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3 Easy Ways to Cultivate Compassion In Our Kids

How do you make a child more compassionate?

I think compassion comes much easier for some people than others.  For many, it is an innate quality. For instance, I’m naturally compassionate toward the elderly.  I just have a soft spot for them, and always have. I also am a highly sensitive person in general and can’t even watch the news without getting upset.  (I was pretty much a soggy faced mess throughout each of my pregnancies!)

However, until I had a child with developmental delays, another child with anxiety, and another kid who has a will of IRON,  I did not have empathy towards moms in similar situations.   It wasn’t that I didn’t care, it just wasn’t even ON my radar.

But now, you better believe that I feel for that mom who is exhausted from having to cart her kid around to therapy, or for the mom whose child’s anxiety manifests as anger (and always in public), or for the mom at the grocery store whose toddler is having an EPIC meltdown.  I have grown in my empathy for these moms due to MY OWN life experiences.  It has been cultivated in me.

Our kids are young and have limited life experiences.  Some will naturally be a little more compassionate, and some don’t seem to have an ounce of compassion about them.  But there ARE things we can do to cultivate this important quality of compassion in our kids.

Like soil that needs to be tilled for planting, we can provide experiences to till our child’s ability to grow in compassion.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

STORIES

Books have a way of transporting us to other places and also give us windows into the lives of people whose life circumstances are different than our own.  Reading aloud together creates great opportunities for discussion about what life may be like for others different than ourselves, in an unforced, organic way.

Two of our most recent read-aloud books are great examples of this.  We listened to the Audiobook Crenshaw which was about a 5th grade boy whose family was under great financial hardship and was even homeless for a time.  And our most recent read-aloud – In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, we were introduced to Shirley Temple Wong, a Chinese Immigrant girl who is new to the country and learning a new language and culture.

Since my kids have never been homeless or the new kid in another country, this allowed them to have a small taste of what this might be like.   Both of these books led to great conversations and helped us see things from a unique perspective.

I believe books are a powerful tool to cultivate compassion in our kids.

 

SERVING OPPORTUNITIES

Last week, we had two opportunities to serve others.   We played BINGO at a local Nursing Home and also served some homeless families dinner at our church one night.  I believe serving others is probably the best antidote to selfishness, and another great tool for cultivating compassion.

This one may not be as “easy” to implement depending on the age or temperaments of your kids.  So, if the thought of getting your family out of the house to serve right now seems like an altogether insurmountable task (I get it, I’ve been there!), here are a few other ideas:

  • Write letters to family members that live alone or can’t leave their dwelling.
  • Send letters/care packages to people serving in the military.
  • Make a meal for someone going through a tough time.

Those are just a few ideas, obviously.   Opportunities abound!

CREATE A CULTURE OF COMPASSION IN Your Home

I think the way we view others and talk about them is probably one of the biggest ways to teach our kids compassion.  After all, “more is caught than taught.”

How do we talk about others?  Are we quick to judge, or do we point out that there might be more going on under the surface?

I see this quote occasionally pop on Facebook and I LOVE it:

“Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

Acknowledge that we don’t always know what’s going on in people’s lives, and kindness and compassion are always important.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”  Colossians 3:12

Finally, we can and should remind our kids DAILY of God’s grace to us and His work in us, and extend that same grace to others as well.

 

Would love to hear from you!  What do you with your children to cultivate compassion?  

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Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

What do you do when you have a younger child who is a voracious reader?  When they still can’t tie their shoes yet can read a novel a few years above their grade level.   When they’re capable of reading and understand bigger words but still need a relatively innocent storyline.

I can tell you what I did.  I went SEARCHING for books that would be appropriate for their maturity level but still challenging enough to keep them interested.  Which by the way, is not the easiest task.

My daughter taught herself to read at the age of 5 and sped through books.  It became apparent that she needed more than basic picture books (though she still liked them!)  My son was a little bit later (started reading around age 7) but went straight from hardly sounding out words like c-a-t and d-o-g to reading chapter books.

This post is all about the books my kids read (and LOVED) in their early years of independent reading.  There were plenty of other books that I did not include here.  These were the ones that were read over and over and OVER again – our time-tested, and well-loved favorites!

This post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

The Littles by John Peterson

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

New to me, these were our daughter’s favorite first chapter books and were read countless times by her independently.  Telling the story of tiny 6-inch people living within the walls of a family’s (The Bigg’s) house, “The Littles” are delightful and fast-moving chapter books full of adventure.  The books are relatively short.  This picture does not include all the books.

