One of the great things about teaching children in a homeschool or one-on-one setting is that we can easily see when readiness simply isn’t there. And one of the greatest benefits is that we can wait for the child’s readiness to be there before moving on. (Sweet babies…let’s be patient with them!)

Patience is often hard for a homeschooling mom. We are prone to comparisons. We are prone to worry. We are prone to low self confidence when our kids aren’t learning quickly.

But we don’t have to simply sit by and “wait.” There are things we can do to help prepare our kids to learn, especially in the area of phonics and early reading. That is what this podcast I did a few years ago is all about–being proactive while we wait for “reading readiness.” (Be sure to print off and use the outline included!)

So enjoy these days without pressure to achieve…..and watch your little one develop the readiness that is needed to tackle the hard work of learning to read (later!)…. 🙂  

Click HERE to download the handout!

Love and hope,

Donna

The post Preparing a Child to Learn to Read (Podcast and More!) appeared first on Character Ink.

 
Five Tips for Avoiding the Terrible Two’s!

(1) Discern between wants and needs prior to the twenty-four month mark

(2) Mean what you say (“Don’t say no unless you’ll go”)

(3) Don’t sweat the small stuff—discerning between truly bad behaviors (behavior absolutes) and childishness

(4) Provide consistency

(5) Tell, don’t ask (unless it’s okay if the child disobeys or doesn’t listen).

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The post [Video] Five Tips for Avoiding The Terrible Twos appeared first on Character Ink.

It has recently come to my attention that newer readers are not aware of the dozens of free audios and videos that I have at the Character Ink blog! One reader recently told me that she cleaned her entire basement for a weekend while listening to podcasts and videos after she discovered them! So I thought I would re-introduce some of them in the coming months—along with other related posts and products. So let’s start with Story Time—one of my favorite times of the day for twenty-five years! If you have always longed to do a story time in your school day, but you haven’t figured out how to work it with several children, different ages and tastes, busy schedules, etc., this post is the one for you!

Story time (along with having spent every day with my kids for over thirty years) is one of my best accomplishments in life. Seriously. Do you know the dedication and persistence it takes to read aloud to kids for two hours (at least) nearly every day for three decades? But I made it! And I have well-educated, book-loving children and warm memories to prove it! 🙂

First, the podcast! This was one of my very first podcasts, so bear with me as I was learning the tech (and trying to keep it under time limits!).

Secondly, for those who are not listeners but would rather read tips and tricks, here’s a blog post I wrote answering common story time questions:

Third, I have a Q and A post based on a young momma’s questions about story time with very young children. It can be done! And once you start, your kids will love it so much you will wonder why you didn’t work harder on making it happen earlier!

Lastly, I have four readers that you and your children might enjoy. Three of them are beginning readers with children’s text on one page and parent text on the other. The perfect reward trio for when your child reads the children’s part to you—then Mom or Dad reads the “older text” to the child! The fourth reader is a beginning chapter book. All four are about the loveable characters from The Jungle Book.

Read a Chapter, Mowgli!

https://characterinkstore.com/product/sound-it-out-baloo-reader/

https://characterinkstore.com/product/sound-it-out-brother-wolf-reader/

https://characterinkstore.com/product/sound-it-out-mowgli-reader/

Love and hope,

P.S. What are your read aloud struggles? How can I help you incorporate this amazing time in your school days?

The post Storytime Round Up! appeared first on Character Ink.

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The post July Wondering Wednesday Schedule appeared first on Character Ink.

Subscribe to our Wondering Wednesday episodes on iTunes and YouTube!

Have a question you are wondering about for a future Wondering Wednesday?  Email Donna here.

Not signed up for our Freebie Fridays?  You can do that here! 🙂

Subscribe in iTunes and on YouTube!

The post June’s Wondering Wednesdays & Freebie Fridays appeared first on Character Ink.

It is so hard to believe that May is here! With so many winding down their school year and the busyness of summer upon us, we are going to make a couple of changes at Raising Kids With Character and Character Ink Press blog for a couple of months.

During May, June, and July, we will just have two Wondering Wednesdays (first and third Wednesdays) and two Freebie Fridays (second and fourth Fridays) as far as new podcasts, videos, and free products. We will resume weekly Wondering Wednesdays and weekly Freebie Fridays in August to help everybody get started back up in the fall.

So….don’t go away…we’ll still be here. We just know that with vacations, summer sports, Bible school, and more, people don’t have as much time to listen/watch—and oftentimes school gets put on the back burner.

Stay tuned as we continue our 52 Weeks of Talking to Your Kids; add more Meaningful Composition books; reveal our new Write On books in June (Write On, Peter Pan!); and much more!

