools in your toolbox:
1. Natural consequences- Things happen.  Say "That's too bad, what are you going to do?"
2. Logical consequences- come alongside and teach your child a lesson.  This needs to be planned.
3. Restricting freedom- take away privileges and earn them back.
4. More parental control- especially when they are failing in an area, provide more support.
5. Spanking- might be the quickest way to the heart for some.
6. Other leaders and authorities- equip your child to respond to these people.
7. Practice doing the right thing- this is the training and continual practice.

I find right now that I am teaching and training my son what I want to see him do independently.  It takes a lot of practice.  We have also had several instances where there were natural and logical consequences.  This is a funny one, but it's true!  It's been several months since our son has been potty trained.  He has decided the bathroom is a fun place to play.  So he dunked his underwear in the toilet.  Naturally his underwear got wet.  So we thought the natural consequence would be to take another pair of underwear and get it wet and he had to wear them.  Do you think he dunked his underwear in the toilet again?  No!  I think he learned his lesson.  :)

What tools do you use in your parenting that are effective?


Taken from  Parenting Is Heart Work.

Next time: Ending Discipline Times with Impact

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.