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.

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

Let’s join in the DIFO Project #3 World’s Largest NERF Party! {I’m going to look for some more age-appropriate Nerf Toys that my boys can use to join in the fun!}

Valentine’s Day is for the Birds at Today’s Housewife {really late for Valentine’s Day – but you could use any shape for these fun bird seed biscuits!}

Rag Bracelet…all grown up! from It’s a HodgePodge Life {something fun for us moms!}

Creamy Tomato Soup with Asiago Croutons from A Virtuous Woman {I just had to share this – yum!}

At the Heart of Homeschooling from Simple Homeschool {a wonderful, centering post for those who homeschool/are thinking about it}

Easy Recipes for Natural Homemade Cleaners from Simple Organics

Our Imperishable Wreath by Tsh at (In)Courage {Tsh was also inspired by the Olympics this week!}

Have you found Positive Parenting 365 yet? {I went back and read all the posts I missed from the beginning of the year – fabulous!}

Photo from We Are THAT Family

The other night I was racking my brain to find a story that would help Lydia (and me) with these behavior problems. Out of all the books on our bookshelves we had to have one that was about disobedience–being respectful–honoring your parents or something! There was nothing at first glance. Then I suddenly remembered a story from when I was a kid–about a little girl in prairie times. She wanted to wear a hoop skirt but her mom wouldn’t let her. So, she lied and came up with a way to walk to church alone, wearing a hoop skirt. Little did she know that hoop skirts are very difficult to sit down with if you’ve never done it. (Think about it…) Needless to say, she learned that pride comes before a fall!

So, the book? It’s called In Grandmas Attic by Arleta Richardson. It’s full of short stories (2-3 pages) about Mabel, a little girl growing up in the time of log cabins, water pumps, horse drawn buggies and hoop skirts. The stories are told from the perspective of Mabel’s granddaughter who finds buttons, quilt squares and other items that jog her grandmother’s memory. I dug mine out of our bookshelf (next to my Mandie books and Betsy-Tacy books) and we started reading one chapter before naps and bedtime.

Lydia loves every single story. Sometimes it’s a silly tale like when Mable gets her tongue stuck on the frosty metal water pump. Or serious like when Mabel hides the dirty dishes so she can go outside to play. But in every story, Mabel learns a lesson—usually in obedience, pride or self-control.

I love reading them because not only are they true stories with a great historical lesson, they are beautiful teachable moments and springboards for conversations. It makes me very disappointed that not more of the kids’ books from the Christian publishers are about real life problems and heart issues. It seems like most of the books in the Christian bookstores are just watered down Bible stories (with one exception, of course). And if there is a moral tale it’s more like a Saturday morning cartoon–loving your neighbor and saying kind words. This is exactly why I love our blog! I think many parents don’t know (or believe) they can actually STEER their child’s heart toward God. I don’t think most people realize they have the ability (and mandate) to help their kids OBEY God’s Word.

{gingerly stepping off soapbox}

So, I was so pleased to pick this book up again, dust it off and share it with Lydia. She’s been able to see a real life girl (because these are all true stories) learn to obey her parents, think of her brothers first and follow God’s Word in everything. I highly recommend this book (or any in this series) your child will love them! And so will you!

Printable Paper Dolls from How About Orange {pictured above}

Weekend Make and Takes: Valentines from Make and Takes {shees, I haven’t even done ONE Valentine’s Day thing yet!}

Made by You at Skip to My Lou {a fun Valentine’’s Day Link Up!}

Feed Me Books Friday at The Adventure of Motherhood {a fun kids’ book link up!}

Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple {yet another fun link up–this one’s about anything cool you’ve made!}

Today Asa pulled a blanked into the bathroom as I was brushing Lydia’s teeth. She thought this was quite funny and said, “Mommy! How does a blanket get into a bathroom if no one is carrying it?”

Me: I don’t know.

Lydia: It rides on top of someone! *bursts into laughter*

This hilarious joke began a whole slew of jokes following this same formula. “How does a panda get into a closet if no one is carrying him…how does a chicken get into a store…how does a cow get into a farm?” She giggled and guffawed for twenty minutes.

I honestly was hoping she’d never discover jokes because for whatever reason kids LOVE to make up jokes. And repeat them. Over and over again. But this joke was actually kind of (KIND OF) funny because she got it from a book called Miss Hunnicutt’s Hat.

My friend Becky bought me this book at her school’s book fair because Hunnicutt is my maiden name (TMI for the internet? Oh well, it’s on my facebook page…). And lucky for us, it turns out to be an adorable book regardless of the name! The illustrations are whimsical, funny and very detailed—you could look at them for days!

