Iliana’s Garden

A little seed
For me to sow
A little earth
To make it grow

A little hole,
A little pat,
A little wish,
And that’s that.

A little sun,
A little shower
A little while,
And then a flower.

-Mabel Watts

Iliana has a garden. It is a sand garden – meaning it is literally a plot of sand. This spring she decided that this space would be her personal garden. It wasn’t enough that she helped with the family garden, which, in reality was also ‘part’ her garden as well. No, she wanted to have her own. If she had asked me where she should plant her garden, I would have shown her a nice spot with dark, rich soil. But she planted her garden while I was not looking. She had found some sunflower seeds that had fallen down from the birdfeeder and decided they would be great for planting. By the time she showed me her garden, the seeds had already been sown and there were little dark splotches in the sand where her little watering can had sprinkled each seed.

Not wanting to spoil her excitement in that moment, I just smiled and said “wow”! A few days later, though, my adult sensibilities caught up with me and I thought it best that I told her the reality of her little garden.

“You planted in sand, Iliana. Nothing will grow there.”

“I gave mine seeds water! They’ll grow.”

Each day she faithfully watered and weeded her sand garden. If you came too close to the garden, she would yell “Watch out! You’re stepping on my garden!”

Each one of us – Dan, Abigail and I – tried to soften her disappointment by explaning how nothing could actually grow there. We tried to get her to plant something somewhere else, where we were more certain it would grow.

But she would not be deterred.

About a week later, tiny new, green leaves appeared above the sand. She was so excited. Yet again, we told her that they probably wouldn’t last once the sun beat down on the sand.

Yet, faithfully, she watered.

This morning, she came running up to me:

“Mommy! Come and look at my garden! My flower is opening!”

 

This may be the smallest sunflower ever, but to this little girl, it’s as big as can be!

And yes, we have read The Carrot Seed. We should have known better!

A Child’s Prayer

The girls and I are committing the following poem to memory:

A Child’s Prayer

God, make my life a little light
Within the world to glow;
A little flame that burneth bright
Wherever I may go.

God, make my life a little flower
That giveth joy to all,
Content to bloom in native bower,
Although the place be small.

God, make my life a little song
That comforteth the sad,
That helpeth others to be strong
And makes the singer glad.

God, make my life a little staff
Whereon the weak may rest,
And so what health and strength I have
May serve my neighbors best.

God, make my life a little hymn
Of tenderness and praise;
Of faith, that never waxeth dim,
In all His wonderous ways.

- – M. Betham-Edwards

From the Little Golden Book entitled Prayers for Children. 

Raising Godly Tomatoes

A few posts ago, I mentioned the book Raising Godly Tomatoes and I wanted to share a bit more about it. My garden-loving mom, upon reading that post, thought I had found a new way of growing tomatoes that she didn’t know about!

I remember hearing about this book long ago on Kendra’s blog. I just recently came across it again in the blogworld and decided to go ahead and read it this time. (You can read the book in its entirety here.)

The basic premise of the book is that being a mom is a full-time position and that training children is an extremely important task. How can we expect our children to be trained, however, if we send them off to watch television or to play alone far across the house or outside? The author’s concept of “tomato staking” – having your children right at your side all throughout the day – sounds like alot of work at first glance. Even though we already do many activities together throughout the day at our house - schoolwork, cooking, laundry, reading, cleaning – I thought that the girls would have a difficult time staying by my side ALL DAY. However, I was desperate excited to try this method with them because lately it seems that I’ve been spending a good part of my day chasing them around and putting out fires.

After just one day of “tomato staking” the girls, I could already see the potential impact for the good of our family. Here are a few things that happened that first day:

• We enjoyed each others’ company!
• When a bad attitude started to surface between the sisters, I was able to quickly nip it in the bud before it turned into full-scale yelling. I could address the heart issues right away
• All of us being in such close proximity was the perfect environment for practicing not interrupting. (We’ve had a real problem with interrupting lately with 2 “Miss Chatterboxes” in the house!)
• The noise volume in the house went WAY down – no yelling across the house to one another!
• I was able to spend more time teaching and explaining things
• I spent wasted less time on the computer or in my own books. Their being with me prompted me to use our time wisely

Another main point the author stresses is consistency. Most parenting books agree that consistency is key in successful parenting, but for some reason, the way she writes about it just stirred me to action. I’ve realized that it’s really more about “Anna-training” than “child-training”. When I’m consistent with my responses to their behavior, everything goes much more smoothly!

One small example is the girls answering “Yes, Mommy” when asked to do something. Within only 2 days of me consistently reminding them to say it, they have proceeded to make that their standard answer without prompting. I wish every parenting issue was that easy!!

Anyway, those are some of the changes that we’ve made lately as a result of reading this great book. Have you read it?

First Haircut

Ok, everyone knows that I cannot cut a straight line across a piece of paper, so why did I think I could cut Abigail’s hair?

All she needed was a little trim. I’d never before attempted to cut her hair in her (4 1/2 year) life, but it was getting kind of scraggly at the ends. I thought a simple trim would be just that – simple!

I decided to tackle her first haircut this morning.

