toddlerhood

Five More Favorite Read-a-Louds

March 19, 2012

I have been trying to be more intentional about reading daily to the kiddos.

Simply wanting to read isn’t enough though, as Amy pointed out in her excellent ebook Tell Your Time. You have to budget time for it and work it into your daily routine!

Our lunch routine helps ensure we read a chapter or two from our current chapter book (we’re reading Charlotte’s Web at the moment and loving it!)

After baby’s morning nap is storybook time. I shared a few of our favorite picture books before, but here are five more read-alouds have read over and over and over again (and have’t tired of yet!)

When Jessie Came Across the Sea: “Mama, with you read to me?” Rose asked. “I picked your favorite book!” She was referring to this one!

This beautifully illustrated book gives a touching glimpse into the life of a poor, hardworking Jewish immigrant in the late 1800s.

Young, orphaned Jessie (13) is given the chance of a lifetime: to go to America to work with a widowed seamstress. But it means leaving behind her beloved Grandmother.

Enduring love and years of hard work bring the book to a sweet and happy ending. The trials Jesse faces open the door to wonderful conversations about history, immigration, poverty, hard work… and just how blessed we are!

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons: This book teaches vocabulary through bite-sized cookie examples. For example,

“Pessimistic means: How awful, how absolutely dreadful–I have only have my cookie left.”

“Optimistic means: This is great— I still have half my cookie left.”

Seeing the meaning of words like ‘greedy’ or ‘content’ played out through the beautiful illustrations has solidified the meaning for my children.

The Seven Silly Eaters:

A tale of seven very picky children in hilariously rhyming couplets. Each child in the Peters family has one, and only one, food they will eat. The poor frazzled mother spends her days trying to keep up with their demands.

“Creamy oatmeal, pots of it!
Homemade bread and lots of it!
Peeling apples by the peck,
Mrs. Peters was a wreck.”

A surprising twist solves her dilemma.

Dear friends gave us this book after Meg was born and we’ve read it dozens of times already. It is one of my children’s absolute favorites. (One caveat though, if you have picky eaters, I wouldn’t recommend the book. It may not help the problem!)

The Bear That Heard Crying:Set in the 1780′s, this book tells the true story of a three-year-old girl who got lost in the woods for four days.

God sent a bear to guard her (and a dream to find her)! The bear found her, watched over her and kept her warm until she was finally rescued.

Like When Jessie Came Across the Sea, this book gives a peak into a bygone era. It also opens up the door for discussions of miracles, God’s goodness, obedience, and life long ago.

Just Me and My Little Brother: Joshua grew up with the Little Critter books and introduced our children to them. I tend to like real life books best of all, but the kiddos love these! The stories are simple and told from the perspective of a little one. This one is about all the things Little Critter and his brother are going to do someday… “but first he needs to learn to walk.”

What are your favorite read-a-louds?

Linked up at Handful of Heart, Better Mom, Raising Arrows, Motivated Monday & Teach Me Tuesdays

(Full Disclosure: Links to products in this post are my referral links)

Lessons from a Child: Embrace Relationships over Efficiency

March 13, 2012

The virtue of efficiency often goes unquestioned. Each of us has been given a calling. We are commanded to be diligent.

Sometimes though, efficiency can become too much of an ideal, at least for project-driven people like me.

I want the laundry folded and dinner made as fast as possible. I want to cross one more thing off my to-do list or shave a few minutes from my cleaning schedule.

Follow me over to my These Five of Mine PLUS Two to read the rest. (While you’re there, explore Kasey’s blog. God has used her posts repeatedly to point me to Himself. I am positive they will bless you too!)

Linked up at Teach Me Tuesdays, Domestically Divine, Titus 2sdays, Encourage One Another, Homemaking Linkup, Women Living Well & Let’s be Honest

Tagged with: childhood innocence • guest post • lessons from a child • matters of the heart • toddlerhood

Five Ways to “Publish” Your Child’s Art

March 12, 2012

Rose all dressed up like a princess, coloring.

If you have an aspiring artist on your hands, figuring out what to do with all the artwork is a challenge. Rose spends hours on a daily basis coloring, writing “notes”, painting or “scrapbooking.”

