Crafting Play - Cultivating Learning

Hello everyone!  Today I'm guest blogging over at One Blessed Lady and sharing about how a few key props or costumes can really enhance learning through dramatic play!

Click on over to read!

I'll be back Friday morning with the next Daily Outdoor Challenge update! :)

How to Cultivate Read-Aloud Time

So you want to read aloud to your kids more...  You understand how important that can be...

Where, oh where do you start with growing those precious times of reading aloud to your kids?

Here are 5 ways to cultivate your read-aloud times!

1. Keep it Short, Do it Regularly
The key to making a habit of reading aloud to your kids is ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE!  If your kids are young, or you haven't done very much read aloud, you'll also want to keep those time periods short as you get started. 

Plan times into your day for just sitting down and reading. In our home we start the day on the couch and end the day reading to them in bed!    This is a great place to start.  From there you can add reading for longer periods as they grow to enjoy those special times!  During these hot summer months, we enjoy sitting around in our damp swimsuits, under the fan with a good book!

2. Plan Strategically for Books that Stretch Them
For books that might be a bit of a stretch for my boys, I'll read during lunch or at bedtime.  Lunch time reading has been especially beneficial as we've transitioned into reading more 'informational' books that don't have a story involved.  With tummies being filled, they were happy to listen  and ask questions.  The downer with this is that I end up scrambling for time later to wolf down some food.   So obviously, we don't do this all the time.  Chapter books at bedtime work beautifully because they are always looking for any excuse to stay up just a bit later and my younger one's don't mind the lack of pictures as much.  We love to hear 'just one more chapter, please!'

3. Go With Your Child's Interest
Picking books that your pique your child's interest is a great way to nurture the desire to read and be read to.  This is very important with a reluctant reader/listener when you are wanting to boost your read aloud time.  Does your child like horses?  Find some stories centered around horses.  Do your active little boys like battles?  Find some engaging picture books about knights or the revolutionary war.  Meet them where they are at and pull them into the beauty of reading.

4. Choose Well-Written, Beautifully Illustrated Read-Aloud Books
Never underestimate the power of a good picture book.  When I find one with beautiful illustrations and a captivating story line, we will enjoy it over and over again.  Picture books are not just for the really young.  A good picture book will delight any age.  While my kids enjoy the Froggy books, I can only handle them in {very} small doses.  The kids find that those kinds of books 'need' to be returned to the library quickly while the more interesting or creatively illustrated books tend to stick around much longer.  I'm always game for a Tomie dePaola book (like the one's I've mentioned here, here and here) or Robert McCloskey (written about here and here).  In the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing lists of my favorite authors/illustrators and some of our very favorite books!  In the meantime, I've enjoyed the book suggestions in Honey for a Child's Heart and at Simply Charlotte Mason (picture books or by grade level) if you are hankering for some good suggestions right now.


5. Pull in Books Relating to What You are Learning About
Much of our read aloud time is centered around interesting fiction books that relate to what we are learning about!  You can do this no matter what curriculum or educational approach you use and it really goes a long way in not only creating interest in reading, but increases interest in the subject at hand too!  If you check out my books-kids category, you'll find many examples where we've done just that!


How does read-aloud time work in your home?  Would you add anything to this list?  I enjoyed reading some of your ideas on the benefits of reading aloud and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 'how to' of this as well.

This little series on reading unofficially started with sharing about some of the little sweet rewards of reading and reliving some small portion of the story. Next we discussed some of the many benefits of read-aloud time.  I love talking books!  For the two or three weeks we'll be talking more about cultivating a love of reading for our children!

Nature Painting and the Daily Outdoors, Week 3

Well, we just finished week 3 of the Daily Outdoors Challenge!  Despite our soaring summer heat, it is my goal to spend at least 30 minutes outside WITH my children, playing and exploring God's beautiful creation.  Want to join in?  Blog about your goals and weekly outdoor adventures and link up below.  If you don't blog, feel free to leave a comment sharing some of what you did this week.  It is always so encouraging and inspiring to see what other families are doing.

I am loving our special time outdoors.  It is so calming and I love how it is giving us special moments to connect as a family!

Last Friday before my sister and her kids returned to Michigan, we had a last family dinner together at my parents house.

I decided to take a normal 'indoor' activity into the beautiful outdoors.  I love our water colors because they are a less messy way to paint.  But every once in a while I am brave enough to pull out the tempera paint. 

