Fun For Kids - The Better Mom

Raising Boys to be Godly Men {The Warrior Weekend Giveaway}

June 11, 2013 By Ruth Schwenk

Sadly, many boys are not being taught what it means to be a man in God’s eyes. I’m not talking about a guy who can fight off Grizzly bears with his bare hands, throw the football the farthest, lift the most weight, have the biggest house, or drive the fastest car. I am talking about boys growing up and understanding that God has created them to love Him and love the world like Jesus.

The Warrior Weekend is a resource to help dads raise boys to be Godly men. Written as a devotional, it is full of biblical wisdom specific to boys, applicable stories of brave men, and adventurous activity ideas or a weekend away. The Warrior Weekend is a great resource for helping dads and sons explore God’s Word and God’s world together.

My husband wrote The Warrior Weekend because we want our sons to grow up clearly understanding that God has wired them different than girls – a lot different! This is not by accident, but by design. God has created boys to grow up and be Godly men for His purposes and plans for the world.

During The Warrior Weekend, there will be three lessons you will explore and complete together.

Each lesson consists of the following components:

Warrior Account: Each lesson will have a real life account of a warrior’s story in history. These are different men who have done extraordinary things. These accounts are meant to illustrate a biblical principle or truth outlined in that particular lesson.

Warrior Activity: Each lesson will have an activity that you and your son will complete together. These activities are meant to be adventurous and fun. They are also meant to illustrate the main theme of each lesson.

Warrior Application: After reading the warrior account and completing the warrior activity, you and your son will sit down together and discuss the application. This will be a chance to discuss what God’s Word says about how boys are created for God’s purposes.

Our prayer is that this resource and weekend will be instrumental in helping your son(s) continue learning what it means to grow up and be Godly men! The Warrior Weekend is a great resource for you and your son(s) or it can be used in a group. Feel free to invite more dads and their sons!

To purchase your copy now:

On Kindle, Nook, PDF, and in Paperback!!

Click to purchase The Warrior Weekend in paperback for only $7.99!

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Click to purchase the PDF of The Warrior Weekend for $4.99!

We are giving away 3 paperback copies of The Warrior Weekend!! Enter to win below!

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81 Comments | Filed Under: Babies, Discipling Children, Following God, Fun For Kids, Parenting

Summer Scheduling with Kids!

June 4, 2013 By Becky

It’s summertime and that means a couple of things – probably for most of you with kids, no school {or a break from homeschool} AND kids that are now BORED!

I’ve been there. I get it. My kids are getting better, but still come to me with the “I’m bored” spewing from their mouths. They also need to realize that in summer, since they aren’t as busy as usual, they are going to be expected to do more around the house. It’s a great time to clean out the old toys, clothes that are too small, and re-organize areas in their rooms.

But, I LOVE to come up with fun days of the week schedule! Here’s what I mean:

Monday is Runday - This is our weekly day to run errands all over the place. So, over the weekend I sit down and make out my lists – grocery list, Costco list, or drugstore lists -this is also the time I plan my menu for the next two weeks….

Tuesday is cleaning and laundry day - my least favorite day, but nonetheless a necessary day each week! I have a cleaning list that I go through – which again I will post another time.

Wednesday is Whatever day - This is our midweek day where we have nothing really planned at all. The kids can play outside, go to friends’ houses (although that option is open most days), play together inside, watch a movie, read a book, ride their bikes….it’s a fun day of spontaneouty. We might even decide to head to the movies, go get ice cream, Mom might work in the yard, or just do a small project.

Thursday is Backyard Thursday- This is a special day for my kids. Every summer we open our backyard up each Thursday morning and invite Moms and kids over to use our backyard. This is our ministry to our church friends and an opportunity to invite neighbors to come over, too. We moms love to sit under the large avocado trees, in the shade, and chat while the kids are on our large driveway writing with chalk, playing school, riding scooters, playing basketball, climbing the fort, swinging on the swings or playing in the playhouse! My kids set everything up, organize the toys before the kids come, and even help teach the new ones the rules – yep, we have rules posted around our yard!

Last we have FUN Fridays- This will be our weekly day to venture out and have a lot of fun – the zoo, the beach, bowling, Magic Mountain, or something more fun than just the library or the grocery store! We’re still open for more ideas….so if you have some, feel free to give your input for our Fun Fridays!

This is just what I do to keep our summers moving. I also have a summer cleaning schedule to keep ME from going nuts and spending too much time cleaning in the summer fun! But, to keep my kids from spending WAY too much time on media {TV, computer, Ipad, Wii, etc.}, I have come up with a way to keep tabs on their media time using media sticks. It worked great last summer and helped the kids strategize how to spend their time wisely!

Blessings,

Becky, Organizing Made Fun

2 Comments | Filed Under: Family Management, Fun For Kids, Home Organization, Homemaking

Nine Tips to Summer Reading Success

May 26, 2013 By Shannon McKee

One of the things that I challenge our family with every year is to foster a love of reading during the summer months. It’s a great time to read books for pleasure since there are no school assignments or required readings.

Reading is a passion of ours and it’s our hope to pass that on to our kids. But, it’s important that they don’t just view reading as a “school” thing. It’s a “life” thing in the McKee home.

But, I’ll be honest, with the prominence of video games and other media options, it takes some intentional effort for all of us. My kids truly like reading. But, without some encouragement from us as parents, it’s still likely that they’d tend to take the easier road and opt for the TV.

