Three Hands-On Ways I Use to Teach My Littles about Memorial Day

May 25, 2020 by admin

Three Hands-On Ways I Use to Teach My Littles about Memorial Day

I personally have never served in the military, but I have so much respect and admiration for those who have. If it weren’t for their sacrifice, we couldn’t live in this great land of America. I am so grateful for those who have paid the ultimate price by giving their life. I am also grateful to their families, for they too have paid a price much steeper than I could ever grasp.

Because of this, I have a deep desire to instill in my children from an early age a great respect for soldiers, and to understand that Memorial Day isn’t about cookouts and yard sales.

Here are three easy ways I have sparked conversations with my children, even though they are still very young, concerning what Memorial Day truly is about.

Visiting graves of soldiers and leaving flags. We did this when my daughter was 3, and again when she was 4. This year at age 5, she asked me when we were going. She loves it. We buy a few flags, go to a local cemetery and look for those who have served in a branch of the military, and put flags out as a way of saying thank you. Simple. Memorable. And we’ve had some great conversations about soldiers, as well as spiritual conversations about some of the things we’ve seen there. I’d highly recommend it.
Playing toy soldiers together. I was in the Dollar Tree and grabbed a little bag of cheap toy soldiers and then found some painters tape we had leftover from when we first moved into our house. Stuck some “battle lines” down with the painters tape and wow. My kiddos have HAD A BLAST. And we’ve talked a little more about what it means to be a soldier and fight for your country. So simple I’m a little embarrassed to even make a blog about it, but it was so effective that I wanted to share!!
Make a thank you card for someone in your life who has sacrificed. Maybe someone from church who has a child in the service. Maybe a family member who served years ago. Maybe someone who has lost a loved one in the military. Have the kids draw a picture and mail it or hand deliver it. Again, super easy but effective.

Hope these simple ideas inspire you to do something this Memorial Day to share with your kids what it is really about. It’s often the most simple actives that make memories. 🙂 Happy Memorial Day!

May 7, 2020 by admin

How I Tamed the Toy Chaos

I have two sweet kids, ages 1 and 5. They LOVE toys.

I love my kids.

I love to PLAY with my kids.

I do NOT love tripping over and stepping on their toys.

Also, for those of you who don’t know, my husband is totally blind, and so if I were to ask him, I would bet he doesn’t love tripping over them either.

So for my sanity (and his physical safety!) I decided I had to tackle our toy problem.

After researching and wondering how on earth I was ever going to make any progress, I had just had enough one day, and decided to just do it!

I didn’t have a really sophisticated system, so if you’re looking for that sort of thing…you may just want to head off to another blog!! But if your’e looking for simple solutions…here’s what I did:

Get a babysitter/mother’s helper or put on a movie to distract the kids!
Gather big black trash bags and grocery bags. (If you have other containers to use that are prettier, feel free to use them, but I just used what I had on hand and it worked just fine!! )
Put each toy set with multiple parts (i.e. little people, puzzles, legos, building blocks, etc. ) in a bag and tie it so they don’t get lost.
Put those bags and any big toys in big black trash bags.
GET RID of anything broken or they absolutely don’t play with at all anymore.
CHOOSE ONLY ONE TOY WITH MULTIPLE PARTS ACCESSIBLE TO THE KIDS AT A TIME! (Don’t feel guilty! Just try it and you can always go back to how things were!) I didn’t include books, games, or craft supplies in this rule personally, but do what works for you!
Neatly put that toy set, along with any other single part toys you wish for them to access, in the space you have available. (A stuffed animal, a dress up hat, a doll, a big truck, etc.)
Put anything that won’t COMFORTABLY fit in the space you have available for toys OUT OF SIGHT. Maybe in an outbuilding, attic, bottom of your closet, wherever you have room. (Make sure kids can’t get to them without your help or you’ll have a big mess on your hands!)
Every week or two, rotate out a couple of the toys, and your kids will act like it’s Christmas!! (Trust me, I didn’t think that this would be true for my kiddos either, but it was! Just try it!!)
Enjoy the extra time with your kids, as well as the extra time to yourself because they’ll play a lot better if they aren’t overwhelmed…or at least mine have been!!

Note: It’s not mean. It’s not punishment. It’s just a way to help your family be able to more easily take care of the space God has given you as a family to live in, and therefore spend time on more things that truly matter!! And the bonus is that your kids will learn to be more creative with what they have, and more grateful!

