Friday, June 19, 2009

Resources and Ideas for Moms

A few months ago at our American Mothers meeting we had the topic of “What’s Working.” I loved hearing the ideas of the other moms and taking some of my own little gems to share. I have been wanting to blog about some of the things that we talked about and hopefully it will be beneficial to some of you. Following are some tools that were mentioned at the meeting that I thought were worth sharing:

The book “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” by Engelmann. When I first saw this book I was reluctant to start it. Caleb is a resistant learner, but when I am consistent he has done awesome with this little reading program. I know a few other moms that have used it and they rave about it too. I don't know anyone that has used it that doesn't have great things to say. Better yet, you can get it on Amazon for about $20.

I have also been teaching Caleb piano from Nancy and Randall Fabers “My First Piano Adventure.” You can learn about the course at http://faberpiaon.com/myfirst/ I swear it is totally awesome for young beginners. Their other courses for older beginners are good too.

Some other fun ideas that moms at the group mentioned:
“Family Fun Night” on Friday nights in addition to Family Home Evening on Mondays.
Recording the voice of distant grandparents reading bedtime stories.
A “can do” list for weekdays and a different “can do” list for Sundays.
One child at a time has a night up with mom and dad once a week rotating children.
Have a section of your house that is your toy free zone.
Tell your kids something good that they did when you tuck them in and have them tell you their favorite part of the day.

Other Parenting Books I LOVE:

“On Becoming Baby Wise” by Ezzo and Bucknam. I give following the principals taught in this book all of the credit for my happy babies.

“The Power of Positive Parenting” and “Christlike Parenting” both by Glen Latham. (I would highly recommend any of his material.)

“Parenting with Love and Logic” (I don’t take this one to an extreme, but it has some great ideas.)

“The 5 Languages of Love for Children" by Gary D. Chapman

“Siblings Without Rivalry” by Faber and Mazlish

Isn't being a mom a wonderful adventure!

5 comments:

Cathie said...

You always have great insites. Very good thoughts. I think I will focus on telling them something they did good and asking them their favorite part of the day at tuck in time. (However, that may get Emi riled up with lots of randoms to talk about!) We will take your family here anytime! It's good fishing and long days starting June and I think until the end of August. Let me know when you book so I can pass the time by Keith - maybe he could take a day or two off.

The Ravsten's said...

I ordered the reading book and we should have it tomorrow. I'm so excited to see how K will react to it. It should be fun.

Jordan and Jodi said...

Thanks for the great ideas! And great book suggestions...I'll look some of those up our next trip to the library! It's good to get other ideas and input from other moms!

Kar said...

You are Mrs. Learn. I love that you are a lifelong learner, and that you throw yourself into parenthood with the same zeal as you would throw yourself into schooling. I was excited that I've read a couple of the books on your list. I tell everyone I know about Baby Wise. A lifesaver.

katie and co. said...

Thank you for the great ideas! I love the 100 easy lessons and I have yet to dive into some of these others but you just gave me the umpf to do it! Love you carrie!