Sep. 4, 2006 - Teach Them Diligently: Part one

I've mentioned before that in my stack of books there is usually one on child training.  I want to be continually growing in my role as my children's mother, and I am often encouraged and challenged by such books. 

I recently finished Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo.

It took me awhile to finish this book because it is not one you can zip through.  There are only seven chapters, but they are full chapters.  I had to read a portion of it and then set it down for a week or two to absorb and ponder what I'd read.  Priolo's book is filled with Scripture, and he also shares practical examples and dialogue with his own children. 

This book challenged me as a parent to be consistently using the Bible for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.  (2 Tim. 3:16)

Priolo writes, "Suffice it to say that if you are not using the Bible when you discipline your children, you are not disciplining them biblically."

I finished this book with a renewed purpose to use the Bible more than I now do in interactions with my children throughout the day.  Tomorrow I'll share my plan on how I'm going to put into practice what I've learned.

~Stacy

*To read Part two of this post, go here.

Note: Amy is taking a break from blogging this week so I'm going it solo.  My goal is to post on her blogging days (T, Th, Sat) as well as my own. 

May. 18, 2006 - The book I’m loving right now

I am almost to the end of Family Friendly Farming by Joel Salatin.  I cannot recommend this book enough!  By the title one would assume that the only families that can benefit from this book are those planning to farm, but this is not the case at all.  Farming is Salatin’s passion, but the concepts he writes about can easily be applied to many family contexts. 

The style of this farmers writing is so enjoyable to read.  Salatin is very intelligent and writes well, but he is a man that sweats and works hard everyday… so he is very down to earth.  As I have worked my way through this book, I have daily quoted Salatin’s stories and thoughts to Mike my husband. 

My favorite concept that Salatin thoroughly covers is that of work.  Salatin has a love for work that was passed down to him by his father and he has a well thought out model of how to instill a love for work in our kids.  To give you an example of one of his ideas that I have immediately implemented in our family is that of keeping work task oriented. 

Salatin writes, “One of the surest ways to destroy initiative is to teach our kids to punch the time clock.  Just as punching the clock in industry creates workers by and large who nonchalantly say: ‘I’m just putting in my time,’ so time oriented jobs around the home and farm destroy initiative.”  (Page 88)

What Salatin is suggesting is that instead of instructing your kids to weed for an hour, we should show them which row we want them to weed and how well we expect it to be done.  Then tell them what reward they can have after and what time both the job and the reward will be completed.  This allows the child to find ways to work harder and smarter.  They may find a way that makes a task more efficient than you.  As Salatin puts it:

“If the recreation has an open start time based on task completion, then it operates to maximum benefit.  ‘When you get done you can play until 2 p.m.’ allows the child to kick in the free time based on his own efficiency.  Children learn quickly to speed up the work in order to maximize the play time.”  (Page 91)

I borrowed the copy I am reading from our library, but feel that this book is one I want on my shelf.  I will be purchasing it right away.  I want everyone I know to read it.  It’s that good!

~Amy

May. 3, 2006 - Picture Books- our favorites! -part two

At first I had a hard time coming up with my family's list of favorite picture books.  I couldn’t understand why tons of stories were not coming to my mind because I know we have spent hours and hours reading books over and over. 

Then it came to me…. My boys' favorites haven’t been stories; their favorites have been the non-fiction books.  Fact after fact about tractors, fire fighters, construction, and vehicles are examples of the boys' favorites.  I would ask my oldest whenever we went to the library, “could we pick out a book from this (fiction) section?”  And he would explain to me that he liked these (non-fiction) shelves best.  At first I enjoyed it also, but I must confess that now as I read the same book with the same particular facts about fire apparatuses… well, I get a little bored.  Am I a girl or what?  We usually strike a deal.  “You pick one and mama will pick one.”

By the way, the boys are the same with videos.  Documentaries on how to build a road, make a cello, or put on firefighting gear are our favorites! 

So our favorite non-fiction has definitely been the ones by DK and Usborn that have real pictures or CAD pictures (not drawn). 

As far as fiction books, the ones that we have enjoyed (that aren’t already on Stacy’s list and readers comments) are by these two authors:

Graeme Base

His books have really neat illustrations, which we have spent hours perusing to find all the “hidden” things.  Just yesterday the boys and I took out The Water Hole and spent some time re-finding the animals that aren’t in the obvious picture and learning what they themselves have to teach.  Like, each picture depicts a different region of the world and the animals hidden within belong in that location.  

Jez Alborough,

You may recognize him from the popular book Hug for very young children.  But we’ve really enjoyed all that our library has that he wrote.  An example is Fix-It Duck.