So, mom, how can you help keep your kids engaged with reading during the lazy days of summer? Here are a few ideas that have helped us over the years:

Help your child select books on topics he is interested in and are on his reading level. It will be worth the effort to dig around, look online, and ask for suggestions from friends. Good books make reading so much more fun. (A simple rule of thumb for helping your child select books at his reading level is to have them choose a page in the book (not the first one) and read it. If he doesn’t know five or more of the words, then the book is too hard for pleasure reading.)
Have plenty of books, books on tape, magazines, and other reading material around for kids to read. Keep books in the car and make sure a good book gets tucked into go-bags.
Set goals and reward reading. Your local library probably has some great resources and summer reading incentives. If not, check out www.scholastic.com for their summer reading challenge.
Ask your kids about the books they’re reading. Talk about the storylines and the characters. This will help them experience the book at a deeper level and it might produce some great conversations as you help your child evaluate how the characters wrestle through life.
Set aside a time and a place. If you can create cozy space in your home just for reading, the emotional association will be a good one. And that makes a huge difference.
Let your kids see you read. I almost always have a book with me so that if we’re stuck waiting somewhere, I can read a few paragraphs. Our kids know that reading is a valuable pursuit - not because we tell them to read but because they see Rick and I reading a lot.
Make reading together fun and memorable. My kids are both good readers in their middle school years now; but they still love to be read to. It’s one of our favorite times of the day. I know I’m sort of a nerd but I really get into it and like to use different voices for different characters as I read to them. Reading together is a bonding time for us each evening.
Read it, then do it. Does your child want to learn to knit? Create her own computer game? I bet there’s a book on that! Non-fiction books are a great resource that most children don’t consider.
Connect reading with other summer activities. For example, read books about places you will go over the summer or things you will be doing.

What about you? What ideas would you add?

Blessings,

Shannon

3 Comments | Filed Under: Fun For Kids, Parenting Tagged With: books, parenting, Summer

The Growly Books: A Journey for the Whole Family {Giveaway}

May 22, 2013 By guest

holding-book

The excitement in our home has been almost palpable the last few days. For months now, we’ve been working hard on a book. A children’s chapter book that is the tangible result of years of dreaming.

Something about the process has brought special joy to Phil and I. It’s the fact that our girls have been included in the journey. They have not written the book, designed it, or done any of the actual work. Yet they have been by our sides throughout the process.

They’ve known that Daddy was getting up before dawn morning after morning to write. They peered over my shoulder as I did the first edits. We asked for their feedback when we named the characters, chose the color of the title on the cover, and more.

Why does this matter? Because when we include our children, the journey becomes richer, stronger, and more meaningful. I know that our girls will look back with fond memories of this process. Because it wasn’t something that Daddy and Mommy did on their own. It was a project they felt included in.

As the first reviews for the book have come in, Phil and I have been so blessed to see that the same sense of togetherness is present when families read the book. Review after review carries the same theme, family time spent reading together:

“Whether it’s books for me, or for my children, I’m always on the look out for either. The best books are sometimes, the ones that are for all of us. Begin (the first of The Growly Books) is such a book.” – Kris Camealy

“The very first night I started this book with the boys, it received the highest compliment it can get from them: ‘Keep reading, Mommy! And that went on chapter after chapter until we had read for much longer than any of us had planned!” – Erin Mohring

“My daughter and I started reading this together before bed the other night and she instantly talked me into reading ‘just one more chapter!’ After about 3 or 4 chapters with her, I picked it up and read it straight through for myself!” – Amanda White

Our hope was that this book would be something families could enjoy reading together. And it brings us special joy to see that becoming a reality.

About the Book

“For centuries the bears of Haven have lived quiet lives, high in the mountains at the edge of the great Precipice. That all changes for a young cub named Growly when he receives a mysterious message. With just his backpack and glider, Growly sets out on a desperate journey to find his grandfather’s long lost friend . . . and to find a way back home. Begin is the first book in The Growly Books series. Written for the 8-12 year old reading level, it is also a captivating read aloud for younger children and will appeal to anyone who appreciates stories of adventure and friendship. The book contains 35 chapters, with 13 beautiful illustrations by Annie of Be Small Studios.”

The book is available now in both paperback and Kindle formats!

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A Giveaway: Annie Barnett (Be Small Studios) is graciously offering a giveaway of an 8×10 print of an original pencil and hand-painted watercolor version of one of The Growly Books: Begin’s illustrations. The image is printed on high-quality cold press matte paper, to replicate the feel and look of the original watercolor.

To enter join the Rafflecopter below:
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Erin crop (Darcy)

Erin’s heart for helping others achieve their goals is the foundation of her successful business, Design by Insight. Using her ability to ask the right questions, Erin captures the message of a project and translates that into a great design. Erin and her husband Phil have established a reputation for quality design, professional client relationships, and personal commitment to each project. Her book, Self Publish: Moving from Idea to Product (co-authored with Teri Lynne Underwood), gives writers the tools they need to effectively plan their own self-published projects. Erin and Phil’s first children’s chapter book, The Growly Books: Begin released in May 2013. You can also find Erin writing at her personal blog, ErinUlrich.com.

Erin lives in South Carolina with her husband Phil and their two daughters, and their home is usually a whirlwind of creative activity.