I want to encourage creativity, without completely burying our home in pictures. These are a five ways I display her work while keeping the mess under control. (I would love to hear your ideas!)

Send notes. She loves slipping a picture into thank you notes, letter to family or just bringing a picture to her friends. My husband’s wall at work is decorated with some of her finest.
Turn a three-ring binder into an art folder. Rose loves putting her finished pictures into the folder and pulling it out to show grandparents… or anyone who is willing to look!
Display on fridge. The honor of hanging on the fridge is usually reserved for her latest masterpieces, so this artwork rotates frequently.
Decorate a portion of the room with artwork. Rose is allowed to hang a few pictures above her bed. I am a minimalist, but (like Crystal mentioned in her post about shoes) I don’t want to try to fit her into my mold. She filled the area quickly so now for each picture added the rule is one has to come down. (Okay, so maybe I am trying to fit her into my mold, but don’t think I can handle the walls completely covered!)
Scan into the computer. Use them for illustrations or add to a photo book. Wouldn’t that make a great Mother’s Day gift? Especially with photos and cute sayings? (My awesome sister-in-law has made multiple photo books with her daughters’ cute sayings for gifts and *everyone* loves reading and laughing over them!)

Throw it away. So, this isn’t a way to publish the art. Much as I love Roses’ artwork and the effort she puts into each piece, not every single creation needs to be kept forever. I always want to encourage her, but also want her to learn that it’s okay to throw a picture we’ve enjoyed away.

What about you? What are your favorite ways to “publish” your child’s artwork? (And do you ever toss a piece of artwork?)

Linked up at Handful of Heart, Better Mom, & Raising Arrows

Tagged with: crafts • household tips • toddlerhood

Three Ways to Save on Diapers (and Our Very First Thrifty Thursday Blog-Hop!)

March 1, 2012

Welcome to our very first Thrifty Thursday blog hop! We’d love to have you link up your thrifty-themed posts.

Most moms agree: diapers are the most expensive part of clothing a baby.

I have three children and figure I’ve changed 12,000 diapers. At the very least.

That is a lot of diapers!

Regularly priced diapers range from 20 to 35 cents each. Going with $0.25 x 12,000? That’s $3,000 this mama doesn’t have. Maybe you don’t either.

photo credit

Three Ways to Save on Diapers

1. Use cloth diapers

My mom used them, my grandmas used them. Cloth has been used for centuries. In addition to being more environmentally friendly, cloth diapers can save hundreds of dollars.

They can be a steep upfront investment, but Little Natural Cottage’s has 5 ideas for keeping the cost minimal. Want to make your own? Penniless Parenting shows how to make your own cloth diapers… from an old t-shirt!

Of course, you have the expense of water and detergent, but that will be far less than $3,000! If you are willing to undergo the extra work (and the nastiness factor) cloth diapers are a wonderful way to save money diapering your baby.

2. Buy disposable diapers on sale, in bulk

My husband has agreed to most of my money-saving, natural-living ideas, but put his foot down on this one. No cloth diapers allowed in our home.

That doesn’t mean we can’t save though!

Diapers go on sale frequently. Especially if you are not brand loyal (Target and Walgreens diapers work well!) you can often find them marked 50% off or more. I have a target price of 10 cents for small diapers and 12 cents for larger sizes.

Follow saving sites (Money Saving Mom is my very favorite) to stay updated with diaper deals. Drugstores and online sites like Amazon frequently run sales. Oh, and I just learned that Amazon Mom is open again! Join up to save up to 20% on diaper deals! Hurray!

Set aside a bit of money each week to stock up if there’s an exceptional sale. (Just please be polite of other moms who also need a good deal!)

If you don’t have time to run down a sale, find the cheapest brand that works for your child and buy them in bulk.

3. Potty train early!

Did you know that in many cultures, mothers potty train their infants? Or rather, mothers train themselves to take their child to the bathroom from infancy.

If it can be done in other countries, surely it can be done here too. Shalom Brand shares how she trained her little daughter.

I lacked the discipline (or desire) to potty train my infants, but started potty training earlier than average. Every month sooner, is one month sooner that you can stop buying diapers!

(In celebration of paying off our student loans, Feminine Adventures is offering a fourth way to save on diapers: win them! Enter for your chance to win a box of diapers.)

What about you? What methods do you use to save on diapering?

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Join Jenn (from The Purposeful Mom) and me for our very first Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop!

We invite you to share your frugal and thrifty ideas! Posts about living frugally, thrifty tips and tricks, money-saving DIY projects, frugal recipes, and encouraging posts on financial stewardship are all welcome. Link up to either of our blogs–your post will be displayed in both places.

Jenn and I will each be sharing frugal tips of our own, so be sure to check out both of our blogs each Thursday for lots of money-saving ideas.

Rules for this blog hop:

Please link directly to your post and not to the main page of your blog.
Please share thrifty-themed giveaways in the comments in lieu of linking it up to the bloghop. This keeps any links from becoming dated.
Please add the Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop button to your post or link back here so others can join in the fun! (Grab the code for the button below—if anyone knows why it won’t center, I’m all ears!)
We’d love it if you would encourage others by checking out some of the fantastic links.

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Tagged with: thriftiness • toddlerhood

How to Maintain [Some] Order in a Shared Kids’ Room

February 6, 2012

Like many of you, my children share a room. Sharing a room teaches valuable lessons about simplicity, getting along and life. However, trying to fit all the toys and clothes for multiple children in a small room and leave room for playing is a challenge.

Rearranging the furniture for optimal floor space helps, but pursuing simplicity in the toy and clothes collection is essential.

Ten ways to simplify the toys:

Christmas & birthdays. Thrift store finds. Generous friends.

Before you know it, your child’s room can be overflowing with toys. Toys are meant to be played with. To loosely paraphrase Solomon, “where no children are, the toys are picked up, but happily playing children are a great blessing.” (Prov. 14:4)

photo credit

However, more toys do not necessarily equal more happiness. A few sticks and pebbles are all some children in the world have. I’m not sure American kids are any happier with their buckets and buckets of toys.

Here are a ten ways that I try to balance fun and simplicity. (You can see pictures of my children’s room here, though I’ve rearranged it since then.)

Distinguish between durable and disposable toys. Some of my children’s toys I hope my grandchildren will play with, like Duplos. Some toys however (say the Easter eggs from the neighbor) I consider disposable and only keep for a few weeks. After the fun has worn off they are donated or tossed.
Choose neutral toys, when possible. Dolls and trucks are practically indispensable parts of a toy collection, but you don’t need a pink and blue version of everything!
Say “No!” Just because you’re offered free hand-me-downs or find a toy for a quarter at a yard sale, doesn’t mean your child needs it. Sometimes, you just need to say “no!” (Or let your children play with them for a few weeks and then pass them on.)
Rotate the toys so that there are less toys out and they get “new” toys regularly.
Set mess perimeters. I mentioned this in my post on clutter, but having a few guidelines for where and when toys can be played with makes such a difference! We have set clean-up times several times daily as well as a “no toys in the living room after dinner” rule. Play with one toy “set” at a time, then put it away (we’re working on this one!)
Keep birthdays & Christmas gifts simple: Laura Ingalls was happy with a tin cup and a penny. You can show your love without going overboard. Choose quality over quantity.
Gifts are a way many grandparents, other family members or friends show their love. However, sometimes the influx of gifts can get overwhelming, especially if you’re dealing with multiple children in a small room. This is a sensitive issue and may not be wise or kind in all situations, but if possible, respectfully address overly generous gift-givers. My children have been blessed with grandparents that are so thoughtful of my children and me with their gifts. But, if you are getting overwhelmed by gifts, try to find a kind way to encourage gifts that will bless your child and you. A frazzled mom is not a good gift! A few possible ideas: offer hints for toys your child would treasure, let them know that what your child has plenty of toys and would most like would be to spend time with them (a trip to the zoo, museum, etc.) or set up an Amazon wish list for your child. (Remember though, never wound someone who loves your child over gifts!)
Embrace the simple things. Boxes for boats, blankets for forts, chairs for houses. Children are so creative and content! Often, it’s the parent not the child who thinks they need more.
Donate, sell or toss unused toys. Clearing out the toys that aren’t loved makes room to really enjoy the treasured toys. If you find toys consistently taken out and forsaken (for you to step on ) it’s time for them to go!
Get outside. Let them play with the sticks and pebbles… and maybe even take a dip in the mud.