In keeping with our nature theme, I purposely left the paintbrushes at home.

I had several children following me as I brought the supplies outside, eagerly eyeing the paint and plying me with questions. They quickly noticed the lack of paintbrushes.  I told them they would have to hunt through God's creation in the backyard to find suitable replacements to try painting with.  After watching me pluck a leaf the kids set to work collecting an assortment of fallen or plucked objects and we set to work painting.

It was a beautiful way to enjoy the beauty of those twilight hours!

So here is what we did this week:

Friday
Using nature finds as our paintbrushes - exploring texture, patterns and technique while enjoying the evening breeze!
Saturday
Cleaning up the backyard with the boys in the morning and then an outdoor wedding that evening with my husband and Greta.  Everyone should attend a wedding on the eve of their own anniversary.  It makes you cry that much more! :)
Sunday
Soaking up the warmth mid-day.  As long as I'm not running around, I actually enjoy feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin.  We took out some of our compost and worked it into the little plot that I like to call my garden.  Someday I will rid myself of my black thumb streak.  Maybe this fall will be my moment of success!  Quality dirt has been one of my problems.
Monday

How many ways can we go down a slide?  The answer may surprise you.

I joined in the fun and tried flipping myself over on the balance bar.  It has been so very long since I mimicked a gymnast.  My head was spinning and I'm thinking that I will need to reacclimate myself to that kind of motion again.  It made me feel both old and yet young at the same time...

Tuesday
As a hard-core desert folk, we left to go peach picking again and join up with others at "Homeschool Day" at a local farm.  It was 100 degrees when we left a couple of hours later- hot, tired and out of water... {note to self, bring extra water next time}  With 23 pounds of fresh peaches we have visions of peach-vanilla jam, peach fuzzies and anything else peachy floating through our minds!

Wednesday
Saltwater sandals and foot races on concrete don't exactly go together.  The boys were thrilled that it slowed me down.  Tonight we staged foot races.  It felt so good to laugh and run with my boys.  Next time I will wear my running shoes.

Thursday
Tonight, we departed with basket in hand and collected Acacia seed pods and took turns leaping over newly pruned grassy bushes.  We've talked about how the flower to fruit/seed pod process and the boys had so much fun collecting, shaking and in-general inspecting nature's latest gifts!

Next week as temperatures continue to rise, we will need to be more intentional about getting out first thing and in the evening hours.  I'm thinking of setting a routine for our outdoor time so we make sure and keep making it a priority...

My only big problem right now is bugs.  I'm getting eaten alive.  What do all of you, espcially those in more 'bug heavy regions,' do about bug bites???

Would You Pray With Me?

I've mentioned my friend Amanda before here and here.  We met through our blogs a little over a year ago and then realized that we lived a mere 15 minutes away from each other...  Small world, isn't it?

For weeks, we have been trying to get together and map out our joint summer learning adventures. 
Today was to be that day.  And I DID get to see her, but not at my home with our children running crazy circles around us.  Today, I went to visit her in the hospital. 

My beautiful friend had a stroke on Sunday evening.  I didn't even know someone that young could have one... Half of her body was paralyzed. Life for the next few months is going to look a lot different for their family. 

I am sobered at how fragile life is and how quickly things can change.  I am also in awe at how God is at work here. Her mother wrote that she started playing worship music on Monday afternoon and as her back was turned she heard Amanda start to cry.  She turned to find Amanda with her one good arm raised in the air and tears streaming down her face - worshiping God. 

She is passionate - about God, her marriage, her children...  It is so clear that God's strength has invaded every part of her being and He is at work.

But I'm not going to lie to you.  Visiting her today was hard.  It reminded me to keep petitioning the Great Healer to touch her body, heal her and protect that little baby growing inside of her.

Would you join me in interceding for this precious family? 

For Amanda

• Relief from the intense headaches and nausea.
• That she would be able to keep food down and able to swallow again so they can remove the feeding tube. 
• That she would continue to regain movement of her limbs.
• Rest, sweet rest.
• Repair to any neural damage she may have sustained.
• Comfort and peace as only GOD can provide.

