Something a Little Different...

In preparation for the Christmas season, I've really been praying about how to lead the discussion of Christ's birth. This is the first year that my daughter is old enough to understand the basics of the coming of the Messiah, and I've been struggling to do it justice.

God has really laid the Jesse Tree devotional on my heart this year. A good friend contacted me about creating the ornaments together and exchanging them. I spent the good part of October and November creating half of the ornaments, 2 copies each - one for her family, and one for mine. I mailed the package off Monday, and her package of the remaining ornaments for us should be arriving soon. I've sat countless times trying to come up with a curriculum for this season that would compliment the Jesse Tree devotionals that we will be doing as a family, but to no avail. I just think they are entirely complete on their own and need no supplement.

So, instead of finishing out this year with my traditional lesson plans, I want to encourage you to find a family devotional revolving around the birth of Christ. I'm going to be popping in from time-to-time with links to various activities and crafts and songs that I think will compliment the devotions. But I'd like for these to stand on their own.

If you're curious and looking for some ideas, there are some amazing (free!) resources available. Here are just a handful that I would highly recommend:

Jesse Tree Devotionals and Ornament Ideas

RCA Advent Ideas

25 Days of Christmas Devotionals

Please google something along the lines of "Christmas devotionals for the whole family" and you will find something that suits you and your household.

Be blessed this Christmas season. And remember to thank Him daily for each and every blessing.

Week Nine

I hope you and your family have a wonderful week of celebrating planned. This is a great time to re-group and re-focus. I hope this week serves as a deep breath before the holiday season kicks into full-gear. And I hope that it gives you the opportunity to sit back and remember the foundation of the next 6 weeks. Let's commit to focusing our energy and hearts on Him and take the stress out of this time of year. Wouldn't that be a great foundation to lay for our kids?

This week's lessons focus on the story of the first Thanksgiving. The lesson plans link to a great version of the story for young hearts. The activities are abbreviated this week as I'm sure your week is already full.

Supplies Needed:

colorful faux feathers

styrofoam balls

bubble wrap

red, yellow, brown, orange paint

white cardstock

green construction paper

waffle cones

white paper plates

crayons

colorful construction paper

ingredients for making your favorite Thanksgiving menu item from scratch

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Here's the permanent link to Week 9.

Week Eight

Welcome back! Let's jump into another week of equipping our kids' hearts for a faith foundation.

Week 8 is all about Abraham and Sarah and the promises God made - and KEPT - to them. God always keeps His promises and is the epitome of faithfulness for us. The activity page links to a site with a great and simple children's version of the story. I challenge you to read the story in the Bible for yourselves to better equip you for going further with your kids.

Supplies Needed:

White paper

White crayon

Black or blue watercolors

Paintbrush

Old cereal box or other scrap cardboard

Aluminum foil strips

Play food, dishes, restaurant set-up for pretend play

Large cardboard box

1 strand of Christmas lights

Glass bowl

Children's scissors

Supplies for a gift basket for a friend/neighbor in need

Happy teaching!

Here is the permanent link to Week 8's plans.

Taking a week off

I just wanted to pop in to say that we're taking a week off of scheduled lessons the week of October 31st. We'll be back to regular activities next week. Enjoy your week with your sweet kiddos!

Week Seven

Welcome to the 7th week of lessons!

This week focuses on Fall traditions. We will be studying the book of Ruth. It's a book that could be way over their heads if read aloud straight from the text. So here's a link to a kids' version of the story that would be a great starting-off point. In the book of Ruth, Boaz honors his cultural traditions while still honoring God. While he wants to marry Ruth, he knows that in his culture, the first person in line to marry a woman must give him permission. Even though it is probably something he could have gotten away with, he chooses to be mindful of his culture's traditions while still honoring God. Let's make this the focus of the week. I want this lesson to show that there are many cultural traditions that are not Biblical in nature, but that we are called to live in this world, among these things, and to glorify God through it all. Since our own personal convictions lead this to look very different among us, the lessons focus on Fall broadly: pumpkins, apples, crunchy leaves, etc. You can dive as far as you feel comfortable into the topic of Halloween.

Supplies Needed:

2 carving pumpkins and the tools needed to carve

butter and spices for pumpkin seed roasting

raw potato

orange paint

white paper

fallen leaves

crayons, peeled to use to rub leaf imprints

fall-colored construction paper

contact paper

fall-colored tissue paper or crushed fall leaves

5 of your favorite apples

cinnamon and sugar

soil

supplies for a thank-you card or poster

Here is the permanent link to Week 7's plans.

