Veteran’s Day and Our Soldiers
November is Veteran’s Day, a time to pray for our men and women in harm’s way and to remember those who have sacrificed for our freedom.
My husband is retired Coast Guard and my oldest son is active duty Air Force. My son will deploy to Iraq in January. His wife and two young children will move in with us while he is away. Pray for him, his family, and families who are separated by military orders.
It’s a good day to read about Joshua and David as a warriors, especially the fall of Jericho in Joshua 6.
If you want to help a soldier go to http://www.helpasoldier.org/ or contact a local chapter of BlueStarMothers.org to see what they might need for care packages they sent to service men and women. Blue Star mothers began during World War Two.
Blessings,
Karen
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family, activities | 1 Comment »
Keeping Christ in Christmas-Start Preparing Now
It’s already November and the holidays are coming soon. Each year we want to keep the focus on Jeus but that can be hard with shopping, parties, and decorating.
The best way to keep Jesus at the center is to be mindful of the gift of His birth. Each morning praise God the Father for sending HIs only Son and be thankful for Jesus.
Choose a few activities to help the family focus on Christ. These can be singing carols every time you go places, giving toys to the needy, or choosing a neighbor to help during the season.
For more ideas, go to my article at:
http://christian-parenting.suite101.com/article.cfm/ways_to_focus_on_christ_at_christmastime
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Christmas, Family, activities | No Comments »
Enjoy the Fall Colors
It’s autumn and colors and that time when leaves change colors. Enjoy a walk or a drive to areas with lots of different colored leaves. Try a few fun activities:
- Rake a pile of leaves and jump in the mound.
- Press a few for a scrapbook page.
- Take photos of playing in leaves.
- Try to identify a tree with the leaf shape and color.
- Dress in fall colors and see if you can ply a camouflage tag game.
- Capture the memories with photos and crayon melt artwork.
http://www.suite101.com/functions/article/edit.cfm/151776 has ideas and directions for creating crayon melts. Once done, hang them in a window to let the light shine through.
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family, art | No Comments »
Organizing School Papers and Info
This week friends of mine complained that school has only started and they are already drowning in paperwork. The forms and information to fie for each child, plus children’s homework and deadlines seem overwhelming, especially for large families.
It takes a system to stay afloat. I wrote an article about this topic that helps parents set up colored files (one for each child) for easy access. Read it at http://www.suite101.com/functions/article/edit.cfm/151766
The main idea is to have a safe place to keep the incoming papers. Then, at calmer moments go through those papers and process them (sign, file, toss as needed). Outgoing papers to teachers should be placed in a child’s backpack as soon as done.
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family, school | No Comments »
Preparing for Back to School Success
It’s August and time to prepare for school. Besides clothes and school supplies, it’s good to prepare minds and study areas. Review the end of the year material, specially the math, to get minds focused on learning and refresh your child’s memory. pend extra time reading. Check out subjects your son or daughter will study this year and think about hat might help with those subjects. Are there math manipulatives, maps, or other visual aids you can buy?
Set up an area that your child will love to go to for homework. Let it be in favorite colors, fit to the child’s learning style (check out my article about matching homework areas with learning styles at primaryschool.suite101.com)
Make sure there’s a book shelf and place to store supplies near the study area. Also figure out where the backpack should be stored each day.
Pray for the teachers, classmates, and for your child to do well.
Then be ready for a good start.
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family, school | No Comments »
Summer Fun
I hope you’re having fun this summer. I travelled to Florida and played in the pool with my grandchildren. We also played indoor toss games. Almost anything can become a game. Using soft toys and a container, yu can create your own games of toss.
On hot days it’s fun to cool off with water games or ice games. Check out an article I wrote on Icy Fun at kidsactivities.suite101.com for no-cost activities.
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family, activities | No Comments »
My books -giveaway and summer fun
http://rcwriter.wordpress.com has an interview with me and some free book giveaways this month (ends June 27th) so check that out.