The Ramona Books by Beverly Cleary

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

Ahhh Beverly Cleary.   The name alone brings a smile to my face. Takes me back 30 years… The Ramona books were some of MY favorites when I was a kid.   Really anything Beverly Cleary is good.   Other books not listed here that would be perfect for young advanced readers are The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Socks.  (Ramona Forever is missing from this picture)

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

I recently discovered Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is part of a whole series!  Oh how I wish I had known that when my daughter was younger!  Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is an entertaining character who uses imaginative techniques to engage children and help them correct their attitudes and deal with responsibility.

When our oldest was 6 she came bursting into the room telling us her brother was being impudent.  When asked what the word meant (which she knew) and how she knew, she replied simply, “I learned it from Mrs. Piggle-wiggle.”  Fun times.  🙂

**Make sure to get the ORIGINAL Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles (linked above)

Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

My son gravitated towards these novels.  Obviously, Charlotte’s Web is a beloved classic.  Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan are lesser known but still well-loved.  All of these novels have lots of heart.   (Stuart Little not pictured… I couldn’t find it when I was taking the pictures.  We have books all over the house and they’re not as organized as I’d like!)

Magic School Bus Books

Chapter Books for Advanced Young Readers

These Magic School Bus books were pored over by our science-loving daughter for a couple of years.  What I love about them is the pictures combined with bite-sized, yet highly informative, pieces of text.  The characters all have unique personalities which definitely creates more interest than your typical non-fiction book.  These were a great investment!

These are our tried and true chapter books for young independent readers.  I’m looking forward to pulling these out for my youngest eventually.  He’s not quite there yet but I am prepared for when he gets there!

What are your favorite books for advanced young readers?  Are they on this list or not?


                                                                           

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Video: 4 Places We Find Audiobooks

Read Aloud Revival post on how to use audible without a subscription!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Further Helpful Information

Library Apps

The library apps I mentioned in the video are Hoopla and Libby (by Overdrive).  Some libraries use both.  Our library only uses Libby.

Audible Free Trial:
  • 2 Free books (you keep them even if you cancel after the 30 days is up!)
  • After 30 days, you get 1 audiobook a month for $14.95/month
  • Receive 30% off the price of additional audiobook purchases
  • Cancel at any time. A member’s books are theirs to keep, even if they cancel

Check out audible here. (affiliate link)

**Audible books can only be purchased using Chrome or Safari, so not from the audible or Amazon app on your phone.  They are on your phone immediately after purchasing.

Simple Homeschool always has a list of audiobook deals.  Find the list here.

Librivox

Librivox has an app AND a website.

A few thoughts on Scribd

I have never used Scribd, but I did a little bit of research on it, and it also looks like a great choice for audiobooks.  It is cheaper than Audible and has many choices.  It doesn’t have as huge of a selection as audible (for instance 2 of the last 3 audiobooks we purchased on Audible were not available on Scribd.)

I found this article to be a pretty comprehensive comparison of Audible and Scribd.

Happy Reading!  May your ears be filled with the wondrous sounds of great books!  🙂

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Creating Custom Cards with Basic Invite (Sponsored Post)

I recently was asked to do a sponsored post for the company Basic Invite.

Writing sponsored posts is new territory for me.  Initially, I thought Basic Invite didn’t align with my mission here at “Outside the Box Learners” since I have an “education” blog and Basic Invite is a stationery company.

However, I perused the website and discovered that you can make your own cards from scratch (something my daughter has been wanting to do anyway), so I thought, sure why not?!

My daughter is an outside the box, creative kid and a huge part of the reason I started this blog, so I was excited to give her this opportunity.   She was delighted to be able to design cards that she would then get to actually use!  It was a pretty thrilling experience for her. 🙂

Creating Custom Designed Cards

Little Miss used Procreate (drawing app on the iPad- yes I know, a strange name, but a fabulous app) to make 5 designs that we uploaded to Basic Invite to create her own custom cards.

Some were notecard style (zero fold) while the others had a single fold.  They all had different finishes because I wanted to see what they looked and felt like.

The velvet finish was ah-maz-ing.  There was a slight upcharge so I would probably only choose that if I was ordering cards for something really special!

Here are the designs she came up with:

Easy and Pleasant Website Navigation

Confession:  I typically am the kind of person who gets my custom cards at Wal-Mart.