Halloween

Next week the lesson plan activities are going to center around Fall traditions - pumpkin carving, leaves falling, candy corn, etc. Halloween traditions vary so much from Christian to Christian that I will not talk about Halloween specifically, though. You can choose to go into as much detail as you'd like with your kids about the holiday. But, in case you are like I was a few years back and really wanting to dive deep into the history of Halloween, I wanted to share a blog post I wrote about my research years ago. I hope this brings some clarity to your heart about your family's decisions about the holiday.

Halloween is such a hot topic in the Christian circles. There is such debate over whether it’s biblical to celebrate. I just thought I’d throw in my two cents on the topic. As the chapel leader of the school I used to teach for, I had people ask/tell me all the time about how they felt. People begged me to address the sinfulness of the holiday in chapel with the children. I had never even thought about the holiday’s origins or the reason we celebrate. So I really felt led to pray and research before sharing anything on the topic. And I am so, so grateful for what I learned – the truth about the origins of the holiday. This post is in no way intended to change your opinions. I believe that we must each take steps to become more educated and to follow our personal convictions about things like this. But maybe it will help those who chastise others for celebrating the holiday to become more informed. So, if you're interested, here is the history of Halloween:

Halloween began as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). Samhain celebrated the end of the Celtic year – October 31^st- and the beginning of the new year. This beginning was associated with harsh winter climates and death. So it was not something the Celtics looked forward to. They believed that the transition between one year and the next was very supernatural. It was a time when the boundaries between the living and the dead were blurred. Spirits of the dead would visit bringing clarity to the Druids (the Celtic priests) allowing them the ability to prophecy about the coming winter. The Celtics relied heavily on this prophecy for hope throughout the coming months. The evening of October 31^st everyone in town would extinguish the fire in their hearths and come together in town to build an enormous bonfire. Being together on this night of blurred boundaries protected them from harm. The fire was a spiritual ritual where animal sacrifices were made in exchange for protection from the evil spirits. After midnight everyone would light torches from the bonfire to carry back to light their individual hearths. This common fire was believed to protect them throughout the winter.

By 43 AD, Romans had conquered most of the Celtic lands. They adopted the festival of Samhain as a Roman holiday. They changed it into a two-day celebration. The first day, Feralia, was set aside to honor their dead ancestors. The second day was a day to honor the Roman goddess of the fruits and trees, Pomona. This day marked the end of the harvest.

By the 800s, Christianity had spread widely through the Celtic territory. The pope now claimed their ancient celebration and redeemed it for church purposes. November 1^st was now declared All Saint’s Day – a day to honor all the saints and martyrs. It was also called All-Hallowmas. October 31^st was deemed All-Hallows Eve, then later Halloween.

In 1000 AD the church added November 2^nd to the celebration – All Soul’s Day. This was a day to honor the dead by dressing in costumes as either saints, angels, or devils. This is where the tradition of dressing up began – in the Catholic church.

I have received countless e-mails and publications from churches declaring Halloween evil. They recount the origins of Halloween as a day where men would dress in masks and go door to door asking shouting “Trick-or-Treat.” The treat would be time with a virgin daughter of the homeowner – most stories recount horrible things like rape and brutality. If the homeowner refused, he would be tortured – the trick. This legend has no basis in reality. If you trick-or-treat with your children, you are not condoning this ancient myth. In fact, the origins of trick-or-treating began during the Catholic’s All Soul’s Day celebrations. Christians would walk through town begging for soul cakes, small bread-like cakes made with currants. Each soul cake symbolized a prayer the Christian would say on behalf of the giver. The more soul cakes each person received, the more prayers would go up. The tradition grew to include children. People would offer more than just soul cakes – including money, fruits, and sweet breads – in return for prayers for protection against the devil’s tricks.

Incidentally a lot of people who shun Halloween and judge others for allowing their children to participate in a holiday of pagan origin also celebrate Christmas on December 25^th. Christmas began as a pagan, hedonistic day celebrating and worshipping Roman gods and the winter solstice. The Roman god of the sun, Mithra, was believed to have been born on December 25^th. This time of the winter solstice and celebrations included heavy drinking. Again, the pope tried to redeem the day hundreds of years after Christ’s birth. It is believed that Christ was actually born in early spring as shepherds did not herd sheep in the middle of winter, and His birth was not even celebrated until this time. In fact, the reason for declaring December 25^th to be Christmas was strictly evangelical. Christians believed that, since people were used to celebrating on that day, Christ would more easily be embraced. Easter was already celebrated in the spring, so the pope came up with another aspect of His life to celebrate on the 25^th of December.

