christianparenting

A couple of us are planning a Children’s Ministries training so I’ve been looking at facts and surveys on multiple intelligences, which kind of sounds like another life-form or a level of how smart you are.

Actually it’s the style in which you learn. As teachers it’s important to know your learning style so you can better teach your kids. You may spend hours planning a lesson that you think the kids will love and really get a lot out of but then feel crushed when you sit and the same Bible answers from a room of bored kids “um, the Bible, Jesus, Moses?”

Understanding your learning style shows you the way you are geared and the way you will generally plan to teach a thing, but if you try and teach to all different learning styles you will be more effective.

I think this majorly effects us as parents as well. If you’re a parent of more than one child, I’m sure you’ve already figured out that they’re wired differently and that they learn their life lessons differently. Recognizing who your child is and how he learns can take you along way.

Also helpful is realizing that your spouse is different from you as well (go figure) and they may be able to relate better in some areas to some of your kids than you. Especially when you’re ready to pull your hair out.

My husband has this amazing brain filled with facts and figures and so does my oldest son my middle son seems to have a logical and mathmatic brain as well but he’s also a bit artistic and naturalistic like me. However, my oldest son and I share a love of reading and writing. I can majorly but-heads with my daughter, as do any women under the same roof, but I see we share very similar outgoing personalities, we’re people persons:)

I think it helps to recognize the dynamics of your family, or at least it’s fun to kind of step out and take a look at it.

Overheard this between my seven year old son and his grandmother.

Son - “B-Mom, I had my mouth open when I burped and it sounded like that guy from Starwars!”

B-Mom - “Darthvader”

son - “No the hairy one”

B-Mom - “Chewbacca” (sorry star wars fans, I can’t spell)

son - “YEAH”

what a sweet kid:)

Got in our last day trip to the beach one more time before they start school. I keep hoping maybe we’ll get a weekend day in early fall but they’re already booking up. So sad.

Though, I am excited for school to start. My husband remarked the other day how it looked like I was counting down the days. I told him ”I am!”

Finally, at the end of the summer, my five year old daughter is comfortable in the waves. Usually she’ll say “Mommy, take me deep” but this consists of me holding her and nothing but her piggy toes touching the water. Yesterday, she finally ventures on her own and only held my hands as the wave came by. She’s getting way too big:(

We had a little bit of that keeping up with the Jones issue with my son because he had a wood skim board and it seems that the lighter weight, foam skim boards are now the rage. Of course, he most likely wouldn’t have minded if he could actually ride his skim board instead of wiping out, but that’s how he’ll learn.

Wow - last day at the beach - swim club closes after this weekend - and the breeze is starting to get chilly. I love fall but I will miss summer.

There was a time when we lost many material things. We lost almost everything except each other, our family, and our faith (which is what pulled us through). Through many hard struggles I’ve learned to be thankful for what we do have, realizing that it would have been worse to loose them instead.

The other day in my devotion I read from Philipians and these verses just jumped out at me in Philippians 4:11-13 Paul says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Those verses spoke so loudly and threw that lesson back in my face. I had learned what is truly important and I had learned that Christ would carry me through because he had, he carried my whole family.

I will admit, I still struggle and want to keep up with the Jones, but I’m trying to rather be content in any situation. God has truly blessed me with my husband, my kids, my family and friends, my church and most of all, He’s given himself so that I might truly live. What need do I have of more? Yet he does bless and provide, he has provided for our needs, not to keep up with the Jones but we’re still healthy and have each other and what we need.

My biggest struggle though is passing on this lesson to my children. I want so much for them not to be wanting or to feel less because they don’t have what their friend has. I wish desperately that I could provide a “better” life for them, but there I go teaching th opposite, teaching them to find happiness through their possesions.

I was pleased though, this past weekend, when I started their back-to-school shopping at the thrift store (both to save my wallet and the earth) that I didn’t get complaining, well my oldest wasn’t happy when I first told him about it but when I shared the reasons why (he got the consumerism  and carbon footprint lecture) he accepted it and in the end was thrilled with what I got him. When I pulled his “new” book bag out of the bag I got a “sweeeeet.”

Hopefully I can remember to not only be content and trust God, I want to teach my children this as well.

Lizards and Snakes and Ticks, Oh My!

Saturday’s family activity was a trip to the Pinelands Folk Festival in Estell Manor Park, NJ. The Folk Festival wound up to be more of craft show with bands playing. Though the kids loved trying cotton candy.

Plus my middle son now has a new life ambiton, he wants to earn a living by carving wood. We saw a man selling his carvings, which were really cool, of people and wildlife.

So, anywho, we decided to take a walk along the trails which is something we all enjoy. We did get to see a lizard, which I think was a skink, a small snake that I actually picked up because he wasn’t much bigger then a worm and several deer a bit off our path. So all in all it was a great walk.

However, as we were driving to another part of the park where the nature center was, my daughter announces from the backseat, and fairly calmly I might add, “I have little ticks all over me.” The boys looked down and found they did as well. They looked like moving freckles.