For Ben, her husband and Nancy, her mother

• Rest.  They've been going back and forth between the hospital and the kids.
• Strength for both.  Amanda has always spoken of Ben's strength.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen him as he takes care of his wife and kids.  Pray for strength for Nancy.  I was exhausted spending just a few days in the hospital when Xander had pneumonia last year.  I can't imagine a situation like this.
• Faith renewed, moment by moment.
• Supernatural wisdom as they make any decision they need to make.
• Comfort and peace

For her unborn baby.  She is 14 weeks along.  Baby is doing very well at this point which is a huge praise!

For her precious children as they deal with the absence of their mother and all of the changes right now.

For those she and her family comes in contact with.  While praying for God's healing work in her body, let's also pray for the eternal healing work in the hearts of those that she and her family meet during this trial. 

As I've been praying for her, the Holy Spirit laid Acts 3 on my heart where Peter and John heal the paralyzed man at the temple gate.  I love the kids song that recounts this passage of scripture.  The kids and I have been singing it constantly for the last two days.  God gave me this picture of Amanda walking, leaping and praising God - pregnant and all!  I can't wait to see this become a reality!

ETA: Amanda was moved to Rehab last night (5/24) which is a huge step in the right direction.  God is at work and it is a beautiful thing to behold.

Seven Benefits of Reading Aloud!

With summer here and summer reading programs starting up in full force soon, we get frequent reminders to read to our children.  Reading together is such an intimate activity that we get to do with our children.

But I'm a WHY person and sometimes it is good to have a reminder of WHY it is so important to read to our children!  Am I alone in this???

There are so many benefits to reading aloud.  One of the best gifts we can give our children is shared experiences with books!  The benefits are numerous and profound.  Let me share a few with you.

Reading aloud, EVERY.SINGLE.DAY, is so important because it:

1. Promotes Relational Intimacy
• There is something so special and intimate about curling up with your child/children to read a good book.  When tempers are short and we are on edge with one another, I frequently turn to reading aloud.  It is amazing how it calms everyone down and gets us to a place where we can address what is going on in our hearts.
2. Feeds the Imagination
• The imagination is a powerful tool in the learning process. Reading aloud feeds and nurtures this as everyone is transported from the couch into the story at hand.
3. Cultivates an Interest in Books
• There is something magical about sharing the joy of reading by communicating pleasure in the story.  This goes a long way in growing an interest in books.
4. Develops a Taste for a Variety of Good Literature
• As parents, we have a powerful opportunity to shape their taste for good books and a variety of different KINDS of books.  This can be key, especially as children get older when introducing them to literature that might not be something they are naturally drawn towards.
5. Increases Attention Spans
• Drawing them into the story helps to focus their attention for increasing lengths of time.  This not only helps with reading, but with many other areas of their lives.  This can be especially important for those really active children.  I've found that busy hands make for focused minds.  As such, I'll often give my boys paper to doodle on, play dough or pipe cleaners/wiki sticks.
6. Builds Phonemic Awareness
• Reading builds phonemic awareness and an understanding of the general cadence of our language.  Phonemic awareness is simply being aware of how sounds combine to make words.  This is such an important precursor and ongoing strengthener of reading skills.  Reading to our children introduces them to words and draws them into listening how they are put together. 
• An early childhood longitudinal study found that children who were read to at least three times a week had a significantly greater phonemic awareness.  Imagine the effect when we read to our children daily!
7. Builds Vocabulary
• Reading aloud is one of the most powerful ways to build our children's vocabulary.  The size of a child's vocabulary when they start formal academics is the single greatest predictor of school success or failure.  The words they know before this point determine how much of what is taught will be understood.
• Once they begin reading, personal vocabulary either feeds or frustrates comprehension.  And that leg-up in vocabulary will keep them at an advantage as material grows increasingly more complicated.
• Even as kids get older, research has revealed an increase in vocabulary acquisition by 15-40%.  So it is important to KEEP reading to our children, even after they can read on their own.

I'm just getting started...  I'll continue on with some tips on 'how' to help your children enjoy the read-aloud times more, talk about the importance of different types of books and anything else that comes up! 

Related Post: Cultivating Read-Aloud Time

We have a Winner!

Kim C., entry #270 is the winner of the Child Training Bible!  Congratulations!!!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed ours!

The Daily Outdoor Challenge, Week 2

So, I'm back for week two of the Daily Outdoors Challenge.  As I mentioned last week, my goal is to spend a minimum of 30 minutes outdoors with my children each day exploring and enjoying God's beautiful creation.  If you want to join us, simply make a goal for spending time outdoors with your family and post/link-up or comment about your adventures!