This is all to say that Halloween in and of itself is not evil. If you choose to celebrate that day with your children, you are not a horrible person. I think Christians can easily and intelligently join the celebration of the harvest, fall, costumes, and candy without compromising their beliefs. And I don't think we have to do all that under a different name like "Fall Festival" or "Harvest." A day cannot be innately evil, and I think Halloween is a great opportunity for learning and for having fun. A lot of the holidays that we celebrate are not Christian in origin. But we can teach our children a lot through customs and traditions. It is all about the heart of the parents in my opinion.

So we will take our children Trick-or-Treating (we already go every year with our nephews). We will allow them to dress up (in appropriate costumes, of course). And we will eat candy until our bellies hurt and take pictures and carve pumpkins and laugh and make memories all to the glory of God. Happy Halloween!

A Glimpse into our Day

I've had a handful of inquiries about what our days look like curriculum-wise. It's easy to picture us sitting around the dining room table formally studying Scripture, quickly flipping through flashcards, and completing worksheets. But that couldn't be further from the truth! Kids simply do not learn best through formal instruction. Instead, they learn best through play, experience, and hands-on interaction.

Here's an example of one of our days when we were learning about Creation.

The kids woke up and ate breakfast. My 3-year-old drinks soy milk, and she was asking what animal makes soy milk. I explained that it is made from soybeans which come from a plant. "Do you know who made soybean plants?" "That's right, God did. The Bible tells us the story of how God created the whole entire world. Do you want to hear it?" So, right there at the breakfast table, I opened my Bible and read Genesis 1:1-19. We talked about what it meant, and I told her that she was going to be learning lots of new Bible verses and that I had a trick to help us remember them. I then sang, "In the beginning God created, God created, God created. In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. Genesis 1:1" to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Since she, like most 3-year-old girls, loves music, she picked it up immediately and started to sing.

After breakfast, we headed outside to play on the playground. While swinging, she noticed some acorns in the trees and wanted to pick some. They were too high, so I explained that acorns are oak tree seeds and that God made them to grow on trees just long enough to get big and strong enough to start new oak trees. One day, when they're ready, a wind will blow or a squirrel or bird will land on the branch and shake the tree just enough for the acorns that are ready to fall off the tree and land on the ground. With water and sunshine, they grow roots that plant themselves into the ground. The roots are like little straws that the plants use to drink water and nutrients from the dirt. When they're ready, a little shoot grows out of the top called a "seedling." We then decided to go on a treasure hunt to find seedlings and fallen acorns. We went for a walk around the neighborhood looking under every tree. She collected a handful of "tree seeds" along the way and tried to match them to the trees from which they came. She also collected a handful of leaves to take home to paint with.

By this point, it was time to run some errands and come home for lunch. While I got lunch ready, I set up the table for painting. I showed her how to paint the back of a leaf with a paintbrush and to use it like a stamp on her paper. She completed her masterpiece while I fixed lunch.

Along the way, we talked about how amazing and creative God is to think of just the right way for plants and trees to create more plants and trees and thanked Him for providing the water and light needed to grow them. We also randomly sang the Bible verse all day long.

So. as cliche as it sounds, the world, and not just our dining room table, is our classroom. We simply incorporate our lesson into what we're naturally doing that day. Because of this, it's never hard to include my 18-month-old as we go. He just tags along and absorbs what he can.

I hope this helps you to think outside of the classroom box! As always, I welcome your questions and comments, so keep them coming!

Week Six

I can't believe we're already six weeks in. Are you still finding the curriculum helpful? Are you seeing excitement and new understanding in your kids? I sure hope so!

This week is all about Noah and his ark. Begin by reading the story of Noah. Since the biblical version is incredibly long for such little listeners, it is probably a good idea to choose one of the Noah books on the list to read instead.

Supplies Needed

blue jello

whipped cream

white paper plates

paints/crayons/markers

large glass bowl

small mirror

hole puncher

rainbow-colored construction paper

glue

q-tip

one roll of toilet paper

one bar of Ivory soap

1 box of white cake mix

1 tub frosting

food coloring in (at least) 4 colors

small food/cookie cutters

skewers/popsicle sticks/chopsticks

string/ribbon

Here is the permanent link to Week 6.