However, I would strongly consider using Basic Invite for custom Christmas Card or Birthday Invites in the future just because it was that pleasant an experience and I found their website to be aesthetically pleasing.

And although it would be slightly more moolah than Walmart or Shutterfly (the other place I typically get my cards), the price point was not unreasonable, especially considering the customization capabilities. They also deliver a quality product.

Customization Capabilities with Basic Invite

The extensive customization capabilities are what sets Basic Invite apart from other online stationery companies.

Besides being able to choose between different shapes and finishes on the cards, they have over 180 different colors to choose from, which pretty much covers any color you could think of.

And you can customize down to the tiniest of detail.  I had a lot of fun playing with this.  They also have 40 different colored envelopes to pick from.

Custom Invitations

Because I was writing this post, I wanted to experiment with other elements of their site so I could give more info to you.  Therefore, I created a birthday invitation from their designs.

This was easy and fun!  I picked out the style I liked and then I was able to click on all the different parts of the card and customize it with the exact colors I liked.

Personally, I’m a fan of bright colors for birthday invites so this is what I came up with!  You’ll also notice the polka dots on the back side which is also completely customizable by color and design (other options are collage, text, a single photo, etc.)

I opted for the shimmery red envelope here too (again, slight upcharge.)

Baby Shower Invitations

Baby shower invites are what they are currently featuring on their site, specifically baby boy shower invitations, monkey baby shower invitations, and baseball baby shower invitations. 

I’m not currently throwing any showers, but I imagined I was, and picked out one design and then customized it two different ways in order to show some of the customization capabilities

Like I said, the extensive customization is what sets Basic Invite apart from other stationery companies.

baby shower invitations

baby shower invitations

Other Features of Basic Invite

Besides the 40 different colors of envelopes to choose from, the envelopes are peel and seal.  They sealed up easily and also nice and tight.

Basic Invite has an address capturing service.  I can’t speak to its ease of use since I didn’t use it.  But it allows customers to share a link on various social media locations (facebook, Instagram, etc.) to request their family/friend’s address which is then stored on their Basic Invite account.

They also include recipient address printing at no additional cost for Christmas card orders.

While creating and ordering the cards, I noticed a chat window pop up if you needed help.  I did not need help, but it was nice to know it was there if I got stuck.

There was a printing mistake on one of the cards, and customer service was great to deal with.  Had to send a quick email and they got back to me within 30 mintues.  And I had my new card in 3 days. 🙂

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All in all, I think Basic Invite is perfect for people who want to be able to customize their cards to be exactly how they want them, down to the tiniest detail.  That is really their defining feature.

**Right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51

 

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How Letting Our Kid Dive Into His Passion Helped Him Bloom

Inspired by a 60 Minutes Episode

Many years ago, in 2012, I was watching an episode of 60 minutes about a mom whose son had been diagnosed with moderate to severe autism and was therefore put in many therapies.  Seeing him make little to no progress, she opted to pull him from his therapies and instead focus on his strengths and interests in hopes to draw him out of the world in his head.  Her goal was to mainstream him by kindergarten, which she was able to do.

Through allowing him to pursue his interests it became apparent that this kid had an intricate brain and many of the behaviors they were trying to fix in his therapies were symptoms of his brain working in such complex ways. 

**CAVEAT: Now I realize it’s not generally wise to drop all of your kid’s therapies (though in his case it was) and also that his story is a small percentage of autistic kids (I mean hello, he is a savant with an IQ higher than Einstein’s) but I do think it holds true that when you focus on what someone is good at, rather than only trying to strengthen what is weak, they will blossom! 

This 60 Minutes episode would have a deep influence on me, though right then it was just an inspirational story.  (I recently had the chance to read the book about this incredibly moving story called THE SPARK by Kristine Barnett, which I recommend for ANY parent!) 

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).
Our Story

At the time of watching this episode, I had two beautiful kids ages 1 & 3. Our 1-year-old son was not yet talking but we were waiting for a language explosion just as we had seen in our then 3-year-old.  Delayed talking runs in the family.  I personally didn’t talk until after age 2, and my daughter learned to both walk and talk at 18 months.  We told ourselves, he’s a boy, a 2nd born, it will come soon enough…

Well, when our son neared closer to his 2nd birthday we decided to move forward with an evaluation done by the Birth to 3 program.  We soon found out he was 50% delayed in speech along with a slew of other delays.   Speech therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Developmental Therapy were all recommended.

