Take time for some apple fun to celebrate the season.I have ideas at a recent article I wrote at http://kidsactivities.suite101.com/article.cfm/apple-fun

I grew up with apple trees in the backyard and saw the trees bloom and the apples grow. We picked apples and my grandpa took them to a local cider mill and brought home a few kegs of cider each fall. We siphoned the cider and it lasted a few months (kegs were simply kept outside).Looking back many people might wonder how we grew up healthy with people sharing the siphon house and the keg just sitting out.

I always like to see an Indian summer where it remains warmer longer into the fall than expected. Yet the news is tracking a hurricane that may threaten the east coast. Enjoy the warmth while it’s here, for winter will come soon enough.

I also like to think about the content we teach with the words in a rhyme. Nursery rhymes are good, but many can only really be understood within the culture/time they originated. Ring-a-rosie is a ditty about a plague and people falling down dead and not what we really want to teach our children.

My newest book is 102 Wiggly Bible Rhymes and Rhythms. My co-author is 90 years old and a dear friend. We want people to use rhymes that teach faith and Bible truths. These rhymes also help a child’s coordination as so many have finger or hand motions, or are part of an interactive game that builds social skills.

Many rhymes stick in our heads forever and an opening line causes us to recall the whole rhyme. The same with commercials (my mind often plays, break me off a piece of that….).

My friends Cindy Kenney and Crystal Bowmen wrote a entire Bible storybook in rhyme. Those are rhymes I’d love to be playing in my mind more than ones about chocolate or liquor (Jack and Jill-originally Gill-is about taxes on drinks and watered down liquor-hence the pail of H2O).

We can also be creative and make our own parodies like my children did when they were little

Ring around the water

Pocket full of fish-es

splashes, splashes,

we all jump up!

Creativity is great and I’m all for that type of rhyming. Take a few minutes, consider the content and pick a rhyme or rhyming song that also includes content you hope will last in your child’s mind for years to come! Then enjoy it with a child and know you’re connecting to an important R of Relating to God.

I chose to be with my husband during chemo for breast cancer and to spend time with grandchildren and my daughter-in-law while my son was deployed in Iraq. All these things would pass, but needed my commitment for a season.

We all have choices and sometimes we need to let go of some activities to dedicate our time to what is more urgent. Evaluate your choices regularly and look ahead to see how long a season might last

Now it’s time for a new start on my blog and new starts may happen soon in my writing. My son and his family have a new start with his return and their move to Florida. Their son just started kindergarten. This is the time of year children go back to school and make new choices in after school activities. Take time to pray and consider where to invest time and what new adventures to begin.

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

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

• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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