Hope you enjoy a week of learning about Noah!

Sin

Having trouble explaining sin to your kids? It may help to be confident that you understand sin yourself. Sin is not a behavior. Sin is not an attitude. Sin is not even a choice. Sin is in our very nature. It's in the fabric of who we are. Has your 13-month-old ever hit you out of anger even though you're certain they've never witnessed someone act like that before? It's because it is ingrained in them. Has your 2-year-old ever said something so catty and out of character, and you've tried and tried to figure out where exactly they learned that phrase? No one had to teach them - it's part of who they are. Despite our very best efforts, our daily prayer, surrounding ourselves with wholesome influences, and limiting exposure to harmful things, we cannot help but be sinful. It's part of our make-up - just like our eye color, heart rhythm, and shoe size. Because of the original Fall, sin nature is beyond our control.

So, how do we explain that to our kids without giving them an excuse to misbehave?

When I taught chapel, I used a visual to teach sin. Of course this topic is way more complex than this visual will allow. But it worked as an introduction and a conversation-starter. It helped to show that our nature is sinful, that we will continue to sin even with Christ in our lives, and that Jesus gives us tools we need to deal with our sinful hearts.

First, print a copy of the Sinful Heart and the Fruits of the Spirit. You can color them, have your kids decorate them, or just leave them black-and-white. Cut out the Heart and all of the rectangles.

Each rectangle represents a sinful thought or behavior. I provided plenty of blank ones to fill in with something appropriate and relatable for your child. Using an Exacto knife, cut along the top, left side, and bottom of the door. Fold it back along the "hinge" to create a door that swings open and closed.

Flip it over, and cut a triangle out of another piece of paper to tape on the back to make a pocket just like the grey triangle below. Tape only along the right and left sides leaving the top open.

Turn it back over, open the door, and fill it with the rectangles representing sin.

Now you're ready to get started. I think it may be helpful for me to provide a basic script that you can either read as you present this heart or use as a starting point for your lesson:

"Do you see this heart? This heart is just like ours. Want to see what's inside? Open the door. Wow! It's filled with lots of things. [Read a handful of the rectangles.] Gosh, those don't sound good at all. Did you know that we have things like this in our heart? In our Bible story, we talked about how Eve made a choice that went against what God told them. When Eve made that choice, sin entered our hearts. From then on, everyone is born with yucky sin. Sin is anything that sets us apart from God. It can be bad choices we make, mean things we say, or even things we think about. Sin is a part of us that we cannot get rid of on our own no matter how much we want to. God is holy and perfect, but we are not. God hates sin and cannot be near sin. So we cannot be near Him unless we can clean this sin out of our hearts. Since we can't do that, and since God loves us so, so much, He came up with a very special plan. He sent Jesus to clean out our hearts for us. The Bible tells us that Jesus stands at our heart's door and knocks quietly. He waits until we ask Him in to help us get rid of our awful sin. When we invite Him in, He gets to work right away getting rid of our sin. [At this point, have your child pretend to clean the heart with a wash cloth, and remove all of the sin rectangles together. Close the door, but secretly put a couple more of the sin rectangles back into the pocket.] The problem is that, since sin is a part of us, it just keeps coming back. [Open the door to reveal more sin.] But, since we've opened the door to Jesus, He promises to keep checking around and getting rid of our sin every single time it comes back forever and ever and ever. He will never leave us once we have invited Him in. So that means that every sin that has ever been in our heart and every sin that will come into our heart forever is already taken care of. Isn't that so amazing?" But, there's even more. The Bible tells us that Jesus wants to help us with special tools to do our best to keep the yucky sin out of our hearts. When Jesus is in our hearts, He brings the fruits of the spirit. [Place each of the fruits of the spirit into the heart pocket explaining each as you go.] These fruits wlil help us to act and think in a way that is pleasing to God. When a friend takes a toy away from us, we have been given self control to help us to not hit or push or grab the toy back roughly. When our moms and dads cannot help us right away, He has given us patience to help us to wait without whining or throwing a fit. So we not only have Jesus to clean up our sin right away, but we have been given special powers to keep us from sinning too! God is so, so good."

I hope you and your family find this illustration helpful. I am praying over this post (which, by the way has been the most technically-challenging blog I have ever written - literally everything has gone wrong, so clearly this is an important message) - that it would touch lives and hearts as you explain the absolute most important message we can share with our kids. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at all along the way. I do not know all of the answers, but I would love to learn and search alongside you.