It’s summer and time to keep our children amused and hopefully also help them stay connected to God and learning. That seems like a tall order but we really can do it.It’s all about bridging from an activity to information and interesting facts.
Consider how a picnic is also a great time to chat about Jesus having a picnic with his disciples (John 21) on the beach. Read it and chat about how Jesus lit the fire and cooked the food. And while you’re outdoors use some oif the time to look at nature and learn about the plants and creatures in that area.
Sunday is Father’s Day. If you don’t have plans yet, check out my ideas on honoring Dad with a knighthood ceremony (yes, the kids really will have a new reason to call him Sir). It’s at this link: Honor Dad
Increasing in Him,
Karen
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Financial quiz, help + opportunity to win a contest
First the contest: The winner will receive:
1 copy of the book
1 copy of Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey
1 subscription to P31 Woman Magazine
1 copy of God’s Purpose For Every Woman (collection of the best devotions from Proverbs 31 Ministries)
1 cd of Marybeth’s message “Becoming A Woman of Influence”
1 Dove Chocolate bar (because everything is better with chocolate!)
I draw one name if I receive at least 10 comments (from those who comment).
The prizes are from the authors of Learning to Live Financially Free: Hard-Earned Wisdom for Saving Your Marriage & Your Money. If a family parenting six children can get out of debt and live financially free, anyone can. The Whalens readily admit they made their share of mistakes the first ten years of marriage. Becoming more disciplined and intentional in spending and saving helped them learn valuable lessons for better financial stewardship–lessons you’ll want to learn too.
Learning to Live Financially Free not only focuses on building a stronger financial understanding in the home, but also encourages couples to communicate, thus building better, stronger marriages. The Whalens clearly comprehend the need for careful money management and commitment in marriage. Money-strapped families will find peace of mind as they begin the process of becoming financially responsible and debt-free.
Are You A Financially Focused Couple? Take the quiz
Read the rest of this entry »
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family, Money | 1 Comment »
Spring is here–time for outdoor fun
It’s spring and time for the great outdoors.
I just spent the morning buying flowers for my graden. Tht reminded me of all the years of having our children garden. We bought the ten cent packet of seeds from the catclog companies and sorted and let the kids plant. They grew a corn patch (with the NY skyline in the background one time) and also helped with all the vegetables we grew. The snap peas were always a hit as they grew so fast. One year we had large pumpkins and the school children visited our ‘pumpkin patch’ as that was a short walk.
Consider setting up a patch or large pots if you don’t have a yard, and let your children grow some vegetables or even strawberries. They will learn a lot about food and caring for the earth God made. They can help pick out the plants (maybe even buy one from their own money), plant, fertilize, water, and weed their little patch. And later they can enjoy the produce!
Enjoy walks to find signs of spring, tossing a ball, or simply playing tag. And on the windy days fly a kie or windsock!
Increasing in Him,
Karen
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Treasuring children at Easter
Jesus died to show he loves us and to offer us the invaluable gift of everlasting life. Take time at Easter to help your children feel loved and treasured.
One way I did this was with a treasure hunt for each of my children. Each one had an individual hunt with clues and little treasures s they found the next clue. As my children grew they helped create clues for a sibling to help me out (5 children is a lot). For the little ones we printed pictures and cut them into jigsaw puzzles. For older ones, we wrote rhymes and coded clues. We gave them each the first clue with a comment that he or she could chose to follow it or not as a reminder that God also gives them a choice to follow him or not.
Another firend hs ‘goody eggs’ where they let each one write on slips of paper positive words or comments about a person and then slip it into that person’s plastic egg. At Easter, each one opens his or her egg and reads all the loving words from family members.
We also like to share our love with others (Jesus wants us to do this). One year our children dressed in costumes (butterfly, caterpillar, bunny, and other spring creatures) and we went to a nursing home where we gave out party favors to all the residents.
What are ways at Easter you show you love one another as Jesus asked us to do?
Increasing in Him,
Karen
Topics: Family | No Comments »