Toys--a great question by Mary Ann-The Closet Coach

"does the toy allow the child to play or does it play for the child?"

God saved our "stuff"

Don't you love when God saves you from a tragedy, inconvenience, or a simple complication? I do. I believe He was truly at work in me this past week.

I love to sort and organize. Well, I was inspired to start working on our basement last week. So I started with an area that wasn't really a priority. I was supposed to be going through my school stuff, so I could list it and sell it. Well, I chose to clear out the "Ebay area" which is stuff that I thought could bring in some Homeschooling money. Well, it possibly could have if I had actually posted it on Ebay.

I came to a realization that I would not be getting that stuff listed anytime soon, so I was able to let it go. Then I decided I would gather some stuff for a garage sale since it was such good stuff anyway. So I sorted and pulled it all to another part of the basement, so it could be designated as stuff for a garage sale.

So this AM, I went down to get wrapping paper for a gift. And walla!--the basement had water in various parts of the floor. Huge amounts of water were in certain areas. Guess where there was tons of water? There was a huge puddle where I had moved the "Ebay stuff" from and no water in the area where I had moved the stuff to.
None of the stuff was damaged even though there was lots of water.

See, God does care about our stuff too. Well, maybe not--He mostly cares about us.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that He cared so much about my stuff that he only had the water go where it wouldn't damage the stuff. I feel that for some reason He prompted me to move that stuff because He knew what was coming. He always does. And He gives us direction sometimes that we just don't want to follow. Thank God I had listened to his little prompting. Thank God He speaks to me over and over again until I do listen sometimes.

The moral of the story for me is that sometimes if I feel a little prompting and I'm not sure why--it's usually for a reason. I don't always know why He is guiding me somewhere or to do something, but I do know that it's always for good.

Barefoot Books for Sale-Brand New-30% Off

I am selling my stock of Barefoot Books for 30% off!
(Retail prices listed)

I accept PayPal or Check . . . I will also ship if necessary
If you'd like to see pics and descriptions of the book, please see www.barefootbooks.com

Specialty Products
Princess Puppet $17.99
Listen, Listen Lapbook $14.99
Bear on the Go Puzzle (Ages 3-5) $10.99
Skip through the Seasons Activity Book $7.99

Putumayo CD’s
Regular Price: $15.99 Sale price: $11.25
Animal Playground (2)
Sesame Street Playground
Sing-a-long with Putamayo

Hardcover
Never Say Boo to a Goose $14.99
Star Seeker $16.99
The Great Race $16.99
The Princess and the White Bear King with CD $17.99
The Faeries Gift with CD $17.99
BFB of Pirates15.99
Tales of Wisdom & Wonder $19.99

Paperback Single Story with CD
The Three Billy Goats Gruff $9.99
The House That Jack Built $9.99
Jack and the Beanstalk $9.99
Winter King Summer Queen $9.99
Portside Pirates $9.99
The Farmyard Jamboree $9.99
Winter King, Summer Queen $9.99
Story Collections Softcover with CD
Magic Hoofbeats $16.99
The Fabric of Fairytales (2) $16.99
BFB of Fairies $15.99

Paperback No CDs
The Parrot Tico Tango $6.99
Walking through the Jungle (3) $6.99
Magic Train Ride $6.99
An Island in the Sun $6.99
My Grandma Went to the Market $6.99
Herb the Vegetarian Dragon $7.99
The Gigantic Turnip $7.99
The Elephant Dance $7.99
One Two Skip A Few $7.99
Little Red Hen and the Ear of Wheat $7.99
Tenzin’s Deer $7.99
We’re Riding on a Caravan $7.99
We’re Sailing to Galapagos $7.99
We’re Sailing Down the Nile $7.99
We All Went on a Safari $7.99

Spanish Paperback
Hay una vaca entre las coles $6.99
Oso Bajo El Sol $6.99

Board Books
Zoe and Her Zebra (2) $6.99
Bear in a Square $6.99
Who are you Baby Kangaroo? $6.99
Counting Cockatoos $7.99
Alligator Alphabet $7.99

Pirates
Portside Pirates Paperback w/CD (2) $9.99
Pirate Fun Activity Book (2)$4.99
BFB of Pirates Softcover with CD (2) $15.99

Motivation and where does it come from?

Are you motivated by money, challenge, a learning opportunity or something else? I am pondering this idea while observing my own children.

Some children are motivated on their own. They tend to pick up things and explore them. They come and say "can I study this or that?" or they may ask "can I help?".

Other children tend to be motivated by getting something they want. Let's say they want to go somewhere. They can hustle like you wouldn't believe to get things done if they are going to go somewhere they want. Otherwise, they move very slowly and in an uninterested manner. Then on the day they get to go where they want, they are oh so helpful and cheery.

I know we're not supposed to compare, but I prefer the first behavior much better. I feel the child is inwardly motivated and this attribute will serve them well in serving others in their life. The second behavior I'm afraid is more self-centered and self-serving. Am I overreacting?

Some peers suggest that parents use this information to their advantage and lure the children along by enticing them with the things they want. I don't feel comfortable doing that. I want my children to have internal motivation because it's the right thing to do. Is that too much to ask? And how can I nurture more of an inward motivation or is it all the same thing?

Life After Detox--3 months later

Well it's been 3 months. I'm glad to report, Detox was very successful in our family. It was a struggle to get through the first few days from what I can remember. But now, I must say it was totally worth it.

The most affected, my DS, is still alive and learning how to entertain himself without a screen. He still dreams of having his own "DS" someday, but not the kind that is cute and cuddly. He longs for the DS that is rectangular and plugs in to get charged.