 

We had a fabulous time and although I didn't quite make my goal last week, we had such a wonderful time outdoors together.  I'm thankful that I'm taking the time to make sure that I join them outside as well.

Spending outdoors every day might take some forethought, but it certainly doesn't have to be complicated.  While this week we had more 'destination' outdoor adventures than normal, most often it is time spent in our own yard or neighborhood. 

So here is our Daily Outdoors Diary...

Saturday

Peaches, sweet peaches. We left early Saturday morning in search of succulent peaches at the Schnepf Farm's annual Peach Festival. I hate crowds, but it was still a delightful morning wandering the peach grove in search of ripe peaches, riding some carnival rides (4 out of 5 eligible cousins rode the little roller coaster this year) and enjoying the beautiful sunshine!

I think it is so adorable that each of these biplanes are named after a farming family in our area! 

Sunday

My parents backyard is a popular gathering spot on Sundays. They have trees to climb, toads to locate, a putting green, spiral staircase to the balcony and ready access to a faucet. Climbing, golf and water - what more could little boys ask for??? Greta and I enjoyed some patio time!

Monday

I hang my head in shame as I report that aside from running from my car to an air conditioned building and back to the car again (way too many times with four children on a hot day), we did NOT find time for outdoor adventures. I spoke at a wonderful MOPS group that morning that was on a beautiful campus. We should have stuck around there for a while, enjoying the beautiful desert landscape. Next week, I'll try and think through my schedule in advance and find time to squeeze in an outdoor adventure into those occasional crazy busy days.

Tuesday

My grand plans to have a cowboy meal (beans/rice) at the park didn't quite materialize. My hubby vetoed eating a hot meal outdoors when it was 109 outside. After I stepped out of my air conditioned home to ascertain the situation, I had to agree with him.

Instead, the boys and I went to the park in our neighborhood after Greta went down for the night {6pm bedtimes come in handy}. We took paper and our rock crayons and explored textures by doing some crayon rubbings.  Initially, we chose leaves that we found, but the boys quickly started doing rubbings of all different kinds of textures they could find. 

 

Wednesday

We are just soaking up everything my sister loves about Arizona while she is visiting.  She misses the sunshine and I think we've done a pretty good job at helping her soak it up!  Today we spent the morning at our 'The Lagoon' (aka my grandfather's community pool).  Greta had her second exposure to sand and LOVED it this time.  It was fun to watch her wiggle her toes and explore the new textures and sensations!

 

Thursday

Another several delightful hours were spent exploring our zoo. I've written before about why we go to the zoo so much.  I just love how we see new things each and every time we go.  The coati's gave us quite a treat this last time as they played possum and went into all kinds of crazy positions while sunning themselves.  We also discovered that Thursdays are 'bone days' for many of the animals and happened to be back by the wolves when they were thrown a bunch of fleshy bones.  It was quite a scene to behold.

Friday

 Friday found us painting in my parents backyard!

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Sweet Rewards of Reading...

Simply journeying deep into our imaginations as we get caught up in a story certainly is rewarding in and of itself.  But sometimes it's fun to add a sweet surprise at the end! :)

A few months ago, we read and fell in love with Homer Price!  His quirky antics captivated the boys and I found that the structure of the book is very conducive to a young child just venturing into the world of chapter books since each chapter could almost stand-alone.  Trey, 3.5 at the time of reading this book, was totally taken with the story.

Obviously, as you can tell from the cover, one of the chapters deals with a doughnut machine that his uncle orders.  Inspired by my {usually extremely healthy} sister, Rich and I surprised the boys with their first trip to Krispie Kreme early on a Saturday morning.

They stood transfixed as hundreds of doughnuts took shape before our eyes.  And they were thrilled when we told them that they could each pick out their very own doughnut.

Other fun ways to enjoy some good books:
Winnie-the-Pooh ~ go find a little creek somewhere and play 'pooh sticks'
Paddington Bear (unabridged) ~ enjoy some orange marmalade on french bread while you read this out loud!
Wonderful Wizard of Oz ~ find some straw and try making your own scarecrow.
Mr. Popper's Penguins ~ Toboggan down the slide, face first.  (make sure the slide isn't too steep!), practice waddling like penguins by walking with your knees 'stuck' together!
Charlotte's Web - go on a spider web hunt.  Spray the web with water and watch it glisten in the sunlight!