Early Childhood Program

We proceeded with a year of all the therapies, which thankfully were mostly done in our home.  And at age 3 he qualified for and started school at the Early Childhood program in our district.  Since therapy is automatically included in the program, we thought it would be the best option, instead of doing private therapy and working through insurance.

He still was not talking at this point, so we really had no idea what he thought about school, though he seemed happy to go.  He went for one year.  I was less than thrilled with the Early Childhood experience because 1) I had PLANNED on homeschooling and this felt like the loss of a dream to me and 2) It didn’t seem to help him with the areas he really needed help in (mainly expressive speech.)  He did have a wonderful OT while at school, but he only worked with her for 15 minutes 2x/week, and that was within a group.  It wasn’t anything like the 1:1 attention he had before for 1 hour each week.

However, I was pregnant with my youngest at the time and it was my first year of homeschooling my oldest, so I welcomed the break I received by having him in school each day for a few hours.  I was very tired due to pregnancy and now what I know was undiagnosed thyroid issues.  I look back and see that year of Early Childhood as God’s provision during that time.

Brain Balance and Beyond

Shortly after his 4th birthday, we pulled him out of school and put him in a program called Brain Balance.  Brain Balance is pretty intense and to do that AND school just seemed like too much.

When Brain Balance was over we made the somewhat scary decision to keep him home and put him in private speech and occupational therapy. I say scary because this meant the responsibility of his education rest completely on my shoulders.

While it was certainly “easy” to send him to school, and I felt less of a load because I could say “Hey, he’s in school, getting the services he needs”, the reality is it (school) hadn’t done much to help him and I knew in my gut we could accomplish more at home.  I also had that 60 Minutes episode in the back of my mind which influenced my decision.  And while I was unsure of that decision at the time,  I’m so glad I took the leap of faith to home educate him.

**Another caveat here: Early Childhood can be hugely beneficial for some kids, but it just wasn’t for mine. Every kid is different!  

Passion for Weather

It was around this time, at almost 5 years old, that it became obvious that this little dude was a little bit crazily preoccupied with the weather.   He would talk about it all the time which his therapists referred to as “perseverating”.  This immediately took me back 10 years to my very first year as a classroom teacher when I had differently wired 2E (Twice Exceptional) kid who was OBSESSED with roller coasters.  This was another way God was preparing me for my own kids. 😊

It bothered me that my kid perseverated about the weather.  I thought it necessary to help him NOT be fixated on the weather. So for a short-lived time, I would always re-direct him when he got going about the weather.  However, again, because of that 60 Minutes episode, I had this nagging prompting that this was a passion of his and it was ok and good, and even necessary to let him DIVE DEEPER into this.

So soon we would start buying weather books (that we would read to him) and instead of trying to redirect him to another topic, we allowed him to dive deep into his interest of weather.

And now?  This kid’s almost 9 and this obsession with weather is NOT. GOING. ANYWHERE.  He’s graduated from kid weather books to adult weather books and is an avid reader of fiction, non-fiction… you name it!

I attribute a lot of that to not spending so much time focusing on his weaknesses and rather, letting him lean into his strengths and watching him “grow” from there.

 

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For the Mom who gets SAD

SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder.

I remember first hearing about SAD and thinking, “Is that actually a thing?”

Basically, it’s depression that occurs during the same time each year, usually winter, though for some it can be in the summer.  And I can assure you, it is real.  Shortly after my 3rd child was born I started to notice that the winter days weren’t just long.

They were excruciatingly endless.

According to Web MD, symptoms of SAD are:
  • Less energy
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Fatigue
  • Greater appetite
  • Increased desire to be alone
  • Greater need for sleep
  • Weight gain

Do you struggle with SAD?  If you do, know you are not alone.  Up to 20% of people, mostly women, get SAD.  Obviously, that falls along a spectrum with some cases being more severe, while most are on the milder side.

As you can imagine, parenting, not to mention, HOMESCHOOLING, is much harder with SAD.  It can be a real struggle to get motivated.   Last week, for most of the week, I felt like crawling in my bed and sleeping all day.  My motivation and energy disappeared into the deep abyss known as February.

Combatting SAD

There are many things you can do to improve SAD.  An extensive list is found here.  For me, what helps the MOST is exercising, even especially when I don’t feel like it (which is pretty much always.)

