Activity Box: A Solution to "Mom, I'm Bored!"

If you have kids, at least once a day they are looking for something to do.  I have been blessed with many toys, books, games and activities for the kids to enjoy right around our house. Unfortunately, it's hard for me to remember at the drop of the hat. Maybe it's left over pregnancy brain, maybe it's because I'm usually right in the middle of something, or maybe it's just me!!!  Whatever the cause, I still ned a quick fix when one of my children comes to me requesting a movie or playing on the iPad. They know better than to tell me they're bored.

I use old Valentines' Day boxes.  They are really cheap after Valentine's Day.  You could use an old shoebox that you decorate or even a jar.  The point is get something that holds stuff :)  I cut index cards in half and wrote on them. 

An aspect I enjoy is making sure they don't get to sort through to find the things they want to do, but that they just reach in and grab one.  I do have a couple of chores mixed in to keep things interesting. Then whatever they pull out they have to do. No questions asked.

Being very specific is better. For example, I wouldn't write PLAY. I would write JUMP ON THE TRAMPOLINE. I don't include things that they always ask to do like playing on the iPad or watching a movie. These are things that you have around around your house, but you forget about them.

I prefer to make them things that they can do without me, so I don't include things like PAINT. 

Here are some of the cards we have:

1. Read

2. Dust

3. Play Hungry Hippos

4. Knit

5. Mazes

6. School Workbooks

7. Play with sibling

8. Review Multiplication Tables 7, 8

9. Cross Stitch

10. Puzzle

11. Pick a Folder Game

12. Play Dough

13. Wipe the bathroom sink

14. Play with Legos

Let me know how you tweaked the Activity Box to work for you, and what you put on your cards!!

~Julia  

Mommy Wars: A Response to Amy Glass

This is a response to the Amy Glass post titled "I Look Down on Young Women with Husbands and Kids and I'm Not Sorry" found here.

Dear Amy,

I was just apprised of your perspective on SAHM's. I read your thoughts. Here are some of mine.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Finance at the age of 19. I worked in Banking for four years until I purchased and built a National Franchise with my husband for the next four. I ran the sales side of the business, which had an annual revenue of over $1,000,000. I received a $1300 a month allowance to lease the Mercedes Benz of my choice as a result of my accomplishments from our Franchise Headquarters. After we had our first child, it became apparent to me exactly what you said, "The dominate cultural voice will tell you these are things you can do with a husband and kids, but as I've written before, that's a lie. It’s just not reality. You will never have the time, energy, freedom or mobility to be exceptional if you have a husband and kids."

I agree that I could not do both well because of the demands of that role and because I missed my daughter. I wanted to be able to be with her when she was sick or when she said her first words. All of the material possessions that our culture tells us are "must haves" or will give us our feeling of self-worth were not as important to me as she was/is. 

You talk about major accomplishments. I can tell you that all the sales goals that I hit were immediately forgotten the next month when the new goals rolled out. My children however will be greatly influenced by my everyday actions and will be remembered long into the future. The way that I do the laundry. Do I complain when they wipe their nose on me, or do I quietly teach them to blow their nose? Do I help them resolve conflict or just yell at them and tell them they need to figure it out? I want them to learn to love God and treat others the way Christ would. I am the best teacher for that job.

Our perspectives and priorities are different and that's ok. I would ask you to consider that you do not have to climb over others to be or feel successful. The core of your article seems to assign value to humans based on what you think is valuable. We can be happy for other women and rejoice with those who rejoice when the are having a baby and throw them a shower. If you want to throw someone a party for another occasion, DO IT!! Celebrate!! 

I don't care about feminism. I don't need to push a cause. I need to make the best decisions I can with where I'm at. Do I miss getting paid monetarily well for what I do? Absolutely. Do I miss the mental challenge and adult interaction? Absolutely. Do I miss getting to leave work and be done with work? Absolutely. But, I chose to get married and have children, and I am choosing to put the same energy and dedication into this job that I would if I were getting paid $200,000 a year to reach sales goals. You may not make the same decision. Again, that's ok.

As my children grow, and when my children graduate from high school and college, they can look back and understand what I "sacrificed" to be with them. I loved them so much I wanted to be with them. Not because I couldn't figure out how to have a "real accomplishment", but because I chose to make them my accomplishment for this time of my life. It's not wrong, it's just different.

One day I hope that my children will arise and call me blessed (Proverbs 31:28). ~Julia

Ken Ham Debates Bill Nye the Science Guy

When I was in 8th grade, my family moved to Cedarville, OH. I attended public school, and I was aware that my science teacher believed in Evolution.  I found a T-Shirt and bought it on my own that said, "I believe in the big bang. God spoke and bang it was." One day during vocabulary review, my teacher called out, "You, you Christian." I started to read the answer at the exact same time that another boy in the class, Nathan Christian, began to read the answer.  Whoops! I didn't know his last name at the time, but I was quickly told by those around me who heard me start to answer. I was willing to take a stand for Creationism and God. Today, Ken Ham is being called to do take a very public stand on February 4, 2014.

Bill Nye is going to debate Ken Ham at the Creation Museum in Kentucky. The topic is, "Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins In Today's Modern Scientific Era."

Having been to the museum twice myself, I can attest to the fact Ken Ham focuses on how important verifying the book of Genesis is. Without holding to a literal seven day creation doctrine, one is cracking the very foundation of the Bible. It's tantamount to blowing holes in the bottom of the Ark and expecting it to float.

With that being said, Ken has done extensive research regarding kids who are raised in the church and are also taught evolution without any valid scientific support for creation. The result is many end up leaving the church. His book, Already Gone, details those findings.

In order to help children see how much scientific evidence is available that supports a Creationism Worldview, the Creation Museum is allowing children free admission into the Creation Museum with a paying adult for the entire 2014 year.

Here's what Ken Ham has to say about the upcoming debate on his website. 

“This year, our AiG theme is ‘Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids.’ Having the opportunity to hold a cordial but spirited debate with such a well-known personality who is admired by so many young people will help bring the creation/evolution issue to the attention of many more people, including youngsters.”

Ham added, “I hope to show Mr. Nye and our debate audience that observational science confirms the scientific accuracy of the Genesis account of origins, not evolution.”

You can find more of the original article here.

Here's an article I did in response to Bill Nye last year:

Bill Nye, popular as The Science Guy, has come out with a YouTube Video saying, "Denial of evolution is unique to the United States." 

"In another couple centuries I'm sure that worldview won't even exist. There's no evidence for it. "

~Julia

Teaching Colors to your Pre-K Child

Our oldest children get to be our guinea pigs. With Natalie I tried to teach her colors by only pointing out the colors that were red. That backfired in a big way and it took her a long time to understand there were more color names than red. Ooops.  So, with our additional children, I have used color boxes. I take a box, you could use a generic box, and then we walk around the house looking for things that have the color of the day on them. If it does not fit in the box, they can just touch it. Bob Jones PreSchool Material, Footsteps for Fours, has a fun, "we are going on a color hunt," song.

Use this fun way to teach your kids their colors.  Your other kids will want in on the action, too. They can either take turns finding orange, or you can let them come and sing along, but let them know it's your other child's school.

Make Your Own Paper {Video}

Grandma Deb is at it again. She tackles projects that I wouldn't dream of doing on my own, but I know many of you are adventurous, and/or willing to do this with a friend :)  Creating your own paper is a great learning project for your kids. It especially ties in well with a study on Egypt, since they were the first to invent paper. ~Julia