Happy teaching!!

House Rules

I have come across several really cute tutorials for a family rules canvas that would be a great way to preserve the "House Rules" you and your kids establish during Week 5's activities. If you're looking to dive in further with the crafts, here are some great tutorials.

The Pleated Poppy's Family Rules Canvas

Lil Blue Boo's Subway Art

Multiple Frames by Next 2 Heaven

Vintage, Hand-painted Subway Art Version from Mossy Mossy

Scrap Wood Last Name Version from Love Affair with my Brother (as in the sewing machine!)

I hope these inspire you to get crafty!

Week Five

With creation behind us, now we are going to set the stage for Christ's coming at Christmastime. It is my goal to establish that we are sinners and are in need of a Savior. Between now and Christmas, we'll learn about The Fall of Man, God's promise of a savior, why we need Him, and others who have followed Him.

This week's topic, sin, can be a tricky one. But, the fact of the matter is that we all sin. (Romans 3:23) The definition of sin, in kid terms, is anything that separates us from God. (Here's the link to a great article regarding sin for kids.) All of us have seen behaviors and attitudes in our children that are not holy and perfect. As a parent this can be incredibly hard to grasp because our kids are perfect in our eyes. Instead of calling sin by its Biblically-defined name, we want to re-define things and excuse them away to protect our precious children from such horrible accusations. Some believe that there is an age-of-accountability before which kids will not be held responsible in God's eyes by their sin. But, regardless of your beliefs, the Bible lays it out clearly - even if it cuts to the core of our hearts. Our children are sinners, just as we are. The amazing news is that God did not settle for the fact that we are sinners and are therefore forever set apart from Him. He sent a Savior to bridge that gap. (Mark 2:17) In order for our kids (and us!) to understand our need for salvation, we have to understand that we make choices that set us apart from our holy and perfect Creator. You can approach this topic all on your own, skip it altogether, or use some of the ideas I'll provide. So, for the purpose of such a wide age-range, wide belief-system, and just merely the fact that this is a personal topic that lesson plans can't fully contain, I've focused the majority of this week on listening to God and obeying Him, something Eve chose not to do. And we all know how that worked out.

Stay tuned for a separate post with an idea for a visual to help with introducing sin to our kids.

Begin this week's lessons by reading the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis. The key points are that God created Adam from dust and Eve from one of Adam's ribs. He gave them a beautiful garden filled with amazing things to use as their home. He gave one specific instruction - that they were not to eat the fruit from a specific tree. A serpent came to talk to Eve tempting her to go ahead and taste the fruit - that God just didn't want her to be able to be all-knowing like Himself setting up His command as a selfish move. Eve decided to go ahead and take a bite to see what happened. Adam followed suit. God was very sad because He is perfect. They chose not to obey him, so this set them apart from God. They were ashamed of what they did, and so they hid from God when he came to talk with them. Their bad choices resulted in consequences. Their actions created sin, and sin lives in everyone's hearts since then.

Supplies Needed

A poster and crayons/markers/paints for House Rules

A CD/Internet search/cassette tape of different sounds to identify

A variety of music of different moods

Cookie-baking supplies

2 empty soup cans, cleaned

1 5-ft rope

Something to use as a drum (bowl, oatmeal canister, etc.)

A handful of ordinary household items to use as instruments

Here is the permanent link to Week 5's lesson plans. Happy teaching! And, please feel free to contact me with any questions, advice for implementing this lesson, or feedback!

Week Four

This is our fourth and final week about creation. God made people, and God made me focuses on the unique characteristics God has given us. We'll spend this week celebrating our differences, features, and quirks that make us special.

Let's start this week by reading Genesis 1:26-31 and Psalm 139:13-14. Talk about how God make us in His image and that we are His children. This is a good place to introduce the concept of God as our "Father." It's also great to include in your conversation that God created each and every one of us intentionally just as we are and that He has a special purpose for us all. Our specific talents and skills are like gifts from Him. We have a responsibility to use those gifts wisely and with purpose. So talk about how He gave us hands for helping His people, feet for going to His people to share love, lips for speaking truth and for using loving words, etc.