Days when I can get even 10 minutes of walking in on the treadmill, I have much more energy and motivation.  An even better option would be walking outside, and bonus points if it’s sunny.

Vitamins, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep help too.  Many people have Vitamin D deficiency.  If you think you’re deficient, you’ll want to work with your doctor on that.

Lots of things help, but for me, exercise is the secret sauce to combatting SAD.  My day can turn from a downward trajectory to an upward one after a simple 15-20 minute walk!

**It’s important to note if you’re feeling especially down, with no relief, you should seek professional help.

Homeschooling with SAD

As far as homeschooling, keeping it lighter during the long winter days is also helpful.  Up the audiobooks and the game-playing, and lower expectations of yourself.

Obviously, you still need to move forward with school, but do cut yourself some slack if you’re dealing with SAD.  Send the kids outside for a bit each day (if you can!)  Make more soups, that warm the soul.  Turn some twinkle lights on, and crank up (ever so lightly) some music.  You can also check out these mood-busters, many of which were also mentioned in this post

And remember, spring is around the corner.  It won’t be long until you’re able to pack that long-underwear away (at least for a few months!) and bask in the warmth of the sun.

 

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Why I Love Anne Shirley: Then and Now

I remember the first time I met you.  As a shy, red-headed girl, about 8 years old, I vividly remember viewing the PBS special on a tiny twelve-inch television in our cozy living room.  As the story began I had no idea of the delightful treat I was in for.  Right away your story captivated me and I. WAS. HOOKED.

Anne Shirley, though only a character, you were an instant kindred spirit.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 
Why I loved Anne THEN

As a young girl I immediately connected with Anne.  There were the obvious reasons – the red hair and the name (my MIDDLE name is Anne with an “e”- close enough, right?!)  And the not so obvious reasons – I had a love for writing, active imagination, and was a hopeless idealist.

Despite the similarities, there was one big difference between Anne and myself.  Anne was endlessly uninhibited with a fiery spirit (which admittedly didn’t always serve her well.)  I think it was her lack of inhibition that really drew me in.

Why I love Anne Shirley NOW

Recently, the kids and I had a chance to read Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  As a self-proclaimed Anne of Green Gables mega-fan (um hello – I watched the movie while I was in labor with my first child!), I’m a little embarrassed to say, this was my first time reading the book!

Actually, we listened to the audiobook (we love audiobooks and YES they do count as read-alouds!)  We used this version, and hit the jackpot because the narrator sounded so much like the characters from the movie.

Unlike many movies and books, I thought the book was very similar to the movie (at least the Megan Follow’s version, which is frankly THE BEST!)

As we were listening, it was nostalgic for me thinking back about why I loved Anne, and I realized there are so many more reasons I love this story now.

Anne is an overcomer.  She is an orphan who finds her way and makes an impact on so many, despite her tragic background.

She is fiercely loyal.   This is perhaps what stood out the most to me when contemplating Anne’s character now as an adult.  In her friendships and her relationship with Matthew and Marilla, she is a steadfast companion.

Anne and our Outside the Box Kids

Though exasperating to the adults in her life, it is Anne’s intensity and drive that allows her to succeed.

This actually made me think of so many of our “outside the box” kids.  They can drive us crazy with their intensities that are often frustrating.  But those intensities may be the very thing that sets them apart as leaders.

I know viewing my own intense children through this lens can be helpful.

How about you? Are you an Anne Shirley fan?  What do you love about Anne?

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Five Tips to Tame the Technology Beast

Just today I was at Legoland with my family.  It shocked me the number of young kids that were staring at an iPod/iPhone while waiting in line for rides. We’re talking 4-5-year-olds.   

To be fair, I don’t want to judge or assume.  I’ve been around the mom block enough to know that there can be more going on than meets the eye.  I have a couple of anxious kids, and I know sometimes there are situations that warrant undesirable solutions (ahem, screens).  In fact, we let our 4-year-old use the iPad way more than I am happy about.  

But, I think most would agree that both kids AND parents use screens more than what is beneficial and necessary.     

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!). 

This technological world we live in, with information magically at our fingertips (not always good for this researcher mom who loves information!) can feel overwhelmingly difficult to navigate, especially when it comes to guiding our kids. And especially when we ourselves don’t have technology under control.

