We’ve all heard it before but one of the most effective tools we have in teaching our kids about anything is to first be the example. We can tell our kids to do something, but unless they see you doing it, the chances of them taking it upon themselves to follow-suit is slim (especially as they get older). I don’t want to focus just on the negative: yes in order for your children to not smoke, not swear or not engage in disobedient behavior is to not do it either, but I want to focus on the positive, esp. when it comes to teaching our children how to walk with the Lord.

Teaching children scripture and basic biblical principles is incredibly important and essential to the building blocks of their faith – I do not want to discount that. But what I feel is more important is how YOU are working out your faith in front of your children. My parents tried but it didn’t hold water and as an adult I found myself floundering as to how to walk with the Lord. I was never taught how to study the scriptures, I was never encouraged to pray and to learn to pray by just the simple act of praying and I wasn’t affirmed in how important it is to spend time getting to know the Lord.

We teach our children a lot of things through direct means, but sometimes the things that have the biggest impact on their lives are taught by indirect means. I encourage you to learn more about the spiritual disciplines and not only practice them alone, but in front of your children. This can have an amazing impact on your own personal walk with the Lord, but also teach your children how to live in relationship with Christ. One of the spiritual disciplines my husband and I participate in each week is silence and solitude. We decide the day and the time and then take turns so there is someone to watch the kids. We have been doing this for a few years now and when one of us leaves for our appointed time, our four year old will now say, “Have fun with Jesus!” He knows where I am going and what it’s purpose is: to spend time with my Savior. He also asks when will he be old enough to go with me (talk about encouraging my heart!). While his time of silence and solitude may look different than mine when he is old enough to practice it, the fact that he is seeing mommy and daddy do it, and what we share with him about our time is setting him up with the knowledge and the confidence to be a student of the Master.

Some ideas to try to easing yourself and your family into the spiritual disciplines:

Thanksgiving and Praise. Spend a few moments everyday thanking Jesus for the gifts he has given you. Let the kids share whatever they feel like, no matter how small or silly, and encourage them to thank Jesus with their hearts and also their voices. This can also lead your family in a time of worship. Worship is basically telling God who he is and that you’re happy about it. If singing worship songs is easier, than do that. But it can be as easy as simply saying “God is so good to us. He is an amazing Father!”

Prayer. Chances are you are already praying for your children, so now extend this practice into praying with your children. Kids are very eager to talk so as you pray together, encourage them to pray to God on their own. My four year used to resist this but each time we prayed I would tell him there is nothing that he can not tell God, that God loves him so much he’s just happy to talk with him. Now I will hear him talking in his bed before falling asleep at night and the next morning he’ll tell me he was talking to God all night long.

Rest. While practicing the Sabbath for some families is incredibly difficult (this is one that we have done and are trying to do again and each week we struggle at some point in the day), allotting time each week to spend together as a family encourages children to understand the resting aspect of the Sabbath. To stop moving at such a fast pace and enjoy being together as a family. This specific time can then spread into talking about or partaking in other spiritual disciplines.

Practicing the spiritual disciplines can transform your own walk with the Lord, but it can have far-reaching effects in the lives of your children. What a blessing it is for them to know how their parents strive to seek God, but also that you are teaching them how to do the same. To learn more about the spiritual disciplines, check out this encouraging and informative message by my husband. Of course I am partial, but it has some great information and counsel in it as well.

photo by melodramababs

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, everyone!  I have not one lick of Irish in me, but green is my favorite color, and I love the story of the real Saint Patrick, so let’s celebrate!

First of all, you need to know the story of the real Saint Patrick.  I’m sad to say I did not know a thing until I watched Lutfi’s Fanciful Flannelgraph from the VeggieTales – Sumo Of The Opera DVD.  I love Lufti and his little flannelgraph – you need to see this!  It gives you a nice synopsis of Saint Patrick’s story in about 5 entertaining minutes that you and your kids will love!

Once you see it, go grab some paint and some potatoes, because we’re going to make shamrock potato stamps that will help illustrate the Trinity for our children – the same way Saint Patrick used shamrocks to illustrate the Trinity to the Irish.