Supplies Needed:

butcher paper

crayons/markers/paint

copy of All About Me

camera and copies of pictures taken throughout the week

play dough ingredients: flour, salt, Kool-Aid powder, oil

unflavored popcorn & seasonings (seasoned salt, cinnamon, sugar, garlic powder, parmesan cheese)

a bag or a box for the sensory kit plus a handful of household items of different textures

supplies for your Child's Favorite party - decor in your child's favorite colors, their favorite meal/snacks

white paper plate

scraps of yarn in your child's hair color

I hope you all have a great week getting to know your children even better as the unique little kids God created in His image!

I would love to hear your stories of how things are going with your kids. As I'm preparing this post, we're just finishing up the first week, and we have had a ball. I was amazed at how quickly my daughter memorized the verse, and it blesses my socks off to hear her recite it as she's falling to sleep, recall it at appropriate times throughout the day, and refer to it while reading other Bible stories. This new plan has been such a huge bright spot in our week, and I pray it has been for you too!

Here's the direct link for Week 4's lesson plans, and here is the link for the All About Me booklet.

Week Three

Continuing the thread of creation, this week is all about animals. The scripture reference is Genesis 1:24-25. As always, make sure to begin the week by reading the scripture and explaining it thoroughly.

I've found that there's no need to paraphrase the scripture into "kid-friendly" language during the first run-through. I think it's important to read straight from the text, then to sum up what we've just read. I am amazed at how much my 3-year-old understands before we've even discussed the meanings. I find that the times that I read straight from the text offer more opportunities for adding vocabulary words to her arsenal too which is a win-win educationally. What ways have you found to be helpful to introduce the text to your kids? I'd love to hear your ideas too!

Supplies List

animal crackers for snack

washable paint, markers, pens

crayons and a copy of the animals on the lesson plan

shoebox

popsicle sticks

plastic animals

Get ready to moo, bark, slither, and gallop your way through this week!

10 Boredom Busters - 12-18 Month Olds

Even with a plan in place for lots of activities surrounding our weekly theme, we still have plenty of time on our hands. While we have no set TV limitations, I just can't stand for it to be on all day. My kids watch one 15-minute show (Curious George and The Cat in the Hat both are hits around here) before naptime and before bedtime to settle down before a bedtime story. But, in the times when we have nothing planned and the kids have had enough playtime (and I've had enough of them arguing over toys!), it's really easy to turn on a show to put them in that child-TV-coma phase. I love researching ideas for boredom busters to have in my back pocket for moments like these. I thought it would be a great blog topic too. So, from time to time, I'll do boredom buster lists focusing on a specific age group. Of course, most of these activities can be adapted to be something any kids will enjoy. I hope you find these helpful!

Boredom Busters (12-18 months old)

1) Give your child a magazine, newspaper, or a pile of junk mail to rip and tear to shreds.

2) Using a galvanized pail or an empty and clean paint can, cover the outside with child-safe magnets (ABC refrigerator magnets work well for this). Have them remove the magnet from the outside, and put it in the bucket. When they're finished, lead them to take each one out and put it back on the outside. Repeat as long as they will.

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3) Make a colander/pipe cleaner sculpture. Give your toddler a colander and a handful of pipe cleaners, and show them how to string the pipe cleaner through the holes.

4) Finger paint with yogurt and a little food coloring. Stir 1 or 2 drops of food coloring into a canister of yogurt, and let your toddler go to town finger painting. You can stick them in a high chair and allow them to paint the tray, or allow them to paint the inside of the dishwasher door. This way you can just close it up and run a cycle - easy clean-up!

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5)l Dance to music with ribbon twirlers. Easy-to-make, new-sew ribbon twirlers make great additions to grooving to your favorite music. If you don't have satin ribbon and wooden handles on-hand, this can also be done easily with curling ribbon tied around the end of a wooden spoon.

6) Ragamuffin band. Gather a handful of pots, pans, wire whisks, and wooden spoons, and go to town banging and scraping to make loud, toddler-friendly music. Going even further - tap out a rhythm for your toddler to copy.

7) Water painting. Give your toddler several containers of water and a paintbrush. If it's nice outside, they can "paint" the driveway, garage door, house, mailbox, etc. In not-so-great weather, move the party indoors, and "paint" the shower/bathtub walls.

8) Wash dishes. Fill up the sink/bathtub with an inch or two of water, and dump in some dish soap, a dish scrubber brush, and an assortment of plastic dinnerware, and let your toddler scrub away.