I’m always trying to find ways to tame the beast of technology in our home.  And so, recently, I read (actually listened to) the book ‘The Tech-Wise Family’ by Andy Crouch.

I found ‘The Tech-Wise Family’ to be an enjoyable and engaging book that provided wonderful nuggets of wisdom.  And it took a different perspective than I was expecting.

It wasn’t an anti-technology book, but rather focused on how to wisely implement technology in ways to make the relationships within our families stronger.  The audio version was actually read by the author which made it feel more personal.  It was a short “read” – about 4 hours long.

Since I listened to it on audiobook, I didn’t have the luxury of going back to the book to review it visually when I was done.

But, I did have the luxury of listening to it with my husband while we were on a really long car ride.  So we were able to process it together when we were done.  And we chatted about what things stuck out, or were our “take-aways”.

The Take-Aways or “Tips”

1. Create more than you consume.

OK, so that is really simplifying how Crouch phrased it in the book, but that’s what my brain remembers! Make the “hub” of your home a place where creativity can abound.

Ideas to make that happen include getting your electronic devices to the edges of the room (or out of the of room if possible), while keeping things that promote creativity front and center.

At our house, things that promote creativity include the piano, the kitchen (baking and cooking!), craft supplies, and building toys (legos, magnatiles, etc.)

2. Take Technology Sabbaths.

1 hour/day, 1 day/week, 1 week/year.

Now, I haven’t been doing this, but this take-away could have the largest impact on me and I hope to implement it well.  We’re such a technology-saturated culture that we can’t even remember what it’s like to be without it.

I look forward to remembering what that’s like. 🙂

3. Save Technology for shared experiences.

I can’t remember exactly how Crouch put it in the book, but he talked about the difference between using technology in isolation vs. as a family.  So basically, use technology to promote family relationships and connections.

If possible, when using technology, try to do so in family community.  For me, that conjures up images of family movie nights or watching AFV or other videos that make us laugh together.

4. Keep devices as far from the bedroom as possible.

Okay, so I am totally guilty of this one.  I love to scroll my phone before bed.  Also, I DO use my phone as an alarm.  But truly, I could use something else as an alarm.

Crouch basically states that your phone shouldn’t be the last thing you look at before bed nor the first thing in the morning.  Can we say enslaved to the phone?!

I am guilty here, especially as I’m trying to grow my blog!  But if my phone is not in my bedroom, I have no choice but to not look at it!

5. Know that boredom is good and necessary.

It is not healthy to be constantly entertained.  I actually read this article today that expounds on this point so well.

From the article:

“Of course, it’s not really the boredom itself that’s important; it’s what we do with it. When you reach your breaking point, boredom teaches you to respond constructively, to make something happen for yourself. But unless we are faced with a steady diet of stultifying boredom, we never learn how.”

 

As with anything you don’t want to become so legalistic that you lose sight of the big picture.  And in his book, Crouch emphasized, how there were many times his family failed tremendously at the principles he recommended.

However, he also emphasized that we can strive for many of these principles, without being perfect at them, and still see the benefits of being a tech-wise family.

-How is your family tech-wise?   What works?!  Please comment below!-

 

Photo by Tracy Le Blanc from Pexels

 

 

 

 

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Books to help you explore Ancient Egypt

I recently wrote a post about hands-on activities to help you explore Ancient Egypt. THIS post is a complementary post to that one, on books you can use to study Ancient Egypt.

Included in this list are the books that we found the most interesting and ones that sparked great conversation.  As I’ve shared in other posts, we like to use mostly living books for studying history. We used them as read-alouds.

There are so many books about Ancient Egypt to pick from!  This is just a fraction (but a GOOD fraction) of them!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!).

Usborne Books

Oh, how we love our Usborne books!  The two Usborne books that we used the most as we studied Ancient Egypt were Time Traveler and Pharaoh’s & Pyramids

Time Traveler is a great one that covers many different age periods and the Ancient Egypt portion is just one part of the book.  My daughter actually reads this one a lot but more for the section on the Middle Ages.

Pharaoh’s & Pyramids is out of print, but you can probably get it from your library or eBay.  The pictures are just so detailed and even humorous at times.  We had a great time looking at this one together.  This one is not available on Amazon but you can probably find it at your local library or eBay.

What I love about Usborne non-fiction, is the way they just take small parts of text and include it amidst great illustrations.  They can be used by all different ages of kids.