The story is what sparked my Lydia’s funny bone: Miss Hunnicutt is just a normal woman who decides to be very UN-normal one day. On the day the Queen is to visit her little town of Littleton, Miss Hunnicutt decides to wear a chicken on her hat. It causes quite a fuss as the entire town thinks she should remove it before the Queen comes to visit. Hilarity ensues as Miss Hunnicutt stands her ground. But what happens when the Queen stops to look at Miss Hunnicutt’s hat?

We haven’t read the book in months, so today when I got to the final page, Lydia laughed out loud at the ending! She thought it was hilarious. And it was still on her mind a few minutes later when she made up her “it rides on top of someone” punchline. Thanks to Miss Hunnicutt for letting her chickens ride on her head!

He will fill your mouth with laughter. Shouts of joy will come from your lips. Job 8:22

PS: I found this cute online joke booklet from Clubhouse Magazine. In case you want your kids to know some actual jokes: Lots O’ Laughs.

photo by malenga

The Importance of Reading To Your Children at Simple Homeschool

The EB White Read Aloud Awards {such a great list of books!}

The Grow So Fast? by Scribbit {a really thoughtful post about kids growin up too fast…and not fast enough}

Birthday Book Box and Birthday Books by Silly Eagle Books {the best birthday idea ever!}

Say hello to Vanessa from Silly Eagle Books! She is a former editor turned cool stay-at-home mom. This is the first of many posts by Vanessa as she will be a regular contributor to Impress Your Kids! I am so excited for you to get to know her and her blog. She is one of my in-real-life friends and I love her! ~Amanda

Because I love books, I find it easy to share them with my two-year old daughter, Juliet. I’m drawn to beautiful stories and well-written tales. And while my love for books has nothing to do with what I can get out of them, I have to admit that I do use them in my journey to impress my kid.

As a parent, I have so many goals in regards to my daughter. I want her to know right from wrong, to love and respect others, to appreciate and be grateful for what she has been blessed with, to think for herself, and to glorify God with her life, just to name a few. Sometimes it is overwhelming to me–how will I ever get all those important lessons in?

Because books are such a central part of our family routine, they have become my main tool in teaching my daughter. I look for books that support the values and truths that I am trying to impress upon her heart, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I look for “Christian” books. In fact, aside from Bibles, I have relatively few Christian books in our home library. And although the books we read do not necessarily have Bible verses on every other page, they do speak the truths I am trying to teach her in a powerful and beautiful way.

When Amanda asked me to write a post about how I use books to teach my daughter, I thought, “Sure, no problem.” But then when I got home and tried to capture my method on paper, I felt a little stumped. How exactly do I use these incredible books? The answer came to me as I was reading Gossie by Olivier Dunrea with Juliet one afternoon.

The story begins, “This is Gossie. Gossie is a gosling. A small yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots. Every day.” The story continues with Gossie wearing her boots when she eats, when she sleeps, when she rides, when she hides, etc. She wears them all the time, every day, until one morning when the boots are missing. She looks everywhere and is heartbroken until she suddenly spies her red boots walking towards her on the feet of her friend Gertie.

Gertie smiles at Gossie and says, “Great boots!” as she hands them over. The next page shows Gossie and Gertie swimming in the pond together and the text reads, “Gossie is a gosling. A small yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots.” We turned the page to see Gossie and Gertie walking through the grass each wearing ONE boot and read the words, “Almost every day.” I smiled as I read the ending of this story we had read countless times over the past year and began to close the book and put it down without another thought, when Juliet said to me, “That’s nice, Mama! She shared!”

And that’s when it hit me. The stories I choose for my daughter are reinforcing the lessons and truths I am pouring into her life every day, and they are doing it without lecturing or even using specific words like “share.” Through simple stories and characters, they are modeling what it means to share, to love, to forgive, etc., and giving my abstract words concrete feet to stand on.

With this new insight, I began looking through our bookshelves to see what other patterns might emerge. Aside from numerous stories with positive, moral, or uplifting themes like sharing, helping, loving, etc, I also discovered a few other kinds of books that help me instill God’s heart into my child’s. I found books that feature characters who model good behavior by making good choices, speaking respectfully to others (especially parents), and treating others the way they would want to be treated.

I noticed that I collect books that celebrate things God values (other than morals) like family, friendship, creativity, and hospitality, and I also discovered a large number of nature-themed books that instill a sense of wonder and appreciation for creation. If I stopped and thought about it for a second, I found that every book on our shelves was a valuable tool in helping me teach my daughter.

I think that choosing good books is something all of us do instinctively as parents. We might not be consciously thinking, “I need to get a good book on sharing.” but we end up doing it anyways. Now that I am aware of what I have been doing all along, I hope to take advantage of more teachable moments that lead to discussions like the one we had after reading Gossie. Or maybe I’ll just let the books continue to speak for themselves.