9) Mix, measure, and pour. Fill an under-the-bed tub with rice, beans, or sand. Add some measuring cups and spoons, plastic funnels, a whisk, shovels, and bowls. Demonstrate measuring and pouring. [Make sure to supervise carefully - especially if your toddler is still prone to eating art/activity supplies. =)]

10) Indoor basketball. Grab a laundry basket and a bunch of balled-up socks, and let these substitute basketballs and a basketball goal as an indoor-friendly game of hoops, toddler-style.

Art Supplies Every Mom-of-a-Preschooler Needs

I thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of common art supplies that I'll be using throughout the lessons and activities. As a former preschool teacher, these items have become commonplace in my home. Hopefully this will help you build your stash of supplies as well.

Washable Markers

Elmer's School Glue

Glue Sticks

Children's Scissors (for beginners, I LOVE these)

Hole Punch

Crayons

Colored Pencils

Washable Paints

Watercolors

Paintbrushes

Q-tips

Chalk

Smocks or old t-shirts

Vinyl Tablecloth

White Paper

Construction Paper

Butcher Paper

Clear Contact Paper

White Paper Plates

Coffee Filters

Pipe Cleaners

Tissue Paper

Fabric Scraps

String or Yarn

Multi-Colored Buttons

Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Tubes

Ribbon

Popsicle Sticks

Felt

Multi-Colored Pony Beads

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list. But, for the majority of the projects we do around here, this list is complete!

Preserving Artwork

If you're like me, you hate throwing away the art that your little ones have so meticulously created. It took effort to buy the supplies, gather the kids, and execute the project, and you want to preserve their masterpieces.

Here are a few ideas for saving their creations:

Poster Portfolio: Take two large posterboards for each child. Punch holes 2 inches apart along 3 sides of both posterboards. Using yarn, lace the two together leaving one side (the one without holes) open to create a large pocket. Label the outside, and store all artwork flat inside.

Art Binders: These work best for all of the flat artwork as the dimensional pieces may not flatten enough to fit. Decorate a binder specifically for each child. Then 3-hole-punch each piece of art to add to the inside. You can go further by using page protectors.

Under-the-Bed Boxes: The plastic storage containers made for slipping under the bed are perfect for storing artwork. They are roomy, convenient, and durable. Storing it under the bed of the artist is a bonus as they won't take up any room in common spaces.

Digital Storage: Scan or photograph each piece of artwork. You can toss the original, or store it in one of the above ways. Then use the digital image to create a work of art themselves. You can find some brilliant ideas here, here, and here.

How do you store your kids' works of art without cluttering up your home?

Week Two

How did your first week go? Wasn't it nice to have a back-up plan to focus the week and to actually have things prepared to do when the time came? It's such a relief for me to actually have a plan.

Week two's theme continues the thread of creation. This week we'll talk about how God created the fish and the birds. We'll begin by reading Genesis 1:20-23 and discussing with the kids. Again, make sure to give them plenty of time to soak it in, ask questions, and clarify things. And it's always a good idea to start with the 3 questions I shared last week about God's word.

Supplies Needed

goldfish crackers

multiple colors of tissue paper (I keep a basket in our art cabinet with leftovers from projects or paper that has been used for wrapping presents)

glue

q-tips

blue construction paper

magazines, books, photos of sea creatures to cut and paste

refrigerated tube of pizza dough

pizza sauce

cheese

pepperoni

Finding Nemo

popcorn

12 ounce bag of chocolate chips

6 ounce container of chow mein noodles

jellybeans, chocolate eggs, or M&Ms

old mesh produce bag

string

yarn

dried, dead grass

small sticks

popsicle sticks

crayons or washable markers

I hope you and your kids enjoy all of the fun activities I've compiled to help learn and explore God's creation!

Here's the permanent link to Week Two.

Week One

Are you ready to start at the very beginning? I've designed the themes to correspond with holidays. If you just pop in from time-to-time, you may want to find the current week instead of trying to do them consecutively if you'd like to find activities appropriate to the season/holiday.

Week One's focus is on the first 4 days of creation; separation of the light and dark, separation of the sea and sky, creation of the land and plants, and creation of the sun, moon, and stars. This week will be the beginning of establishing who God is for our kids.

Start your week by reading Genesis 1:1-19 aloud with your kids. Give them plenty of time to ask questions, discuss God's word, and absorb what you're reading. It's also a good idea to always begin any Bible readings talking about God's word. I always hold up the Bible and ask, "What is this?" The kids answer that it's a Bible. Then I ask, "And what's inside the Bible?" They answer, "God's words." Then I follow-up with, "And what is special about God's words?" The kids respond, "They're all true!"