Now that it is getting warmer, it's easier to have the kids go outside. The favorite times we share during the day are our reading times. We have read about History (Story of the World-their new favorite), Coretta Scott King, and now we are reading about Louisa May Alcott. Without the TV or computer to rush off to, it keeps us more in the moment. We also aren't in a hurry to finish dinner because we don't have a movie we are trying to watch before we go to bed.

I must say I am very fortunate to have a flexible husband. He finds a way to get his sport stats without needing to turn the TV on. How much can he really find out from a non-cable TV anyway?

So now what do we do? We only have TV time for movies on the weekend. It has worked out really well except while we were sick in February/March for a few weeks. Then we all overused the TV. Boy, was it hard to get well and start over again. I'm convinced it took a little longer to get well because that would mean we wouldn't be able to watch TV as much again. Who knows--it kept us company when we needed a little zoning-out time.

Now we are all healthy and back in the swing of things and we really don't miss it. We enjoy our time together. We enjoy our family night-playing games. We enjoy learning and growing. Not watching TV allows us to have more time to do the things we enjoy.

No judgement here! I hope these posts have given some hope to some who wonder what a difference it would make if TV weren't such a big part of their lives. This is what has worked for our family and I love to share.

Screen Detox-Day 5

Why "Detox" do you ask? Well, it started this past Monday when I woke up to the question "can I watch TV?" I guess it was the straw that broke the camels back. I hear questions all day long, but I must admit there are two questions that are like nails on a chalkboard to me. The questions are: "Can I watch TV?" and "Can I go on the computer?" In an earlier post, you will see my feelings on the computer and TV subject.

So, I called a friend of mine and asked her what her thoughts were. Her family doesn't struggle as much with this because they have made some changes over the past 8 years. So Our journey began.

J is also involved with the Thomas Jefferson education that I have started to implement in our homeschooling. Check it out at TJEDonline.org. It is primarily based on reading the Classics with the kids and also following their interests. Well when it came time to reading the Classics with them, it was not a celebrated event. So something needed to change so it would be more exciting.

J suggested a Detox to get started. So the kids and I jumped in. While I knew they would eventually be all right with it, I was a little hesitant and unsure how to tell them. So I did what I see other parents do: I acted really excited about what was going to be happening. I was "really" excited though because, I know I needed it too.

In fact, that was the biggest message I got from my conversation with my friend, J. J said my children mimic me. She said if I cut back, they would too. Can you believe she said that? Well, guess what? It's true. I already knew that, I just didn't want to believe it.

We're going on Day 5 of Screen Detox. Our plan is 14 days. The rules are "no TV, computer, or texting for the kids". As for mom, #1-the time has been greatly decreased, #2-you'll notice I'm typing at 3 AM, #3-I only use it for my part-time job and family scheduling issues. This post falls under "Advertising for the Barefoot Books Winter Sale!"

The past 5 days in review: we have read more together than we ever have in our lives, we have done more crafts, my husband and I have looked at each other in the face more often, we have stopped rushing to get done with dinner because there isn't a movie to get to, we have played more games, we have talked more together, we have cooked more, I have had more focused time on the computer-because it is limited now, we didn't rush home from the library, we didn't have to stand in the long line at the library because we weren't checking movies out, we saved $10 at Blockbuster because we didn't rent more movies, the kids are getting along better, MF is spending more time laying in her room writing instead of typing, LE is looking to do more "works", etc.

I am "really" excited now. I don't know if I want it to end. In fact, I know I don't want it to end. I know my husband wants it to end because while I was trying to read in bed last night, he was whispering in my ear "let's watch a movie". I only hope that we can continue all the same things if we let the screens back in even just a little. I'll think about that tomorrow.

Overall, the Detox has been going really well. We are on Day 5 and there has only been one major meltdown. It was kind of sad actually to see my little boy crying "I miss TV". But on the other hand, it felt like an affirmation that what I was doing, was really with good reason. As you have read above, the blessings have been rolling in.

My time is up now, so I hope someone can hear a message of hope in this post.

Cheers!

Happy New Year! Holiday recap . . .

Happy New Year! We made it through the holiday season. I hope it was as blessed as it was to me and my family. It was not the hustle and bustle and chaos that it normally is. I am so proud of my family. The biggest thing I can say I am grateful for is flexibility.

Not only my immediate family was flexible, but also my extended family. We are a one-income family and it's a problem around holiday time. I grew up with a very generous family who totally overdoes it at Christmas. I can't say I minded the stuff, but then I grew up.

I would feel generous myself, but didn't have the funds to compete with Mom and TT (my sister). They never made me feel bad about it, I just did. I wanted to make them smile, the way they made me smile every Christmas. But then I realized, I can't compete. So then I just felt "bad" and "insignificant".

So this year, the adults did a "grab bag". That's where the "proud-ness" comes in. My family participated and it worked out great. It gave us more time to just spend together instead of just spending time opening presents. TT assigned us all a responsibility to bring "an activity". Various people brought sing-a-longs, my daughter read a book, my husband brought a craft that TT loved.

The best, I think, was the Dreidl Song and Dance by my brother-in-law (he practices Judaism), and LE who is the cutest thing that walked the earth (besides my other kids of course). Check out the video:



I have to admit, I feel a little hypocritical because Mom and Dad didn't follow the rules exactly. They still bought for everyone, but they can because they are the leaders of the family. That's what I think anyway. Especially, because I got a GPS which isn't really a "want" but a "necessity". I get lost a lot! But I love it and I loved the holidays this year.

Our family also really enjoyed celebrating the Advent all month long. We read most nights and lit our Advent candles. It was a great idea I heard about at my M.O.M.S. group from Calvary.

What was your favorite part of this holidays this year?