by Donna | Apr 21, 2016
If you have more than three children, you have probably heard it over and over (and thought of it a lot too): I need to make each child feel special.
We would agree with this concept. What we disagree with is how difficult we sometimes make it.
Sure, there are times for Daughter-Daddy Dances. (Kara was the proudest girl there because her daddy knew how to dance and had taken her to the ballroom for private lessons before the big day!)
There are times for “dinner and a movie” with Mom. There are times for day trips shopping or caving or hunting or crafting or, or, or.
But why wait for those “big days”? Why create this “it has to be big to make my child feel special” idea in your mind.
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by Donna | Apr 20, 2016
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).
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by Donna | Apr 15, 2016
If you have read my article about the Fun Factor in Homeschooling, you know that a lot of our homeschooling was hard work. Perseverance. Stick-tu-i-tive-ness. The daily grind. The day-to-day in’s and out’s. Teaching our kids contentment, work ethic, and study skills.
But we also had fun. A lot of fun. Not every subject. Not every hour. But in balance, we had fun in our school.
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by Donna | Apr 4, 2016
Bible Talks with Dad were another time to not only talk, but also to teach. They were just as the name suggests—times in which the kids and Dad talked about the Bible.
While Malachi Time was usually one-on-one, Bible Talks with Dad were often two or three kids at a time with Dad.
Malachi Time was often picture books or heart talks.
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by Donna | Mar 31, 2016
Story telling is a perfect time to talk because, well, it truly is talking!
Telling your children a story that is made up (or retelling a classic tale) is fun, and kids love it.
Telling your children a story about you, your life, your parents’ life, etc., is even better!
Story telling is truly teaching!
In one of our workshops, we talk about teaching like Jesus taught. Truly, story telling was one of his master teaching techniques—and it can be one of ours too!
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by Donna | Mar 24, 2016
A good piece of advice that we received early in our parenting of many littles was to always take at least one child with us where ever we went, if possible. The thinking was that if we always took a child with us, we could talk and train “on the road.”
Thus, we made it a point to always grab a kid if one of us left the house to run an errand—or plan to take one child with us if we knew ahead of time that we were going to be driving somewhere.
Out of this theory came our mantra: “Who’s got your shoes on? Dad’s running an errand!” Or “Who’s got your shoes on? Mom’s got to take a quick trip to town.”
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