Love and hope,
Donna

The post Summer Podcast & Freebie Schedule appeared first on Character Ink.

Ray and Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character Parenting Seminar, bring you their Top 30 Tips From 30 Years of Homeschooling. They delve into areas of prioritizing, character training, heart training, housework, little kids, school, and time management. Speaking from their hearts, they love to help parents in general, and homeschoolers specifically, be successful in their parenting.

Download the podcast notes here.

Listen to previous podcasts here.

The post [Podcast] 30 Tips from 30 Years of Homeschooling appeared first on Character Ink.

Welcome to another episode of Wondering Wednesday! We have been recording our Kelowna, BC convention sessions for you for upcoming Wondering Wednesday sessions, but we are swamped with preparations, so we will have those for you in coming weeks!

In the meantime, spring is the perfect time to start collecting activities, toys, and books for room time with your littles, so this week’s WW is a re-run of the podcast about Room Time.

 

 
Here are the details:

“Donna Reish, writer, speaker, and teacher at Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character blog and seminar, brings this Wondering Wednesday podcast about utilizing room time with toddlers and preschoolers. In this episode, Donna describes the benefits of room time, how to begin this daily, potential problems and solutions, and ideas for activities to use for room time. She also explains the importance of utilizing this opportunity to increase focusing skills, Independence, creativity, resourcefulness, and attentiveness.”

Love me some littles! Teach them to obey and be content—and you will enjoy this age so much more!

Love and hope,
Donna

Download the podcast notes here.

Listen to previous podcasts here.

The post [Podcast Rerun] Room Time With Toddlers & Preschoolers appeared first on Character Ink.

Dear Wondering Wednesday Friends,

I think I have finally figured out how to get my videos all uploaded (as long as each one is under fifteen minutes long). So…welcome to another Wondering Wednesday video!

I have audios as well as blog posts (as well as entire sessions of Raising Kids With Character seminar and homeschooling workshops) on The Four D’s of Behavior and Handling Heart Behaviors, but I think a video suits this topic well with the poster packs and worksheets we offer (by the same name).

In this video, I walk through the Handling Heart Behaviors Poster Pack and Worksheets to show you how to use these tools—and how to handle the Four D behaviors in your home (with or without the packet). (The packet was a freebie in March, but it can be purchased here.)

Watch Part I:

The store description of the packet will help you understand what the video contains as well:

“In this helpful parenting packet, Donna Reish (of Raising Kids With Character seminar, Homeschooling With Character seminar, and Character Ink Press and blog) offers three worksheets to help parents of tweens and teens work through some of the difficult heart behaviors (described in The Four D’s of Behavior podcast episode and Handling Heart Behaviors of Tweens podcast episode).

Watch Part II:

The worksheets included are designed to be used first by the parents (to determine ahead of time the behaviors that need changed and the way these behaviors will be handled) and then by the parents with the child. They help parents take these behaviors (disrespect, fighting, and disobedience) from gray (“Don’t talk to Mom like that”; “Quit fighting”; and “I’m not telling you again…go do it!”) to black and white (where everybody knows what is expected and what the consequences will be for infractions).

All of the worksheets have the same general steps (with spaces to fill in) to begin with:

(1) Make a list of unacceptable behaviors

(2) Make the list of consequences/plan for carrying them out

(3) Choose signaling words and phrases to be used when the offense is committed

(4) Determine what the appropriate/acceptable response from the child will be.

Additionally, each page has its own signaling words laid out for parents and child. The Disrespect Sheet has the “changing tone” signaling words in order to give the child a chance to change his tone and realize how he is speaking. The Disobedience Sheet has the “no response rule” with appropriate signaling words for that rule. Finally, the Fighting Sheet has the “no accusing signaling words” to help children change how they “tell on someone” and the “will you stop” signaling words to keep the request civil and circumvent potential fighting. These worksheets were developed after thirty-three years of Christian parenting—and they really work!”

Thank-you for your continued support!

Love and hope,

Donna

P.S. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!

Links to check out:

Video: The Four D’s of Behavior Poster Pack

[Printable] Four D’s of Behavior Download

[Printable] Apology Posters

[Podcast] Ways to Spend More Time With Your Kids

[Podcast] 10 Tips for Staying Close During Intense Training Times

[Podcast] When to Give Chances and When to Take Action

The post [Video] Handling Heart Behaviors appeared first on Character Ink.

Have a question you are wondering about?  Email Donna here.

Subscribe in iTunes and on YouTube!

The post April Wondering Wednesday Preview! appeared first on Character Ink.