by tascha |
{If you have a blog, please consider linking up with us at the end of this post! Please link to a blog post URL in which you have talked about a child-training tip or Bible teaching idea for children!}
My oldest child took a nap after lunch until she was 3.
My next 2 girls stopped naps around 18 mo. {Girlie #3 was born when #2 was 18 mo!} Needless to say, Mommy was not thrilled. But we had established “quiet time” with the oldest one to be used on such days that Mommy just needed a rest. so we taught the younger 2 to have quiet time also.
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| sometimes this happens |
I use “quiet time” at least twice a week now. Always on Sunday. and one other day [or 2] that warrants its use. It is not used as a punishment, and some times the girls actually ask for it if we’ve had an unusually active morning.
{This is simply the way we do this. it is not the “perfect method” for everyone. nor is it for every family. Just what we do. and I pray it can be a blessing and an inspiration to someone.}
When we first started this with our oldest, I made her have quiet time every day for about 2 weeks. When the younger 2 girls quit their naps, they had quiet time every day for a few weeks also.
The training for this is quite similar to
the bedtime training. The first few times there must be strict [loving] discipline and correction when they get up before they are supposed to. Our children have a CD of gentle instrumental hymns that lasts 1 hour. They know that they must remain in their beds [except to potty] until the music is finished. [This established time must be very clear to the child, such as a timer beeping or music stopping.]
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| sometimes at supper {LOVE} |
During the training process you cannot expect to actually rest yourself. You must be up and ready to train. You must explain [as much as possible] what “quiet time” means. During this time they may have a book. or one toy [or not]. But they must, at ALL TIMES, be in their own bed. They may not be silly or talk with their siblings. On occasion, one or both of them do fall asleep. More often though, they just lay there while mommy rests. or actually gets something accomplished. {smiles}
Once they know and are [mostly] doing what is expected of them, I tell them that while they have quiet time Mommy is going to rest. They are not to come talk to me. They are [still] not to get up or be silly. {AND, if Mommy is asleep when their music is over they are NOT to wake me but stay in their room and play.}
This simple few weeks of training for each child has afforded me many hours of rest through the past several years. It has been a priceless treasure of investment into our life as a family, my life as a wife and mommy, and my children’s lives, as rest is vital to physical and emotional health!
{Please link to a blog post URL in which you have talked about a child-training tip! and link that post back here if you like}
**family notes
We have had “quiet time” in our home since our oldest was 3 years old. She is now almost 8! And, on occasion, she must still participate [though sometimes I allow her to have a quiet activity beyond a book]. I do expect that this summer when school is out that the younger ones will have quiet time and she will not be required to do the same. And I anticipate some whining over that fact. But knowing that “quiet time” has a stopping point {except for Sundays} should give them something to look forward to!
I realize that some may see this training as a difficult task, but when weighed against the irritability that I will inevitably have without an occasional break [not daily, just occasional], it is more than worth it.
And, in our house, this time cannot begin later than 3:00 pm or, if they fall asleep, they do not go to bed very well. {smiles}
Of course, not every single “quiet time” is smooth and without need of correction, we are all human. My children sin. I sin. But training the simple things [such as how to lie down quietly] while they are very small will truly become a blessing when they are older.
And, on occasion, the little man’s afternoon nap will slide right in along the girls’ quiet time and I really DO get a few minutes… quiet. blessed quiet.
by tascha
We made our own wrapping paper this year!
brown packaging paper from the Dollar Tree
Christmas foam stamps from the same store
[3 packs=6 stamps {ink included}]
it was lots of fun
I think we’ll do it again next year!
by tascha |
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Dueteronomy 6:6,7—we must teach our children God’s Word.
{This is the way we do this. it is not the “perfect method” for everyone. not what every family must do. Just what we do. and I pray it can be a blessing and an inspiration to someone seeking for a place to start.}
Our family’s evening devotion time centers around preparing for bed. The older 2 can get their pjs on by themselves. though I do have to check to see if they picked up after themselves. They are often silly during this time and I love to hear their conversations. so serious. so pretend grown-up. except Mikalah. she loves to ROAR. and be 3.