I would LOVE to hear about some of your favorite read-aloud books!!!!

FYI: The Child-Training Bible giveaway ends on Friday.  Be sure to enter for your chance to win!

The Daily Outdoor Challenge

What would happen if we made a commitment to spend special time EACH and EVERY day outdoors?

I'd venture to guess that we would feel:

• more relaxed
• more connected with our family
• more connected with the Lord
• more productive with the rest of our day
  

I'd venture we would be able to:

• think clearer
• focus better
• enjoy life more

Recently, I was asked about spending time outdoors with my little one's.  Living here in the desert it is often assumed that the summer months just aren't conducive to spending time outdoors.  To a certain extent that is true and one of the main reasons why we do much of our formal academic learning during the hot summer months.  Because really, what else is there to do when it is 115 outside?

But what if...  what if, we turned that perception around and found time {albeit possibly at the beginning and the end of the day} to enjoy time outdoors?

I'm taking on the challenge of spending a minimum of 20 minutes outdoors each and every day with my children.  I'm not talking merely adding up time running to and from my car to the next air-conditioned building.  I mean fun, carefree time enjoying God's beautiful creation and playing with my children outside.

I often boot them outdoors because the benefits to letting them unwind are monumental.  But I think it is time that I give myself the boot too!

Each Friday, I'll be posting a diary of our outdoor adventures and I'd love for some of you to join me.  Do you think you can commit to spending some time outdoors each day with your kids?  It could be as simple as taking a walk, playing basketball, inspecting bugs or working in the garden.  I'd love for you to come back and share either by linking up a blog post or sharing your adventures in the comments or on our facebook page!  Let's see if we can inspire one another to spend more time outside with our families.  And for those of you in nicer summer climes, you can brag about how wonderful your weather is and the myriad of wonderful outdoor options you have.  I'm ok with that too!  Although, beware.  Come August, I might be packing up my bags and bringing the family for a visit!  And come January, I'll be bragging about our weather when you can't shovel a path to your car!

Want to join in on the fun?  Grab our button, and then link up your post each week!

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So here is what we did this last week:

SATURDAY:
I should probably start writing these things down, or start going to bed earlier, because for the life of me, I can't remember what we did that day...

SUNDAY:
I am sick and stay home from my boys AWANA Awards night. :\  Greta and I did enjoy spending almost 30 minutes sitting in the Adirondack chair staring up at the blue sky.  Sometimes we just need to be still and breath in fresh air!  I could feel my head start to clear and my tummy calm down.  Mercifully, it put her in a sedate mood too.

MONDAY:
We dig around in our compost pile and started transporting some of it to our garden plot.  I'm determined to get rid of my black thumb one of these days.  We are preparing our beds now for a fall garden and enjoyed inspecting all of the hundreds of tiny bugs and other organisms that took up residence in our compost pile.  The roaches that have taken up residence there were not appreciated or admired however. :shudder:

TUESDAY:
My sister is in town visiting!!!!  We meet at our favorite nature preserve.  The boys enjoy jumping in the creek and we count quail.  I bring our watercolors thinking they might want to paint as we've done previously, but they are too excited seeing cousins again.

Keegan and I had a Bible Moment-Nature walk that evening.  While our Bible Moment didn't quite live up to my {probably unreasonably} high expectations, we discovered a bee's nest that had been turned over and stopped to inspect it for a while.  Bee's were everywhere.  We noticed the flowers falling off of the prickly pear cactus and discussed the possibility of trying our hand at making Prickly Pear Jelly this year when the fruit ripens!

WEDNESDAY:
A storm swept in, making it a perfect day for an umbrella walk.  We took turns telling each other what we loved about God's creation.  At the top of my list is the creosote bush that gives the desert it's characteristic 'rain' smell!

I'm FINALLY starting to identify some of the birds around here.  We are thrilled to see several Killdeer on our walk around the neighborhood.

We stop by to see if the bee hive is still there.  Most of the bees appear to have died - either from the rain or hail.  We can't decide.  We simply sit and ponder.

THURSDAY:

In honor of the 237th anniversary of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga (hurray for practical math application!), we staged a re-enactment in the backyard!

FRIDAY: 
Despite temperatures around 98 degrees, we set out while dinner cooked to see what was happening with the beehive.