kid's summer reading

5 Easy Ways To Encourage Summer Reading

Summer. Just the smell of sunblock can bring all the images of summer rushing in. Thoughts of swimming, grilling, snow cones, watermelon, late nights and lazy mornings come flooding in. And, of course, the joy of freedom from government tyranny, errr, I mean school. And for our family, there is one more really important part of summer – books. We are readers all year long, but summer kicks it up a notch. My ten-year-old daughter has been scouring Pinterest for fifth grade summer reading lists for weeks. She’s compiling her own this year (which means I won’t have to fight her …

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Top 10 Teen Must Reads

Top 10 Teen Must Reads Click To Tweet “…the books read and the philosophies absorbed in one’s teens and twenties erupt with a delayed effect, exerting redoubled influence in one’s middle years.” -Ravi Zacharias* From the thick, bite-marked board books of yesterday to the tattered worn pages of chemistry and algebra books tossed on the table today…each book has taken its turn shaping my children.  As we witness our older children’s youthful journey coming to an end and their life as teens beginning to bloom, what should we encourage them to read?   Here are the top ten teen must reads, …

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Mama, Don’t Rush Your Babies Growing Up

Do you remember the old song by Willie Nelson called “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys?” In it the song says over and over why they shouldn’t let their babies grow up to be a cowboy. It gives lots of reasons why the cowboy life isn’t a good one and tells mamas to let them be “doctors and lawyers and such”. What I’ve always wanted to scream is mama, don’t let your babies grow up…and then reality hit me, and I realized that no matter what you do they are gonna grow up. So, instead of …

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A “Horrible” Mom

I’ll never forget sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee and take in the morning headlines, when instead, I was greeted by a special report offering advice to new parents. Within minutes, I was told how horrible a mom I was. Now, it wasn’t directed to me personally, but, according to the experts, I had really messed up my children. I did everything wrong, especially with my firstborn! Ah, the firstborn! The one on whom we practice and learn. My unfortunate firstborn, Jordan was born by emergency C-Section, on May 24, 1993. He was a wonderful, 9 pound, 1 …

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Is Your Girl Dieting?

In my interactions with moms, many have shared with me that this really is a scary topic; one many even see as taboo to some degree. I truly believe God when He tells us in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” He can give us the wisdom we need to speak truth and life into our children, even about those oh-so-tough topics like body image!  You might be thinking, “My daughter is young; I don’t need to be thinking …

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The ADHD Bill of Rights – A Must Read for Every Parent

Can I be honest for a minute?  I have been lonely, angry, and guilt ridden. I know it’s summer, I know we are all busy, but what made issues for me more intense was realizing I had no one who understood what I was going through. Maybe they didn’t want to. Who knows? But, when you’re a mom of a child with ADHD and processing disorders, it’s a new ball game.  When you’re a mom of a child with ADHD and processing disorders, it’s a new ball game. Click To Tweet The rules of cause and effect don’t apply. Discipline …

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How to Build Resentment in Your Child

The goal: Keep the child happy. (seems good)  The trend: Be the child’s best pal. (sounds pleasant)  BUT…the reality is relationship without rules breeds resentment.  relationship without rules breeds resentment. Click To Tweet Here are the top 6  ways to increase bitterness in a child’s heart by being his all time best chum. The best bud parent:  1. is over-indulgent: Says yes to every material item and whim under the sun. The child never has to earn anything and doesn’t experience the chance to say, “Yes I worked for that.”  2. is unable to make a decision:  An indecisive  parent …

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Hold On Loosely, Don’t Give Up Hope

Moms of teenagers and adult children, oh how I would love to pull up a chair beside you, pour a cup of coffee and commiserate over this new season of parenting you’re in. It’s not an easy transition by any means but I’m hoping that as we sit and visit that you and I both will learn a little bit about how to hold on loosely in this season when you feel like giving up hope. Chances are if you are a child of the 80’s, you’ll remember a song from the band 38 special called, “Hold On Loosely.” In …

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A Letter to the Moms of Graduates

Hey Mom, Yeah, you. The one with the camera around your neck and the tissue in your purse. Your child is not so small anymore, is she? I see you watching her with a mixture of pride and sadness. It’s okay, to be both happy and sad all at the same time. Because this cap and gown that she’s wearing, it’s a wardrobe that reminds you that she’s growing up. Whether she’s about to go to first grade, or be a freshman in high school or leave home for college in the fall, she’s made it to this point, and all …

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Raising Children with a Faith Goal in Mind

Motherhood can be overwhelming at times. It’s easy to get pulled into the day-to-day details, taking care of tiny needs to the point of distraction, while pushing off the big picture that seems so far ahead of us. Before we know it, our babies have grown from 4 to 14 in the blink of an eye, and it suddenly hits us that the things we hoped to have accomplished may not have even been addressed. This is especially true of doing our part in building their faith. Just like everything else of any value in life, it takes preparation and …

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