And if you are all about teaching your kid to be self-sufficient, as I am, this will help them to be able to more easily clean up their own stuff!

JUST TRY IT!! It likely won’t take as long as you think. Your feet will thank you. AND you will thank yourself when you see how much less picking up you have to do, and how much more time you have to play with your kids instead of just helping them clean up their toys!

Let me know how it goes!!

April 2, 2020 by admin

3 Ways to Make the Most of Social Distancing

This is a strange time in our country. If you’d have asked me a month ago if the nation of America could be brought to her knees in such a short period of time, my answer would have been an emphatic NO. WAY.

And yet here we are.

So in this time of uncertainty, we as wives and mothers have a very unique opportunity to help determine what our families will remember about this historic event.

We have the ability to create fear in our family and amongst our children, or to have open conversations about all that’s going on and stir up faith. We can make it a time of irritation and frustration, or of togetherness and fun! Here are three quick tips that have helped me in making this time count.

Determine to make PRAYER a priority. Don’t tune me out here. This suggestion is becoming white noise these days, but I really can’t overemphasize how important this is. Do something now to make regular prayer time a reality in your life and family if it isn’t. Make and display a simple prayer list to pray for at a set time each day with your family. Let the kids add their own requests! (We are currently praying for things as “small” as a pet and as “big” as making abortion illegal!) I hung our list inside my cabinet so I’ll see it when I’m setting table for breakfast and not forget! VISUAL REMINDERS ARE KEY! (Also, you have my permission…not that you need it…for it not to be fancy or perfect! Maybe its just me who has issues like that and subsequently procrastinates…but if it’s not just me, here’s your permission! Grab a piece of paper and do it now!)

I would also challenge you to make the requests MEASURABLE so you can see if God is answering, and how. Instead of praying for God to bless someone, or work in a situation, be specific about how! It makes it easier to see how God is working in your life amidst all the chaos. Then you can be encouraged and put a smiley face beside the ones He answers!!
Turn off your phone and stop endlessly watching the news. And tune into your family instead. No, I’m serious. During this time, your family needs you more than ever. If you want to check updates, set a timer for 10 minutes or so once or twice each day to do this. Otherwise, put it down! We got a phone jail as a gag gift for Christmas and I love it! It is a visual reminder to STAY AWAY FROM THE PHONE. We shouldn’t have our head in the sand concerning what’s going on, but watching depressing news and Facebook feeds all day isn’t helping anyone be more like Jesus, I promise! So I challenge you to do this today!! You won’t believe the difference it will make. IT WILL BE HARD, but that’s ok! YOU CAN DO IT!! Your family will thank you!
Make a list of plans. I made a list of household projects as well as of fun things to do together with the kiddos and as a family and hung it on the fridge and it has helped so much! Little things. Big things. Just write them down and have them waiting for those moments of time when everyone needs a diversion. MY SECRET IS TO CHOOSE A “PROJECT” first (which is code for a chore that I’d like to do) THEN CHOOSE A FUN ACTIVITY! It makes everyone work faster and have something to look forward to. There’s a ton of ideas out there. Here’s a few ideas to get you started!
- Listen to FREE AUDIBLE STORIES (The subscription fee has been waved on children’s stories while kids are out of school!!)
- START GEOCACHING! It’s like a real life “treasure hunt.” I didn’t know what it was either, so read about it and then go do it!
- LEARN A NEW SKILL TOGETHER. It could be survival skills, sewing, or anything in between. YouTube is awesome for stuff like this. (And yes, it’s ok to get your phone out if you’re doing it together and for a limited time lol)
- PLAY! It could be hide and seek, play doh, board games, legos or a million other ideas. Ask your kids. Or play things you played when you were their age. Or if all else fails, get a cardboard box and the possibilities are endless…
- DOCUMENT THIS HISTORIC TIME. This is an unprecentented event, so keep track of it! It will be fun to look back on. Lay a notebook on the table (again, visual reminders are so helpful!) and write a sentence or two every day of what you did, what’s going on.
  
  Or better yet do a photo journal as suggested by my friend Jessica Sauck. She suggests setting an alarm to go off every hour for an entire day, and taking a photo of whatever is going on. I did this challenge and LOVED IT!! It makes a mundane day seem more special somehow, looking for photographable moments.