My husband pulled into the first parking site available and we scraped the little buggers off the kids as best we could with their clothes on.

Unfortunately, the nature center was closed by the time we got there but we did find a ranger who told us they weren’t deer ticks (Thank you God) but hatchlings. It was apparently hatchling season and the kids had walked past a nest. Oh joy.

She told us take them home, really scrub them down, wash their clothes and all rags and towels in hot water (which I did twice to be safe) and to freeze the shoes (in a plastic bag) over night to kill any on the shoes.

What a day of memories and bonding. Apparently bug spray doesn’t work on ticks because we were wearing it in case you were wondering

I think one of the responsibilities of raising the children God gave us is to do our best to bring them up healthy.

I was talking to a friend of mine this morning about encouraging our kids to be active, and to encourage healthy eating and proper portions etc. This can be a hard task but one we really need to concentrate on none the less.

I write about healthy and inexpensive meals at Cheap Cookin’ Mama. I try and make it a goal to feed my family healthy meals. However, it has not always been this way. At one time, pizza, chicken nuggets, hot-dogs and Stouffers frozen meals were staples of our diet.

It took some work (especially with my middle child who is the pickiest eater) but we now have quite healthy meals, maybe not every single night of the year, but most nights we do and I feel better about what I’m feeding my family. Not surprisingly, I’ve also noticed improvements in their health and energy.

Another goal is to keep them active. If your child shows interest in something physical, encourage it. This past year all three of my kids started Tae Kwon DO. They like it and I can once again see improvements in their health and energy. They also tried swim team which was great exercise for them and we’ll do it again next year.

With my daughter entering half day Kindergarten, I will be at the school for pick up and drop offs three times a day this year and my goal is to bike or walk it (we’re not too close but well within walking distance of the school) as often as possible. Not only exercise for the kids but it will get my but moving as well

Anyway, just something to think about. I think it’s important that we make conscious choices that teach our children to live a healthy lifestyle.

Watching TV with my family, I wasn’t expecting to talk about self-image or evangelism though I was glad the opportunity was presented.

It started with my sweet, little five year old daughter making a degrading comment about someone on TV. I turned and told her that God made that person just like he had made her and he loves that person as well. We talked about being God’s children.

She asked how someone could be God’s child if they didn’t know God. Quite a thought for a five year old! I explained that they were made by God anyway, and that it’s our job to tell others about God so that they could know him.

We left it at that and I didn’t push anymore. It was quite enough for her age, I didn’t need to go into a sermon.

Just shows that as parents we need to be aware of and take advantage of those teachable moments God places before us. There’s probably been a lot more that I didn’t even notice but I will continue to keep my eyes open.

Mental Note: apparently the third week in August is crab mating season in our area and this can be a very educational experience for your children (whether you mean it to be or not).

Though it was a fun and relaxing day (I even got to read, thanks to a safe-to-play-in tide pool, and skim boards for the boys) our day trip to the beach was also quite educational. We took a walk as the tide went down on a patch of beach with not quite so many crowds.

I had hoped for the kids to not only have fun but to learn a bit and experience God’s creation, I just wasn’t expecting to see so much. First off, even where everyone was swimming, there were hundreds of minnows that my seven year old tried desperately to catch with his little red bucket, but he wasn’t quite fast enough. Poor guy.

We love to catch sand crabs (they look kind of like fat fish with a shell and no claws or legs that burrow in the sand) well, yesterday, as the waves rolled back to sea, you could see and stand amongst hundreds, which was really cool but a little gross when they ran into you.

Our most educating experience though were the several pairings of crabs that were “stuck together” or “fighting” as my seven year old said. My oldest knew better and claims to be traumatized. He’s a bit dramatic.

It was still a nice day and a much needed break with a lot of fresh air. We’re really getting into back-to-school mode though with my daughter’s kindergarten orientation today. She likes her teacher and seemed to have fun but was most excited about eating watermelon and goldfish.

Now it’s time to start rounding up those back to school supplies.

VBS is done but the first day of school is just around the corner (two weeks and two days to be exact, can you tell I’m counting!!!) We’re heading to the beach today for a day of fun, not so much relaxation with three young children, gone are the days of reading books and lounging in my beach chair.

My mother and I are packing up, the boys have waxed their skim boards (praying for no broken legs or arms) and my daughter will soon be choosing her bathing suit and ensemble, at least we’ve made some headway on the dressing situation mostly because Daddy had a little talk with her, and then later me.

I’m really looking forward to this little break though it’s only a day trip, it’s nice to get away. Poor hubby has to work so we’ll have to do something with him another day.

Hopefully we’ll enjoy not just the fun activities but God’s creation as well. The tide will be going down so maybe we’ll get a glimpse of some tiny see creatures in the tide pools and around the rock jettis. I’m so proud to have children who appreciate nature and will hopefully grow up learning to take care of it.

It’s funny because as the boys grow and I try to teach them they start to tell me about the animals and their environment. Gotta love Animal Planet!