Using a pencil, outline a shamrock shape (3 leaves only for the illustration!  a 4 leaf clover won’t do!) onto half of a cut potato.  Then use a paring knife to carefully carve away the outline – I only cut about a quarter of an inch away below the design, and it was plenty.  Give the kids some paper, some paint, and let them stamp away.

Did you know that Saint Patrick used to be associated with the color blue?  Since blue’s a favorite in our house, we used it as well as the traditional green.

As the boys stamped, I sang a simple little song that I remember from way back – sung to the tune of “Are You Sleeping”/”Frere Jacques”:

By the time we finished stamping, Elias was singing along with me.  I used the shamrock to show him how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three different things, like the leaves on the shamrock, but they are all a part of the one God, like the whole shamrock.

What a wonderful example Saint Patrick has given us – not only the illustration of the shamrock for the Trinity, but also of his heart for those who do not know the Lord!  I pray that we all might follow his example.

How about you – are you and your kids doing anything fun this Saint Patrick’s Day?

Disclaimer:  I am a part of Amazon.com’s affiliate program, so if you purchase items from Amazon.comthrough the links in this post, I will receive a small affiliate payment at no additional cost to you.

Submitted to We are THAT Family’s Work For Me Wednesday!

God wants us to be Nature Lovers, enjoying His creation. Genesis 1:25 is in the middle of the creation story, and it says, “God made all kinds of wild animals and livestock.  He made all kinds of animals that move along the ground.  And God saw that it was good.”

Of course He wants us to love nature!  And who wouldn’t be a nature lover?  His creation is amazing – full of beauty and splendor, power and mystery.  When I saw this on the Christian Characteristic Traits list that we’re working through, it seemed like a no-brainer.

Except… I have a hard time loving nature at times (late summer comes to mind).  And spring is actually my least favorite time in nature right now.  Isn’t that backwards?  The entire world is bursting forth with new life and beauty, and I prefer to drive through it with my windows up tight.  Because spring in our house = asthma.  All of that yellow pollen swirling around and… pollenating… things causes allergic reactions in my son and brings on weeks of asthma-related breathing problems.

So even setting aside my aversion to all things buggy and my intense dislike of heat, I still want to hole up in my house during the most glorious time of the year to be out in nature.  We are working on some different things that could help change that for us this year, but how do I instill a love of nature in my children when we can’t be outside?

We bring the outside in.  Meet Winnie.

A little duck-thingie purchased on rock-bottom sale in the middle of deep winter – is bringing some of the outside in… cultivating a love of growing things (I hope!)… getting us excited for a spring we may or may not be able to spend a lot of time enjoying outside.  But even if we learn about God’s creation from the “safety” of our pollen-free home, we are still learning to love it and take care of it.

You can make a little grass-seed-head yourself with some potting soil, grass seeds, and some old pantyhose.  Beak and googly eyes are optional.  Place seeds in a portion of pantyhose and cover with soil, tying the  pantyhose shut with a knot.  Leave a length of the pantyhose attached under the knot, to help wick water up into your grass-head-thingy.  The place where the seeds are will become the top of the head of your… creature. Soak the ball of dirt and seeds in a cup of water until soaked through, and place in a small cup/vase of water with the wick-end down, grass seed end up.  Cover for a week with a plastic container (helps create humidity and warmth so seeds will germinate and start to grow).  Peeking is allowed during this time, but be sure to keep it covered when the peeking is done.

In about a week, you will see your first grassy hairs poking through.  And in another week… well, you’ll get something like this:

Poor Winnie, with the sparse hair.  I think he’s the only duck out there with a uni-brow (see the single blade of grass growing up between his eyes?).  Elias and Donovan will be able to give him a hair cut soon, just to get the ends evened up, I think.  He still needs some time to grow and fill in before we do any big styling changes.

So even if weather (the never-ending winter!) or allergies won’t let you outside to enjoy nature, you can bring a bit of God’s creation in to your kids.

