Fun Stuff for Mommies

Instead of writing a bunch of posts highlighting lots of cool things I wanted to share with you all, I decided to combine them in this one, informative post.

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I've mentioned before how much I love the bookstore in town that sells all kinds of fun educational toys. The owner is so sweet and gives every kid in town who signs up a $5 coupon off of anything in the store for their birthday. She also gave Ali a free candy of her choice when we went to use our coupon and spend Ali's birthday money there!

It was a tough choice between this Magnetic Chore Chart and a magnetized Alphabet board with a chalkboard and dry erase board, but I decided the chore chart would be the best for our family right now.

There are lots of magnetic "reward stickers" and tons of household chores and goals listed. King Jo and I's favorites are:

Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Stop Whining

Respect Others (We also call this one Obey Parents)

Clean Room

Share

You can hang this from a nail on the wall (though it's really heavy) or prop it up and you can switch the goals based on what you want to work on this week. There are even a couple of blank rectangles for you to write your own goals/chores on. We use one of these for going potty (which by the way is going fabulous) and Jer is so excited about getting a magnet for going potty. Though this chart is designed for one kid, I use it for both kids and squeeze two reward magnets on one square (one for each kid).


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Here's a link to make an adorable toddler dress out of one of your husband's old shirts:



http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=170402.0

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This wooden bead kit Ali chose to get with her birthday coupon will go in her activity boxes (see below).

A couple of weeks ago Crystal showed a pic of some boxes her mom made up for her 4 year old daughter to use during quiet time each day. I loved the idea! Because of our temporary scarcity, I refrained from buying large plastic tubs with lids and just got some cardboard boxes from the thrift store for free and put some pretty paper on them. Ali's Grammy got her several things for her birthday that can go in the boxes (like coloring books, foam crafts, educational matching games, etc.) I also added some books with tapes I had gotten at a yard sale a couple of years ago and some preschool activities we had around the house (viewfinder, Magnadoodles, puzzles, small toys, magnetic paper dolls, etc.) Even though I was already basically doing this before, by pulling down a few activities for her to do during her brothers' nap time, I think she likes having a "Box for the Day" and it's even more exciting now for her to have quiet time on the couch. Having these boxes has helped her to be less demanding so that I can have a little breather from the kids, even though one no longer naps. I plan to switch the activities around and add some new ones here and there every once in a while to keep things fresh.


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Here is a site I found through themomma and have been greatly helped and encouraged in the area of disciplining and discipling children. It's interesting how we continually need reminders and good teaching on training kids in godliness and being consistent with them. I've been making an effort to put more "tomato staking" into practice with my kids.

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One of the best investments I've ever made with $4 is

Wise Words for Mom by Ginger Plowman

This 4-page wall calendar lists over 20 of the most common sins children commit and heart-probing questions to help them recognize their sin. It also gives Bible verses for each offense as well as Bible verses to combat the offense in an attempt to put off the sin and put on the right behavior. I bought mine on Amazon when I was Christmas shopping and got free shipping on it because it was part of a larger order. I use it all the time, especially when my daughter is misbehaving and I'm tired or at a loss for how I can biblically address her behavior. So often it is tempting to yell, "Quit whining!" or "Quit hitting your brother, I'm sick of it!" and address the symptoms of the behavior because these symptoms are horribly irritating to us. However, if we want our kids to be godly, we need to train them to deal with the heart matters, not just the symptoms.

I can't recommend this resource enough! So many moms, even those of us who have gotten Bible college degrees, don't know where to begin when it comes to pointing to specific verses for specific sins when we are in the throes of the moment when our child is being naughty. This chart is a lifesaver for me and I hope to memorize it this year and study all of the verses more in-depth so even if it's not handy, I can incorporate the Bible based teaching as I'm correcting and training my kids. This isn't a substitute for studying the Bible, having devotions with your kids, and continually growing in the area of biblical child-training, but it is a useful tool!