The media makes everything look so hopeless but they don’t know Jesus! He is still good, even amidst all the chaos and suffering. I hope these ideas help you keep your focus on your blessings, and on our Savior and all He has done for us in this unique time in our history. God hasn’t forgotten us! Do your part in helping your family remember that!

November 25, 2019 by admin

A Random Cleaning Tip that Has SERIOUSLY Improved My Life!

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of wasting time online. (Trust me, I know…)

But every once in awhile you come across a tip that REALLY helps!! I recently came across one just like that and wanted to share.

I’ve been following the blog “A Slob Comes Clean” and based on her descriptions of “normal” people….I fear I have the mindset of a slob! BUT thankfully I found her super helpful blog, and a lot of the little things in my life that drive me mad she seems to address in a way that makes sense to me!

One such issue.

LAUNDRY.

I hate laundry. Because its NEVER done. I have subscribed to the idea of doing a load a day to keep the chaos at bay. Except that means there’s ALWAYS a load in the washer, in the dryer, or to be put away (or sometimes all three…) And then there’s the piles sitting around, ALWAYS reminding me that my work is not done yet.

Enter life-changing method: do all your laundry on one day a WEEK. Instead of a routine, you can view it as a project for the day. And when it’s done…it’s done!!

If you do this, guess what? No piles! No reminders of work undone!! Just put the laundry straight in the hamper and go on with your day.

Click here to read all the ins and outs of it.
https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/2010/04/here-it-is-my-laundry-day-in-all-of-its/

Also, if you have littles, involve them!! My 5 year old LOVES laundry day and she knows where a large part of her clothes go and is such a blessing to me by being such a good helper!!

Simple tip. BIG change in my life. Hope it does the same for you!

I won’t sit here and beg you. But if you ever get desperate for a new way to do things, seriously just try it. It is very helpful for forgetful people like myself because you do it all in one day. (i.e. no surprises found in the washer three days later…or maybe its just me that does that…..) And my favorite part…THERE IS AN END!! At the end of laundry day, anything dirty from that day stays in the hamper and gets washed next week!! There have been a couple exceptions but as a rule…this saves so much time for me because I’m not doing multiple small loads, just a few big ones and I sort them all by who’s room they go in, put them away all at the same time, and DONE!

September 21, 2019 by admin

A Kid and Mommy Approved Clean Up Game

Do you ever feel like your house SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTS when you have your back turned? (Oh wait…is that just me???)

I have a one year old and a five year old, and try as I may, when we are home, especially if there’s been lots of fun going on, it gets a liiiiiiittle CRAZY sometimes.

One day, as I could feel the overwhelmed feeling creeping up in my chest, the Lord put a game in my mind for us to try. It’s super easy because I’m into super easy around here! (The only stipulation is your kid has to be old enough to count for it to work well.) Here’s what you do.

1. Choose a prize/incentive. In our house, the winner gets to choose a 10-15 min activity to do with the family either immediately after the game or at bedtime. Immediately after is best in my opinion because then you don’t forget! You could suggest reading a story aloud to them, do play doh together, blow bubbles outside, play hide n seek, get out a board game, water paint. You know your kids, so use whatever motivates them! And really, the key here is do something TOGETHER whenever possible. (Kids crave one-on-one quality time with you, whether you realize it or not.)

2. Set the timer for 5-10 minutes (I have used longer times if needed but I’ve found shorter times work best so we stay on task!)

3. Everyone (including you!) start cleaning, and for every item you pick up, or quick task you do, you earn one point. Be sure to emphasize the importance of putting things IN THEIR HOME, not shoving them under the bed 🙂

One piece of trash into the trash can=1 point
Wiping the table off=1 point
Putting three pieces of dirty laundry into the hamper=3 points
Putting 10 legos into the bin=10 points

You get the idea.

4. Count out loud to build the suspense, keep everyone honest, and to get more done quicker! (If you’re like us and forget which number you’re on, just pick one close to where you think you are and go with it. Remember the point is to pick up, not really being ridiculously exact on the numbers.)

5. Declare a winner and celebrate!! Who doesn’t love being encouraged!? And remember, if mommy wins, she can choose 15 minutes of quiet time!!! (Ok, if you want to be the fun mom I wouldn’t suggest this, but I have considered it!!!)