Please share… do you have any special ways to help your kids learn to love nature without leaving your house?

My husband was out of town for three days this week. He went skiing with some of his family and friends. It wasn’t that hard on me. I like alone time, my kids go to bed early and the kids were exceptionally well-behaved. But when they heard Daddy open the front door, it was an all out stampede.

They jumped into his arms giggling, chattering and kissing and hugging.

I just said hello, grabbed my camera and started memorizing.

I am so thankful that God put two daddies in my life (my daddy and my husband) to show me and my children a small glimmer of what God the Father is like.

And I’m so thankful to our Heavenly Father who lavishes us with love.

How great is the love the Father has given us so freely!
Now we can be called children of God. 1 John 3:1

So you are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since you are his children,
he has made you also heirs. Galatians 4:7

A father is tender and kind to his children. Psalm 103:13

Magnet Painting at Let’s Explore {every single post on this blog is fun and creative!}

Lord Have Mercy from the Other Mama {the funniest craft gone wrong story ever!}

Somebody Wants What You Have by Amy at The Finer Things {beautiful and hard-hitting!}

How to Homeschool with a Baby or a Toddler (and Enjoy It!) at Simple Homeschool {useful for any of us with little ones}

Homeschool Calendar and Morning Board with Homeschool Creations {you can adapt this to teach anything you want!  I love the Bible verse section!}

Please go read about Kristen’s life changing journey to Kenya with Compassion International, and then see how you can change a life, too.

Sponsored Child Lapbook by 1+1+1=1 {after reading all the Kenya trip reports from the Compassion bloggers, I am SO doing this for our kids!}

:: :: ::

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the winner of the Alphabet Crafts ebook is…{drumroll please}

JOLLY JOEY!

If you are not Jolly Joey, head over to No Time For Flash Cards‘ and download your own ebook. It’s only $8 and full of fun stuff for your kids!

A few months ago I picked up a picture book/CD combo at our library. It’s one of those follow-along-and-turn-the-page-when-you-hear-the-tone-things. There were only a few CDs to choose from (most of them were tapes. remember those?) so I randomly picked up Imogene’s Antlers by David Small.

We hunkered down in the car to drive home, popped the CD in and were MESMERIZED. The book tells the story of a cute little girl who wakes up with antlers on her head. Her family is completely freaked out but she rather enjoys them. It is hilarious and has adorable illustrations. The kind you want to look at for several minutes—they add such depth to the story.

We listened to Imogene’s Antlers about 25 times before we returned it. I finally bought it for my daughter, Lydia for Christmas. She was disappointed that the CD didn’t come with the book. I am apparently not as entertaining of a reader. Hmph.

A few weeks later, I found another CD/book combo called The Journeyby Sarah Stewart. It is the sweetest story of an Amish girl who travels to Chicago for a special vacation. Her trip is shared through entries in her diary. She falls in love with the city but still has a longing for home. As soon as we pulled into the garage after listening to it, I made Lydia hand me the book so I could flip through the pictures. It is just LOVELY.

As I was looking at The Journey’s cover, I realized it was illustrated by David Small. The same man who wrote Imogene’s Antlers. How fun! That made me like The Journey even more!

{Let’s keep going because the story is just getting started…}

Last week I picked up yet another CD/book combo called The Gardener. I didn’t even read the back. I just liked the picture on the front and it wasn’t a casette tape. We pop it in the CD player immediately.  It reminds me a lot of The Journey. The story is told via letters written by the main character. She’s a young girl who has to leave her family’s farm to help in her uncle’s bakery in the city. It’s during the Great Depression, so it’s got a sad undercurrent to it. But it’s also upbeat and positive. At the end of the first letter, the little girl signs her name, “Lydia Grace.” Well, my daughter could not contain herself! She thought this book was written just for her! A book! With her own name?!!

Lydia listened enraptured on the way home. Then we took the book inside to read it again and look at the pictures. Well, lo and behold, who wrote the book? Sarah Stewart. And the illustrator? David Small. Apparently I am drawn to them like flies on butter!

