Free and Fun Friday: Chickens!

About a month ago, my husband came up to me and said he wanted to build a chicken coop and then he did!  It's absolutely gorgeous inside and out!  Shrade was his big helper and we got a lot of materials free!  Shrade even got to do some painting.  We still haven't agreed on all the names, but I'm going with Biblical so the the three sets of twins are Mary & Martha (white), Esther & Eve (black speckled), Ruth & Naomi (brown), Lydia (a dark brown) and Rebekah (black).  I asked Shrade if he wanted to name them and he said no.  But he likes going out there to give them scraps and talk to them.  We can't wait for them to start laying eggs in June!

Motherhood- Studies to Pursue

Recently I just finished reading the series for moms by Joy Forney at Grace Full Mama called Cultivating a Heart for Motherhood. I was truly challenged to be a different mother!  I urge you to check it out!

Last summer I did a study with Good Morning Girls on Sally Clarkson's book The Ministry of Motherhood: Following Christ's Example in Reaching the Hearts of Our Children.  It was a an excellent resource to change my course in how I teach my children. This study includes videos from Sally.  I felt like she was right in the room being my mom mentor!  Check it out!

And now, I have discovered MomHeart Online by Sally Clarkson and today she made an announcement that she will be doing a study on The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity. I just purchased this book with a gift certificate and haven't had a chance to read it, but now I will and enjoy the community of other moms too!  The details will be announced next Thursday on MomHeart Online.

You will just love Sally's genuine heart.



I hope you check out some of these ideas.  You will be blessed by the wisdom and also in the process learn about being a better mom!  I don't want to waste one minute of impacting my child's life for Christ.

How about you?  Do any of these studies look good to you?  What one do you want to do?  :)

Growing Kids God's Way: Discipline Issues Part 2

This is continuation from a post I made about a year ago!  Anyway, there are several behaviors that appear in early childhood that should be handled by reinforcement training.

1. Problem: Whining- unacceptable form of communication
Solution: provide an alternative.  Only respond to your children when they use words like please and thank you, etc.  If they are whining, say "try again."

Our 2 year old son was able to understand this.  We would tell him, "You need to ask correctly."  One day he was whining and we said that and then he said, "Can I ask correctly?"  Yes, you may!

2. Problem: Temper and Frustration Tantrums- immature emotional behavior
Solution: walk away or isolate child.  Do not spank, talk or bribe, but follow up with a consequence when the child settles down.  Train your child to express emotions properly.

This has been a tough one for me.  I know that when I remain calm, my son is able to get himself under control better.  At 3 years of age now, I'm trying a new technique that I wrote about last week called Positive Conclusion.  

There are several others addressed in this chapter like Power Struggles, Dishonesty, and Siblings & Conflict.

"Loving restrictions and consistent correction are ways of communicating concretely to the child that he or she is loved. Only when children are sure that their parents care about their actions can they feel desirous of following their parents' lead."  from Growing Kid's God's Way

Next week: The Appeal Process

What's Cooking? Banana Smiles :)

I am always trying to find comic relief amidst our days of independent three year old attitude. So everyday at lunch I attempt to make a banana smile! Shrade has even asked to make his own too, but both of these are ones I made for him. Eventually I will have him make them for himself and Jessna. So go ahead and make a banana smile today! You and your kids will smile!

Directions:
*Peel and cut banana however you want.
*Place banana pieces on a plate to make a face with a smile
*Add cheerios, raisins, chocolate chips or marshmallows.
*Enjoy!

Brightly Beaming Resources: Seasons Week #22

We are on week #22 and we learned all about seasons.  Our favorite part was doing a craft that featured each season.  I used ideas from Busy Bee Crafts and they list appropriate ages for each craft.  We learned that Autumn was another name for Fall, but we also have a friend named Autumn so that was confusing.  And our nursery rhyme was Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater and Shrade thought he ate his wife.  We cut out different vegetables from the newspaper to make our poster for letter V and we punched out 22 "seeds" for our watermelon craft when we learned about 22.  The more I do these lessons, the more excited I get about teaching and Shrade is really enjoying all the crafts!

Our season crafts: watermelon, tree, daffodils and snowflakes

V is for Vegetable

22 "seeds" on our watermelon

My lesson plans come from Brightly Beaming Resources Preparatory Curriculum.
My letter of the week craft comes from No Time for Flashcards.

Books we read:

Guest Post: Make Your Child's Birthday Special by Lisa of The Party Works

3 Tips to Help You Make Your Child’s Birthday Special

Children love their birthdays. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make your child feel special on his or her birthday. Your child’s birthday is a chance for you to take some time out of your busy schedule and make your child feel truly appreciated. Think about how much joy your son or daughter has brought into your life, and use that as your inspiration to plan the best birthday celebration ever. Here are a few tips to help you make your child’s birthday extra memorable this year:

1. Bring your child breakfast in bed.

Eating breakfast in bed is a wonderful way to start out a birthday. The night before your child’s birthday, ask what she would like to go on her breakfast menu. Get up early the next morning, and cook all of your child’s favorite foods. Your child may request something like ice cream to be included in the birthday breakfast menu. It’s probably ok to include a little bit of ice cream and other less-than-healthy items on the menu. Your child’s birthday only happens once a year!

2. Get ready for the birthday party!

Most years, your child’s birthday will fall on a weekday. This means you probably won’t be able to have the birthday party on your child’s actual birthday. If your child’s birthday falls on a weekday this year, spend some time together planning for the party. Ask your child what activities, games, and food he would like at the party. If your child’s birthday does fall on a Saturday or Sunday, start prepping for the party together! Your child will love helping you plan and prepare for the party.

3. Be sure to let your child do a few things she loves to do.

Does your child love to play basketball, finger-paint, and watch any particular TV show? Let your child indulge in whatever he likes the most on his birthday. Give your child the day off from having to do chores. And if your child has to do homework on his birthday, be sure to help him out, so he can finish it faster and move on to having fun!

Consider trying out the tips above, and do everything you can to make your child feel loved on his or her birthday this year!

About the Author: Lisa is a mom and guest blogger who writes about embracing life, loving your children, and how to throw the best Mario birthday party.

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing all these fun ideas!  Be sure to check out Lisa's website: The Party Works for a ton of great resources to help you celebrate your child's special day. ~Shonda

Color Theme Week for February: RED

I know I'm a bit behind in sharing this, but we had fun during Red Week in February. I combined it with Valentines Day so there are activities for both.

Ladybug heart

Printing with apples

Counting apples

Candy heart Heart

Heart Owl and heart turtle

The Heart Owl craft idea was from my friend, Annette, at This Simple Home.

Played Memory using Valentines.

Matching heart colors to circles

We also made apple crisp in the frying pan from a recipe in Kindergarten: Tattle-Tales, Tools, Tactics, Triumphs and Tasty Treats for Teachers and Parents. It was so good and we ate it so fast that I didn't even get a chance to take a picture!

Books we read: