Menu Monday

Yum, I ate some great stuff last week, but I still haven't gotten to that bacon and cheese chicken. Oh, well. I'm taking a week off from trying. Looking at a yummy menu...

Breakfasts:

Yogurt and granola or fruit

Cream of Wheat

Oatmeal

Lunches:

Leftovers

Fruited Jello

Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches

Quesadillas

Dinners:

Monday: Out for Hubby's Birthday

Tuesday: Potluck: Cranberry Pear Tossed Salad

Wednesday: Raspberry Chicken Salad

Thursday: Taco Salad

Friday: Family Reunion

Saturday: Family Reunion

Sunday: Family Reunion

Extras:

Quacamole Salad

Frozen Lemonade Pie

By the way, these are great: Quick Spinach Roll-ups

To see what others are making this week, check out Organizing Junkie. I get some great ideas here.

Shepherding a Child's Heart: Chp 17

Every Monday and Friday, join us in reading "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp.  I'll post a brief synopsis of the chapter with highlights, as well as a few personal thoughts.  At the end of the comments, there will be 2-3 questions for discussion.  So join us in our journey toward becoming the mommies that God has called us to be.

Chapter 17: Childhood: Training Procedures

Tripp uses this chapter to explore the more "practical" aspects of addressing character development in your child during their middle years.  He reminds us that our goal is to address the attitude of the heart, not merely the behavior.  Therefore, we should continually be assessing the "why" of our child's behavior and reminding them that sucessful living is only possible with the help of our Savior.  

Tripp lays out a couple of examples of how Christ appealed to the conscious of those around him: the lawyer, Peter, Simon, etc.  Tripp leads us in how to appeal to conscious in the same way, remind our children who Christ is and who they are in relationship to Him. 

 He says, "We have a couple of problems in thinking clearly about character.  One is failure to see the issues above.  This failure results in not even striving for long-term character development goals.  The other pitfall is an inability to work from behavior to the appropriate character issues.  This results in seeing only isolated bits of behavior.  The result again is failure to address long-term character goals" (pg 181).

I love how Tripp reminds us to remind our children of a need for a Savior.  This is something that I nee to be continually reminded of myself every day.  He finds that we have 2 alternatives: to lower the standard to what they can reach making them self-righteous OR we can set the standard that can only be achieved by the grace of God (pg 178).  Where will you set the bar?

Questions for discussion:

1. Can you think of situations in which there is a significant character issue at stake in your child's development, but you are not sure what to do with it?  Make a project of these situations.  Seek to determine what the long-term issues discussed in this chapter.  

7. If you were to name five character-training objectives for your son or daughter, what would they be?

Book Club Note--New Book Chosen

I hope you've found that you've been growing from reading "Shepherding a Child's Heart."  I certainly know that I have been.  The changes in our home have been encouraging and we've found new ways to communicate with our kids.  It's also encouraged us to continually be seeking the Lord about how he sees our children, beyond our day to day frustrations or proud parent moments.

Having the accountability to blog twice a week has really helped me to think through what I'm reading and keep going.  It's been exciting to see how God has used the combo of this blog and this book to grow our family.  

As you know, we only have one week's worth of reading left in "Shepherding."  So I've been doing a little research and plan to start reading "Simple Faith" by Charles Swindoll in the near future.  Starting the week of July 14, I will be posting for two chapters each Friday.  Rather than Monday and Friday, we will combine the two chapters for discussion on Fridays.  So pick up a copy and get ready to discover what it looks like to live a life of "Simple Faith."

4th of July Fun-- Part 5

Sit down with your child and explain the significance of being a "free" nation.  Show your gratitude to the men and women of our armed forces who continue to serve our country.  Whether you agree with our occupation in other country or not, they need our encouragement and recognition today and everyday.  So encourage your children, or yourself, to take a moment and write a letter to one of these soldiers that find themselves far from home.  Here are a few links to get that letter started.

Any Soldier

America Supports You

Let's Say Thanks

Playing with Your Baby

I wrote a post on this awhile back. While that post focused on birth to 6 months, this one will focus some games to play with your child from birth to 12 months. Just a few ideas for when it seems like you can't possibly think of anything new to do with your little one.

Birth to 3 months:

• Dance with your baby- the movement is soothing and the changing view will exercise their eyes and depth perception
• Introductions- carry baby around the house and point out new and interesting items. Talk about how things work, what they look like, and how and why you use them.
• Vocab builders- with baby's hand, touch objects around the room, explaining, the teddy is soft, the ice is cold, the blanket is smooth.

3 months to 6 months:

• Mockingbird- sit face to face with your child, making new and interesting sounds. Take turns teach and learning from your child. Make sounds back to your child when they repeat as well.
• Mirror- lay face to face with your child while he is on his tummy. Continue the interaction from mockingbird. Sing or talk to your child. Demonstrate how to push up the upper body from the floor. Advance to demonstrate pulling your knees under your body.
• Finger play- sing various songs with your child such as: the wheels on the bus, itsy-bitsy spider, 3 little monkeys, patty cake, etc, moving his hands to the song.
  

6 months to 9 months:

• Packing and unpacking- seat your child on the floor with a suitcase in front of them. Together fill it with interesting objects: balls of different sizes, sensory blocks, stuffed animals, books, etc. Allow your child to figure out how to pick things up and place them, packing and unpacking as he discovers new things to explore. You can also use a bucket, basket, or Tupperware drawer for this activity.
• Activity boards- sit with your child, exploring the different activities that a board can provide. For tips on how to make one for older ages, see A Place of Our Own.
  

9 months to 12 months:

• Hide 'n' seek- play hide 'n' seek with your child, either by playfully hiding somewhere in the room and watching or by hiding a favorite toy in the room for your child to find.
• Object permanence- place an object under a small blanket. Pull the blanket back to reveal the object, cheerfully saying "Peekaboo." Repeat as long as baby is interested, asking "Where did it go?" and exclaiming, "There it is!"
• Feeding- Pour a handful of Cheerios onto the high chair tray and make shapes and designs with your child. Talk about shapes, texture, and even sound as you "munch" away.
• My Body- cover your eyes while your child watches, saying "Mommy's eyes." Then reach over to cover your child's eyes, saying "Big Boy's eyes." Repeat with ears, mouth, nose, arm, toes, etc.

And just a few things to keep in mind:

• It's never too early to start reading to your child. They will love spending the snuggle time with you and hearing the flow of language is great for their development.
• Exersaucers, johnny jumpers, walkers, etc are great tools, just be use that your child is physically ready for them first and you've taken the necessary safety precautions, particularly with walkers.
• Be sure to get outside and talk about your neighborhood with your child as well. Talk about colors, sounds, textures and sights as you take walks, get groceries, or head to the park.