What about you? What books do you read with your children that model truth or celebrate the things God values? What books have opened discussion opportunities with your children? Leave a comment and let us know!

The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness has been…well, kind to us. We’ve had a lot of fun with this one and been able to talk about it a lot. Kindness is one of the easiest ones to measure and act on –especially for a 3 year old with a 1 year old brother! Here’s a few more activities we’ve done this past week and few more we haven’t done—but I think would be super fun!

Bible Story

Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). I just realized this story may have been even better for GOODNESS! Oh well, the point here is the same—a man is kind to someone different than him.  Lydia has just now started noticing differences in people’s skin and styles, so she didn’t quite get the full depth of this story. We read it in about 3 different Bible story books. Her favorite was from the See With Me Bible. It’s the Bible told in pictures. And the pictures are brilliant. Lydia will look at all 350 pages in one sitting. Speaking of which…

Books

I was looking up ORANGE books on Amazon and found this cute book about a bear, Orange Pear Apple Bear. The whole book only has five words in it. They are just rearranged depending on what Bear is doing with his fruit. This would actually be a great one for any time during the Fruit of the Spirit. I’m going to try to check it out at the library.

I went to the Family Bookstore yesterday to scope out their Holiday books (found nothing interesting!) but while I was browsing through the kids’ section, a title caught my eye: Lyle the Kindly Viking! I had forgotten there’s a Veggie Tales DVD of the same title! We even have it at home. This was the Little Golden Book edition. The book is really more about sharing, but I think that is a valid aspect of being kind. And a very tangible one!

Snacks

Jello Jigglers. Here’s another great anytime snack for the Fruit of the Spirit. In fact, you know what I would love to do? Find some cookie cutters in the shape of fruit (uhm, like these!). Then make several different flavors of jello jigglers, cut them out and have some jiggly Fruit of the Spirit!

We made orange jigglers this week–and I don’t think my daughter has ever had jello! She thought it was the best thing ever. We used some Christmas cookie cutters—so we made presents and gingerbread men to remind us to be kind by giving gifts to people. How’s that for creative?!

Movies

After I got the book, we of course, had to watch Veggie Tales’ Lyle the Kindly Viking. Lydia watched it after church with her Daddy. I tried to quiz her about it afterwards…she didn’t quite get it. I said, “Was Lyle kind? Did he share?” She said, “No. He just talked kind.”

*sigh*

Stay tuned this week for our next Fruit of the Spirit: LOVE!

We rarely go to McDonald’s. Ever since I saw Super Size Me I can’t swallow a Chicken McNugget to save my life. So, it makes me smile when Lydia calls it, “Old McDonald’s”. I’m loving that Lydia is so verbal–sometimes I forget she’s only 3. Until she busts out with one of those cute Lydia-isms.

Another one of my favorites is when she gets on her rocking horse or is going to run and she says, “I’m going to be fast as a LIGHTNING BUG!” Ahh, this makes me laugh every time.

This week, I experienced a new funny phrase from her. Asa is not walking yet but is crawling and climbing everywhere. A few days ago, he cleared off Lydia’s baby doll bed and crawled right in the middle of it. Lydia and I laughed and laughed as he sat and giggled on the bed. Finally Lydia shouted, “Asa! You are hilarious and hairy!” then fell on the floor laughing hysterically and even snorting a little.

I could not stop laughing and snickered the rest of the day. I could not figure out where she got that phrase, “hilarious and hairy”?!

Then yesterday I read Mem Fox’s Hello Baby!to Asa before bed. I bought this book for Asa’s birthday. It’s a sweet book that begins with the author asking, “Hello, baby. Who are you?” Then she introduces several fun animals and their unique qualities (like a gecko with a rolling eye). It ends by discovering that the baby is not an animal but instead, “my treasure”. The first time I read it, I thought, “Oh, this is cute.” But the more we read it, the more I like it. It’s a wonderful bedtime book because of the charming ending. Plus the illustrations are kind of Eric Carle-ish but more earthy and textured. It’s one of our new favorites.

Anyway, one of the animals in the book is a warthog—HILARIOUS and HAIRY. Lydia had been quoting the book to Asa! I asked her about it and she knew she was quoting the book, “That’s where I got it!” But I didn’t make the connection for days!

This really got me thinking about her little mind. She can memorize things in a second. She can remember everything I say on the phone to my husband. She can remember songs from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She can remember a phrase from a book and then use it in a conversation (even though it may not be quite the right fit!).

Am I saying things that are worthy of mimicking? Am I reading things to her that are worthy of imitation? Are we watching and listening to words that are worthy of memorization?

Lord, may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in your eyes. You are my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 NIrV