For read aloud books, we have purchased many Great Illustrated Classics by Baronet Books and have been really enjoying going through them.  They are specially adapted versions and have a page of words opposite an illustration.  This has been a great introduction to the concept of read alouds.  We also like The Happy Hollister series by Jerry West.

Although I don’t have the same endurance for just the facts as my boys do (I much prefer some relationships, character development and drama), I do relish cuddling up to read them a book no matter what it is.  It’s definitely one of my favorites times of the day.  And now, I am the woman to ask about the difference between an excavator and a backhoe!

~Amy

Apr. 28, 2006 - Picture Books- our favorites!

Recently I asked Kendra of Preschoolers and Peace if she would be willing to give some good read-aloud suggestions.  She kindly responded with a great list for girls (click here) and another list of her picks for boys (click here).  Also, Amy over at Amy's Humble Musings posted an entry on read-alouds, too. (Click here.)

Amy and I were talking last week about how we didn't really have much to offer in the way of read-alouds (as we're just entering this stage with our children), but we DO each have a list of picture books we've enjoyed reading with our children.  So... here's my list:

Mr. Putter & Tabby books- Cynthia Rylant

If you have not yet discovered these books, you've got to check them out!  You'll meet an elderly man named Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby, and Mr. Putter's neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, and her dog Zeke.  Mr. Putter and Tabby go on all sorts of adventures together and usually their neighbors join in on the fun!  The illustrations are excellent.  There are more words per page than most picture books, but pictures accompany each page and they aren't too wordy to hold my 2-year olds attention!  Our favorites are Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch, Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog, Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane, and Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish. 

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart (illustrated by her husband, David Small)

Here's the description from the School Library Journal: "Through her letters to her farm family, Lydia Grace tells how she brightens her uncle's dreary bakery and his disposition with a little dirt and a suitcase full of seeds." 

The illustrations in this book are outstanding.  The first time we checked this one out at the library I spent a good deal of time poring over the illustrations on my very own (after my children went to bed!)  You'll love it!

If You Were My Bunny by Kate McMullen, illustrated by David M. McPhail

This is a good nighttime lullaby book.  It begins with the story of a mama bunny putting her baby bunny to bed, then a mama bear, a mama cat, a mama duckling,  a mama dog, and finally, a mama putting her child to sleep.  My favorite part about this book is that you can sing all the lullabies in the book.  For instance, the bunny lullaby is sung to the tune of "Hush, Little Baby". The final page has the mama pulling up the covers, giving her child a great big hug, and a great big kiss ,and saying "I love you!"  My children love this book- especially the singing part! :)

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!  by Candace Fleming, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Gossie & Gertie books by Olivier Dunrea

Maisy books by Lucy Cousins

Honkers by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Leslie A. Baker

If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo by Mary Jean Hendrick, illustrated by Jane Dyer

To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda, illustrated by Janet Stevens

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Apr. 25, 2006 - Don't miss this resource!

Apr. 7, 2006 - A favorite for preschoolers and parents: ABC Bible Verses

My favorite book for preschoolers?  And parents of preschoolers?  Hands down, it's ABC Bible Verses, by Susan Hunt.  We love this book!  Susan Hunt has found a verse for each letter of the alphabet.  Some examples:

A soft answer turns away wrath.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

My favorite part about this book is how helpful it has been for me as a mommy to instruct my children using God's Word.  I can't tell you how many times since we began going through this book I have been able to use one of these verses in correcting or reminding my children.  Or, even better, I have overheard my children using the verses we've learned in their own interactions.  My daughter will tell her little brother, "Remember our Bible verse?  'Children, obey your parents in all things...'  You need to obey mommy.  That makes God happy!"

Each verse is from the New King James Version or the King James Version of the Bible.  For each verse, there is a story that accompanies it as well as a few questions and a suggestion for prayer.  For the A-verse, the story is about little Missy and her friend Janet.  Janet wants to do something and gets angry when Missy doesn't want to (Missy won't because, in her words, "I can't disobey my mom.").  When Missy's friend responds with anger, Missy remembers Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, and chose to give a soft answer to Janet, and it stopped the argument. 

We've been reading our ABC Bible Verses after dinner.  Before we begin a new verse, we repeat all of the verses we've learned up until that point.  Then daddy reads the verse and the story and we pray together at the end.  This is a highlight for my children- they love this, and are always eager to learn the next verse, or practice all the verses we've learned so far!  It's so easy for them to remember because of the connection to the alphabet.  Even our two-year old, with very little prompting, can say each verse we've learned to date.

Right now we're on Keep your tongue from evil. (Psalm 34:14).

You can imagine how often we'll get to pray over that one, asking God to hide His Word in our hearts and help us obey!

~Stacy