I had the right hair-cutting scissors. (My sister-in-law does hair.)

I had a spray bottle and the right comb.

That’s all there is to it, right?

After my first swipe across, it wasn’t quite straight. So, I tried again. And again. I started thinking that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. (Maybe I should’ve thought of that before I started, huh?)

I finally got it pretty close to a straight line and decided I’d better stop before she lost 6 inches of her beautiful hair!

As I mumbled my way through her haircut, with a sigh here and there, she said this to me:

“Thank you for cutting my hair, Mommy. I don’t mind if it’s not perfect. I’m just glad that I’m getting a haircut so the ends won’t be yucky anymore.”

Awww, that made me feel better. Now if only I can keep her away from the professional eye of my sister-in-law.  Hmmm…..ah yes, braids should do the trick!

And no, I will not post a picture of her hair.

Have any of you had a “less-than-perfect” first attempt at cutting your child’s hair?

A Blue Day

One of the highlights of our week is library storytime. Each week, the girls excitedly look forward to getting together with the other children and participating in all the fun activities. When I woke them up yesterday and told them that we would be staying home due to vehicle problems, they were very disappointed. Their frowns quickly turned to smiles when I told them that we would have our own “storytime” at home, although they weren’t convinced that it would be as much fun.

Yesterday’s theme at the library was “blue”, so we decided to go ahead and use the same theme at home. I wanted to make storytime as close as possible to the way it’s done at the library, which is like this: 

• Show and tell: Each child can bring something to share that is theme related. The librarian brings several things as well.
• Stories: Usually she reads stories that relate to the theme
• Activities/worksheets: Theme related worksheets
• Craft activity
• Snack related to the theme
• Singing/instruments

I didn’t tell the girls what I had planned for them, except for what we were going to have for a snack – because they had to help me make it.

Would you like to have ” storytime” with us?

First, we made the snack. We had to beat the eggs…

pour in the honey…

…mix it all together and then add the secret ingredient!

 

All ready for stories?

Show and tell: the girls found lots of blue things…

…Jonathan brought his favorite bear…

…and I showed a special ring from Dan

A pile of fun blue books awaited us!

Jonathan listened on my lap 

After stories, it was time for work!

…but we had some good “blue” music to listen to!

Abigail had fun making her blue butterfly…

 

…and here are the finished creations!
The butterflies danced along as we learned The Butterfly Song.

  

Finally, it was time for our snack – BLUE blueberry muffins!

Only a child would like drinking blue milk!

We sure had fun!

 

This time around

Things are different this time around.

I linger a bit longer after a nursing session, cuddling and tickling, gazing and smiling.

I snuggle that soft baby cheek next to mine an extra moment or two before putting my sleepy baby to bed for the night.

I realize that a month has passed and my “What to Expect the First Year” book has rested upon the shelf with nary a glance at the monthly developmental milestone checklists.

If the schedule that I’ve set for the day unravels for some reason, I just go with it, letting part of a nap be in my arms if need be.

The idea of apologizing for my tiny one’s loud cry while shopping or visiting a friend has long slipped from my mind. The cry sounds so sweet to me now –  a reminder the vulnerability of a baby.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we found a third child would join our family. I began the pregnancy with a positive view toward the idea, but began to doubt my ability when I heard statements directed at me such as :

“How are you going to handle THREE children? I can hardly handle my 1 (or 2)!!!!”

Surprisingly, it’s been much more pleasant then I imagined it would be. Yes, it’s quite a bit noisier. Yes, it’s quite a bit messier. Yes, it takes quite a bit longer to get everyone dressed and out the door, to run an errand, to get ready for bed – OK, to do pretty much everything – but I’m enjoying being a mother much more. I can feel myself stretching and bending into a more relaxed and flexible person. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Looking back, I wish that I would have taken things more slowly and easily from the beginning of my motherhood journey with baby Abigail. Unfortunately, I cannot turn back the clock, but we spend plenty of slow time together these days. The time we spend sitting close together and sounding out the words to a favorite book from my own childhood is indeed precious time.

I’m so thankful for the children that I have been blessed to care for.

I’m just now coming to the point where I can say the above sentence and really mean it even on those really bad days. You know the ones I’m talking about – the days involving crabbiness, bodily fluids, big messes, chaos, injuries, etc, etc.

Yes, it’s definitely different this time around and I’m so thankful for all of it – the bad and the good!

[Edited to add: I hope I'm not conveying the idea that everything is now PERFECT around here! Of course, I still have days of frustration as well. I've just noticed an overall difference in my heart and mind.]

Staying home = Mushy brain?

A good friend of mine has found herself between jobs – and home with her 12 month old son- for the last few weeks. Although she is enjoying being with her son more, she told me that she is looking for a part-time job so that she can have some adult conversation. She related this to me very succinctly: “I feel like my brain is turning to mush!” She said that watching NOGGIN and playing with baby toys all day isn’t exactly enough stimulation for her brain.

As I listened to her tell me the reasons she wished to work at least part-time, I couldn’t help but think about the mushy-ness of my own brain. I mean, I’ve been home for 5+ years. If my friend’s brain has turned to mush in only 2 weeks, my brain must be long gone!