This activity serves so many purposes. Like…

>a relatively clean house

>everyone cleans together so mommy doesn’t feel like a martyr and kids learn responsibility and teamwork

>counting practice

> quality time with your kids

>opportunity to teach kids how to lose graciously

BONUS TIPS:
*Sometimes if there’s something with lots of pieces, it may seem kind of unfair because one person gets like 50 points at once, but really….who cares if you don’t have to pick them up!?

*If you don’t get it all done, celebrate what you did get done! And keep your word to play with them afterwards.

*This game helps ME because sometimes I see so many items that its overwhelming of where to start, and I get distracted very easily, but honestly, sometimes 5-10 minutes of super-speed cleaning andeverything is mostly back in order!!

*This works MUCH better if you do it a few times a day instead of waiting til bedtime when everyone is tired and grouchy to try to do the whole house. We aim for before meals and/or before we leave for an outing.

*Don’t keep extending the time. No one likes to clean when there’s not an end in sight! (Right??!!) Be fair and if you tell them 10 minutes, do 10 minutes and then go play with your kids!!

Try it and let me know if it works for you!!

September 8, 2019 by Jessica Porterfield

7 Simple Ways to Reconnect with Your Little One

Do you ever feel like maybe your little one (who’s not so little anymore) is just not as connected to you as they used to be? Maybe it’s from busyness, maybe from life circumstances out of your control, or maybe even a phase they are going through.

Capturing our children’s hearts is so important when training them in the way they should go, so that they won’t depart from that way when they grow up! (Proverbs 22:6), and I personally have found that a very effective way to do this is through intentional communication. We recently had a period of time where I just didn’t feel as connected to my little one as I used to , so here are a few ways I’ve found that really opened up communication again and gave us time to just enjoy each other’s company.

These ideas are simple and free (or almost free). Just pick one or two and try them!

Go for a walk together and hold hands (NO PHONES ALLOWED). Few things are as lovely as a quiet walk through a park or some place away from all the hustle and bustle. It will give both of you a chance to just chat about all the things you don’t get to mention as you scurry here and there. It doesn’t have to be long. Just 15-20 minutes can make all the difference. And talk about what matters to THEM, caterpillars or clouds. It might seem like little stuff to you, but it’s big stuff to them. (Bonus Tip: Take a moment to think of someone who REALLY listens to you when you talk, and think about how that makes you feel, and then seek to be that person for your child.)
Make up a story together. You don’t have to be creative. It doesn’t have to be great. Or even good. Or even make sense! Just say “Once upon a time, there was a ….” and let your child fill in the blanks. Go back and forth, taking turns. It will be fun. Promise ☺️
Play dress up. Don’t shrug this one off because it requires too much effort. Use whatever you can find! Role play. Forget that you’re an adult, or that you have 101 things to do, and just engage FULLY with your child. You won’t regret it.
Plant something. Maybe you’re like me and have a pack of seeds you’ve been going to plant forever. Just do it! If it’s winter, plant something indoors. There’s nothing like watching your plant sprout and grow together (or even wilt and die if you are like me! )
Intentionally match each other and go out for ice cream or hot chocolate. They won’t be little forever and thus WANT to match with you. You don’t even have to really match. Just find a red shirt for you both, or silly hats, or matching shoes. It’s all in the presentation. If you’re excited, they will be too!
Ask and answer random questions at dinner. There are plenty of questions you can print off online. But don’t just look them up. Take time to print them and leave them on your table so you’ll see them and remember to do it. We do this several nights a week and my little girl loves it! Everything from “What is your favorite color?” to “What is your biggest fear?” sparks fun conversations!
Snuggle up with blankets, pillows and snacks and REALLY WATCH a show with them. Confession: I often I use our (rare) family movie nights as nap time. My mom used to do this too and I never understood why. (I totally get it now, mom!) But make it a point to NOT fall asleep or be on your phone, and really watch what’s going on. You’d be amazed at the conversations you can have about the situations the characters find themselves in that will teach your kids far more than a lecture. And kids know when you’re paying attention. Trust me.

The key to all of these ideas is to ENGAGE. Don’t let your mind be distracted. FOCUS on these little people God has given you and treat them with the same respect you want to be treated with. PAY ATTENTION to them. After all, the Bible tells us in Proverbs 29:15 that “…a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” Are you leaving your children to raise themselves? If you are, remember that the end result will NOT be a good thing for you OR them.

I hope these simple ideas help you reconnect with your little kiddo(s). If you have idea you want to share, comment below!