Let’s fast forward to this morning. We go to storytime at the library. Which we rarely do because they are always during my son’s naps. But today, it was raining for the third day in a row and I had to get out of the house. Anyway, I picked up Not a Box. Lydia grabbed The Way Mothers Areand I Love It When You Smile. She also snapped up a kids’ book by Danielle Steel. I thought that was a little odd, so I set it down and snatched  another book off that same shelf called, The Library.”Oh, look, Lydia! It’s illustrated by the same guy who did Imogene’s Antlers!” BIG SURPRISE.

We read the book as soon as we got home and loved it. It’s a delightful story about a girl who loves to read. Like really really loves to read. She collects so many books that they take over her house. So, she…well. If you’re a bibliophile, it’s a must read.

After these four “random” selections of David Small, I had to do some googling! David Small is married to Sarah Stewart. They have written five books together (that means I need to find two more!!). David has written seven. He has illustrated over twenty. I’m officially smitten with him (and her). I am now on a mission to read any and everything they’ve touched!

You will fall in love with all the books I mentioned above. They are sweet, full tales that leave you wistful for the time and setting. The illustrations only add to the story. Please check them out right away! (And hey, don’t forget to look for those CD/book combos. So fun!)

You’ve got one more day to win No Time For Flash Card’s new ebook, Alphabet Crafts!

For more fun book suggestions, click over to Feed Me Books Friday and What My Child Is Reading! And check out more great stuff at the Other Mama’s Friday Favorites, Amy’s Finer Things Friday and Simply Sweet Home’s Friday Favorites.

I subscribe to Family Fun magazine. And love it. I read each page with oh-my-goodness-why-didn’t-i-think-of-that and always say, “We are SO going to do that.” And then we never do. So. I have decided to challenge myself to do at least one craft or activity from Family Fun every month.

Today we made this adorable Curly Bird. I wouldn’t say it was exactly a quick craft as we had to measure each piece of paper before we rolled it. But it turned out so cute that Lydia has been making nests and food for her new little pet. She wants to make a whole flock.

Plus, our little curly bird is a good reminder that God has his eye on the tiny sparrow and each one of us, too!

“Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing it.  He even counts every hair on your head! So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

PS: Don’t forget about our Alphabet Crafts ebook giveaway!!

When I first started Impress Your Kids it was because of a little blog I found called No Time For Flashcards. When I say little, of course, I mean HUGE and AMAZING. Allison, the author is an amazingly creative insightful mama who uses crafts to teach her son the alphabet and more. I got to meet and chat with Allison at Blissdom and fell even more in love with her!

This week Allie released her first ebook: Alphabet Crafts.

Don’t you love it already? Each letter has it’s own craft that kinda reminds me of The Letter People. (Remember them?) Each craft is made out of EASY materials, nothing crazy you need to buy or learn to use. (This is important to me. I am not as crafty as I look…)

Lydia and I looked at every single craft and she decided we needed to do the V vase.

Is that the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?! Lydia had such a fun time. We talked about colors, “v” words, our “v” verse, flowers, long and short stems and more! Every letter in the book is like this: a really great craft that shows the sound, the word and the letter.

You can get your own copy of Alphabet Crafts for a mere $8 by going to No Tme For Flash Cards. {Please do! You will love it!} Or you can win one here! Allie has generously offered up a copy for one of our readers! If you’d like to win a copy of Alphabet Crafts…

Leave a comment telling me a descriptive word starting with the first letter of your name (ie. Amazing Amanda!)

If you’d like an additional entry, leave a separate comment if you:

1. Subscribe (or be a subscriber) to Impress Your Kids.

2. Tweet the following: I wanna win @NoFlashCards’ new “Alphabet Crafts” ebook from @impressyourkids! http://wp.me/pw8ov-H4

3. Share this post on your facebook/tumblr/blog/sampler.

I’ll announce the winner on our fyi@iyk post this Saturday! Thanks again to Allison from No Time For Flash Cards. Please read her blog, follow her on twitter–you’ll love her, I promise!