We have our set time that we start. with the goal of them being in bed by 8:30. We have two different routines. one for evenings we have been at church and one for all the other evenings. As a family, we do our best to not schedule our time to be out late on nights that are not church simply because our children are still young and need the stability of a set bedtime. I am so thankful we are able to do this.
Our non-church night devotions begin with each of us saying something we are thankful for and then read a story with a Biblical principle and a Bible verse. During this last month [December] we simply read our Advent verses each evening instead of our story. Then we work on a Bible verse for memorization. We end with our quiet song [God Is So Good] and then have prayer.
On church nights we skip the story and memory verse. We talk about one thing to be thankful for as a family. then our song and prayer.
After prayer, everyone kisses Daddy [and the baby-man], and Mommy trails them off to bed. covers and kisses. lights out.
Good-Night.
Not every night is smooth sailing! Sometimes there has to be a reprimand for wiggling. or a potty stop. or… something. but we have been doing this as a family for 4 years now. and since they know nothing different, this is normal bedtime routine and they really do very well.
linked up at: raisingarrows
by tascha
Except for some specific items for my hubby that we will shop for together, our Christmas shopping is done. I am working on a few home-made things for the girls. More on those AFTER Christmas.
My Kyria [7] made home-made gifts for her class party coming soon. We had lots of fun… googly eyes will do that!
I have been finding a few ideas of crafts to do during the days school is out.
We are also going to make our own wrapping paper! [more on that later, too]
We have no plans other than a school party, a staff luncheon and making cookies together with my girlies. Both sides of our families live far away, so I am sure we will try to video-chat with them sometime during the few days before Christmas day.
We have Christmas cards to mail. I am sure the girls will make pictures to send the Grandparents [just pretend you didn’t read that, Mom!] Every couple years we try to do a craft for them-such as handprint clay or picture collages. I have an idea for this year… but it may be a New Years gift instead. If we lived closer, I am sure we would do more together.
We love just being our little family. Most of our friends have family near. and, of course, spend the special holidays with them. Thus we have the privilege of learning how to take the slow path.
Teaching by doing – that there is more to this time of year than rushing to buy the biggest and best of everything we don’t really need. Trying to be a part of every party and activity available can create stress. and I am trying to stop teaching ‘stress’ to my children. [easier said than done!]
So, I will [try to] sit back and enjoy. spending time doing only what is necessary with a few nice things thrown in… instead of wondering how we will fit it all in before December 25th!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
and Be Blessed with HIS LOVE!
**except for the
Advent Readings and the next
Keys to Emotional Health which are mostly already typed and scheduled, I will probably not post much more between now and Christmas. The Owl Ornaments were inspired by a lady named
Disney and my Kyria’s school teacher, Mrs. Moore-sweetest lady and a most wonderful teacher. The theme of their classroom this year is “Making WISE Choices”… thus, the owl!
by tascha |
60 days of THANKSGIVING
{2011}
Right in the middle of October, when Halloween was looming and Thanksgiving was around the corner {and Christmas after that!}, I wanted to do something with my family that would take their minds off the candy and scary costumes and put it on being thankful!
But I also did not want this Thankfulness to stop with “Turkey day!” I wanted something to keep THANKFULNESS in our hearts through the hustle and bustle that has begun!
So, I asked the Lord to guide my thoughts- for something we could do that could be VISIBLE to my children at all times and require no trip to the store!
I enjoy computer graphics [my children prefer crayons! as you can see] so I used a computer to make this grid, but you could just as easily draw it with ruler and marker. I already had these little crayon papers. so I made the box size accordingly. I put a few Bible verses about thankfulness and thanksgiving on it.
Every evening during our family devotions we talk about what we are thankful for. If we have been to church [thus making our night a little late], we pick one thing as a family. Otherwise, each of us say one thing we are thankful for. Occasionally we have repeats. but we try to combat them. Some days our hearts are turned by what happened that day. other times we just think of things like friends and church and toys.
It is taped to a shelf on our bookshelf in our living room. We all see it multiple times daily. and now that we are half way through… it adds a lot of color! {smiles}