I don’t mean to single out my friend – I’ve heard this from other moms, too. For some reason, staying at home, especially with a baby, doesn’t seem to be stimulating enough.

I remember those first months with Abigail. It did seem that each day was strangely similar. Naps, feeding sessions, diaper changes and dangling the same toys in front of her face seemed to just go round and round as the days blurred together.

However, as my children have grown, I’ve found several avenues for conversation that have filled that void that some would say is only fulfilled in a work situation.

1. God. What adult in a work situation could engage me in a more mentally stimulating conversation than one I can have with God? The beautiful back-and-forth of prayer and then reading God’s Word gives me more food for thought than I will ever have the time to process.

2. My husband. Being at home forces encourages me to rely on my husband more. I do look to my husband to fulfill much of my “adult conversation” quota for the day. Most evenings, we spend time together after the children have gone to bed just talking. We discuss every topic under the sun – from the progress I’ve made with the children during the day, to his work struggles, to sports (*ack!*), to God’s Word, to politics, to current events. I love this special time and look forward to it each day.

3. Letter-writing. Because I am at home and have some free time *once in a while*, I’m able to sit down and write letters. (You know, those archaic things where you transfer ink onto lined or otherwise decorated paper, fold it into an envelope and put it in the mailbox? ) Having a conversation with someone by exchanging letters really gives me time to weave my thoughts together in an well-thought out manner. Encouraging someone through letters is a wonderful way that I’ve found to keep my brain active.

4. My children. I never imagined the depth of thought that I would discover resulting from a conversation with a young child! Toddlers and preschoolers often ask some very philisophical questions – way more engaging than a cooler-side conversation might be. I’ve struggled to remember some of the doozies that I’ve heard from Abigail, but a few examples that I could think of off the top of my head include:

Does God get sick?

Why do some parents yell at their children? (After witnessing this at a grocery store)

Do you think that Mr. Gil (our realtor) will sell our house before Jesus comes back from heaven? (in all seriousness)

Why don’t some people believe in God?

Obviously, there are also hobbies to discover, books to read, talk radio to listen to, and many other things that I can do to keep my mind from becoming “mushy”. 

At least, that’s my hope.

Scripture Memorization for Young Children

  

There are many ways to teach scripture memory to children – many of them no doubt more creative than the way we do it in our home! However, this works for our girls (ages 2 and 4). 

First, I ask Dan what scriptures he would like them to memorize. We work together to choose scriptures that are appropriate and can be easily understood at their ages. 

Next, I find clip art or photographs that show a word or action discussed in the scripture. For example, for John 3:16, I chose a picture of the world and a picture of a heart (love). This triggers the words “world” and “love”, which helps them remember the beginning of the verse “For God so loved the world…” Once they remember how the scripture starts, they can usually finish it. 

I have one non-reader and one very beginning reader, so the pictures help trigger their memories. I still type the entire scripture out, so as they grow and learn to read, they can read along with me. 

I type the scripture in large print in a Word document and add the clip art. I then attach the paper to a brightly colored background. Finally, I hang them at a child’s eye level near their play area. On many occassions during playtime, I’ve seen the girls stand along the “scripture wall” and run their fingers along the words while they recite the verses that they know. 

We’ve added one new scripture every 1 to 2 weeks since starting school. Each time we learn a new scripture, I read it once through slowly. Then I repeat the scripture in small chunks, with the girls repeating after me. (I include the book, chapter and verse as well.) We do this every day until they can recite the entire scripture on their own. 

We discuss the meaning of the scripture and I ask them how they think the picture that I’ve chosen describes the verse. We discuss how it can be applied in their *young* lives and sometimes, where it works, we draw pictures of the girls acting out the Scripture. For example, for I John 4:21, Abigail drew a picture of her doing something loving toward Iliana – sharing a toy that she really wanted to play with. I’ve often referred them back to their memory verses during times of conflict or bad attitudes. I ask them to go to the applicable scripture and recite it for me. Then we discuss how they did or did not follow God’s Word in that situation. By doing this, they are learning that the Word of God is an intricate part of our everyday lives, not just something we memorize!  

Each day during our Bible Time, we go back over all of the ones that we’ve learned. Even Iliana, at her young age, can recite many of the scriptures. I know that she cannot fully comprehend all of the meaning of each scripture, but for some of them she can.

Children have an amazing capability to remember things. What information could be more important to memorize than scripture? I want these words to be a part of their minds from as early as they can remember! 

We’ve found that this is one way that we can fufill this mandate for parents: 

“You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”  

Deuteronomy 11:19 

 

Here are some more examples:  

 

 

Additional Scripture Memory resources - scripture set to music!

• A wonderful set of Scripture Memory CDs over at Beloved Books, an online bookshop with many Christian educational books and materials. These CDs, called Scripture Songs, consist of songs that are simply the scriptures put to music – some of them slow and lyrical, some of them upbeat. They have a folk-song sound. This are CDs that I definitely plan to purchase in the future! You can listen to some samples here.
• Hearts for Family has a great CD entitled By Heart Scripture Songs. You can listen to clips here. I’ve just purchased this CD and can’t wait to listen to it!!