Supplies Needed:

Crayons or Washable Markers

Grab Bag Items from around the house (rocks, leaves, sticks, fruits, veggies, nuts, flowers, etc.)

Construction Paper

Contact Paper

A Collection of Waterproof things for Sink or Float

A Collection of household items for Sun Prints (ABC fridge magnets or a foam alphabet work perfectly for this)

Child's favorite fruits for a fruit salad (along with kid-friendly utensils for cutting if appropriate)

Flower seeds, potting soil, flower pot

Alright, let's dive in!

Here's the permanent link to Week One. But you can also always find the link list in the sidebar.

Memory Verses

Each week our curriculum will feature a memory verse. But, at this age, not only is it tough to get a child to memorize a sentence, it can also be a bit fruitless. While the words will be tucked away in their hearts (IF they're able to get it), oftentimes they have no idea what those words actually mean. Have you ever had your child enunciate a favorite song? Sometimes when I actually listen to the "words" my 3-year-old is singing, I realize it's just gibberish. She's just memorized the sounds associated with the music and has no idea what the song is actually about.

When you begin talking about these themes with your child, make sure to help break down the memory verses for them. For example, when you introduce Genesis 1:1, talk about what "In the beginning" actually means. "In the beginning, God was all by Himself. There was no Earth, no sun, no stars, no kids, no toys, etc. God was the ONLY thing that existed. When He spoke the world into existence, this was the start of everything." Talk about the word "created." "Created means to make something. What kinds of things can we create?" Explain the word "heavens" and "earth" as well. "The heavens means the skies. The sky has all sorts of interesting things in it like planets, stars, the sun, moons. The earth is what we're standing on. It has mountains and valleys and dirt and sand..."

Understanding the meaning of the words they are learning helps with memorization, but it's also important to tap into a child's natural curiosities and interests. Since kids of any age are drawn to music and a good beat, a great way to help them to remember the verse is to put it to song. We put Genesis 1:1 to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." "In the beginning God created, God created, God created. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." It takes no time at all for them to learn a short song, and it really makes something like Scripture memory possible for even the smallest kids.

Kids are also very visual learners. You might consider drawing pictures to represent the different elements of the verse. For example, you could write a #1 to represent "In the beginning." A picture of hands could represent "God created," and a picture of a night sky and another of the earth could represent "the heavens and the earth." As you sing the song, point to the various pictures.

Using multiple senses just compounds the efficiency of a child's ability to remember. Consider making hand motions to go along with the words to the song. Making their muscle memory match their speech has a tremendous impact. Holding up their finger showing "1" for "In the beginning," pretending to build something with their hands for "God created," gesturing toward the sky for "the heavens," then jumping down to touch the ground for "and the earth" are all examples of meaningful movement to really help drive the message home.

What ways have you found to be helpful for your kids to memorize?

Introduction

Welcome to A Solid Foundation!

As a full-time stay-at-home mom to two kids ages 3 and 1, I really want to be intentional about providing my children with a firm understanding of faith before sending them off to school. My desire is to maximize the fleeting time I have with these two precious kids.

We are a very fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants family and love the adventure that comes with spontaneity. My intention is not at all to structure our days so much that we lose that major benefit of getting to stay at home. But a downside of these laid-back years is that we could easily go weeks without doing anything productive. We blink and a year goes by.

So the purpose of this blog is to give an overall theme to our week. I'll center each week around a Bible story or concept, give a list of activities, crafts, recipes, games, outings, service ideas, songs, and books, and I'll share a memory verse. The plans will include all types of learning (numbers, sequencing, colors, letters, shapes, etc.) that relate to the main theme. This plan is very open-ended. You can plan your day around a Bible lesson time incorporating all of the ideas listed. Or, like me, you can read the plan each week, pick a handful of activities to gather supplies for, and have them in your back pocket throughout the week to use as boredom busters.

My goals are to simply provide a list of activities that could be appropriate for kids ages 2 - 5 that can be used as literally or as loosely as you desire. I will also make sure that the activities use regular household items or things that are easily found at any local Walmart. My goal is to get each week's lesson plan up on the Wednesday morning prior to that week. That should give us all a chance to gather the needed supplies and materials. The lessons begin September 12th, and Week One's link and post will be available the morning of September 6th.

I hope that this blog becomes a resource for you and your family as you wade through these preschool waters of equipping young hearts!