Historical Fiction Novels

A Cry From Egypt by Hope Auer

A Cry From Egypt was not on my original book list for the year, but a friend of mine who is doing Cycle 1 with CC, posted that her family had enjoyed this book.  I was not able to get it at the library so I purchased this one on Amazon.

My kids REALLY liked this one.  With lots of cliffhangers and tons of heart, this book was a favorite.  It’s the story of a 12 year old Jewish girl living during the time of the 10 plagues.   The kids begged me every day to read more.  There is a sequel, A Stand at Sinai, that my daughter begged me to buy.  She read it on her own and loved it as well.

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Also set in Ancient Egypt, The Golden Goblet is the story of Ranofer, an Egyptian boy who lives under the oppression and abuse of his evil half-brother, Gebu.  Ranofer’s main desire is to be a master goldsmith, but he has to figure out a way to escape Gebu.

This novel was not as much of a crowd pleaser as A Cry from Egypt, and my son liked it much more than my daughter.  It was slower to start but still very interesting and shed light on what life was like for common people in Ancient Egypt.

Picture books (not just for younger kids!)

The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt by Claudia Logan

The reader can participate in what an actual archaeological dig would have been like.  This book uses actual historical information from Dr. George Reisner’s archaeological dig of 1924.  It puts it together in a way that really engages the reader.  Lots of great pictures combined with information in a very pleasing format.

Ancient Egypt by Daniel Cohen

What makes this book stand out is the exceptional and large illustrations.  The illustrations are accompanied by text on each page and you will know a ton more about Ancient Egypt after reading this informative book!  Unfortunately, this is another one that is hard to find.  I was able to get it at our local library.

 

If you’re looking for a movie, then there, of course, is the beloved Prince of Egypt, always a favorite!

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages

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Why we chose NOT to do a homeschool co-op (this year)

Co-ops are an important part of the homeschool world.  And for good reason.  Doing this homeschool thing alone is a tough gig and it’s so much easier to do it in community!

Homeschool co-ops provide opportunities for kids to learn with other kids, friendships, adult interaction for the moms, and a place where you know you’re part of the group!

Our family has been part of many different co-ops during our homeschool journey.

My first few years of homeschooling were lonely. During those early years, co-ops were my lifeline.  And they were a weak lifeline at that, mainly because I wasn’t able to fully engage as much as I wanted to.  This was due to various circumstances, such as a new baby, or one year where our middle son did a Brain Balance program.

I’m not one of those moms who can juggle it all.  I’m actually a self-admitted NON-multi-tasker.   I can have a few things on my plate at a time, and THAT’S IT.

Finding homeschool friends after moving

In 2016, we made the move from Illinois to Wisconsin.  It was a move that turned our lives more upside down than we anticipated.  We spent the first 4 months after our move doing NOTHING besides staying at home reading aloud, writing, and doing our math (and taking my son to OT).

It was glorious EXCEPT that we really had no homeschool friends.  And so, in January 2017, we decided to join a local Classical Conversations community.  I was unfamiliar with CC at first but came to discover that many of the things we did at home already, aligned with it.

We did CC for half a year.  And then I tutored (similar to a teacher role) the next year for CC.  We made some great friends and I’m thankful for our time in that community.

Ch-ch-ch changes…

Then in June we found out our community would be dissolving and so I needed to make a decision…  Would we join a different co-op?

This decision was especially difficult because of the loneliness I felt in my beginning years of homeschooling.  But after much agonizing, verbally processing my husband’s ear off, and loads of prayer, I decided we were NOT going to do a formal co-op and we would instead do our own thing.   This was the decision that gave me the most PEACE.

And this blog birthed out of that time…  When I was realizing we were going to be OK doing our own “outside-the-box” thing.

And in fact, it may have been a blessing (for us at least) that our CC community dissolved.  You see, my daughter is not a big fan of despised the rote memorization, and the writing program that CC uses.  Two pretty big parts of the program actually.  So this year we were freed up and fired up to try the Bravewriter program, which has been a much better fit for us!

God knew what this year was going to look like.  He knew that my son was going to be in Vision Therapy, which takes up one morning a week PLUS the daily exercises.  And He knew that any more on my plate might have put me over the edge…

I’m not saying we’ll never do a co-op again, BUT I think there are seasons when it’s OK to not be part of a co-op.   For us, that season is now.

Have you ever been in a season where a co-op was just not right for your family?  Please share below, in the comments!

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