No disclosure necessary because I bought my own Alphabet Crafts ebook. I asked Allison if she would like to give one away on our blog. I just wanted to spread the love for her!

The snow is gone and spring is teasing us with upper 60 degree temps and sweetly singing birds. Yesterday I took the kids to the park for a picnic and good spin around the playground. We were there for at least 2 hours. When it was almost time to go I gave Lydia ample warning: “We’ll be leaving in ten minutes.” and then, “Lydia, you can go down the slide two more times and then we’re leaving.” She was in the middle of playing with a new friend and did NOT want to leave. She walked up to me with a pouty look on her face. I bent down and said, “Lydia. What is Philippians 2:14?”

She said (slightly begrudgingly), “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” (<–I want to remember that voice forever!)

I replied, “OK. That means ‘leave the park without complaining or arguing.’ Now, go finish swinging and then say good-bye to your friend.”

She walked back to her friend, pushed the swing once or twice and when I said, “OK, let’s go!” She skipped happily to me and the car.

I kid you not.

I didn’t say anything right away. I got everyone buckled in, rolled down the windows and started driving. Then I said, “Lydia, do you know what happened back there? You wanted to disobey. But when you said God’s Word, your spirit got stronger! And you obeyed! How does that feel?”

Lydia: “Yaaaay! I was obedient! I love being obedient!! Yaaay!” (complete with leg kicks and squeals)

Again, I kid you not.

In these moments (which are not everyday, of course), I can almost see and feel that God’s Word is literally a sword. I can see how God’s Word is living and active! I’ve noticed on the days where I don’t remind Lydia of scripture and we don’t talk about God’s Word, that we all have a rougher day. Neither of us are easy to please. But when I take the first step and keep us BOTH in line with God’s Word, her actions respond to it. I can SEE the seeds of God’s Word growing in her life!

This is what God meant in Deuteronomy when he told us to talk about His commandments when we walk along the road and when we lay down and get up. We need a constant flow of conversation revolving around God’s Word.

Another thing that’s been helping us keep God’s Word at the forefront is books. (Remember Grandma’s Attic?) Well, I found two more short books about obedience that you might like. If I’m too upset to have a normal conversation, I like to pull these out at bed and naptimes. They are easy conversation starters on a child’s level.

Mommy, May I Hug the Fish?by Crystal Bowman

A little boy goes through his day with the constant question, “Mommy, May I…?” Sometimes she says yes and sometimes she says no. It’s a good book that reminds kids to not only ask before they act, but to obey.

Don’t Do That, Dexter by Jodee McConnaughhay

This book is a little more to the heart of the matter. Dexter is an imaginative, rambunctious little boy who disregards his parents warnings and then gets hurt or in trouble as a result. The best part of this book is that every page has a refrain, “Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.” (Ephesians 6:1). So, Lydia has inadvertantly memorized that scripture.

This book is apparently not in print anymore but it looks like you can buy it for ONE PENNY from Amazon. So. Yeah. Buy it.

How do you keep God’s Word in the middle of your kids’ day?

photo by godogo

I’ve shared with you before about Alizeta and David, our children we sponsor through Compassion. It has been a significant experience having these children in our life. Their pictures are up in our play area. We write them letters, make them crafts and pray for them. I want my children to know and love others outside of their world. I want David and Alizeta to know and love Jesus –and to see them released from poverty and it’s mindset. My husband and I have promised Lydia that one day we will go to Burkina Faso where they live and visit them. One day it will happen.

Right now there are bloggers in Kenya with Compassion meeting their sponsored kids and seeing how Compassion works in the churches and communities there. I have been following their tweetstream and reading all their blog posts. And I am in tears. If you click on the links above you will be led to several blogs. If that’s too overwhelming start with these two posts:

A Father to the Fatherless by Brad Ruggles

Sight for the Blind by Shaun Groves

I promise you will not be the same. Please immerse yourself in their stories and consider how you can change the life of a girl or boy in Kenya, too.

photo by compassion bloggers