Education

Jordan River Remembering

September 28, 2012 By Kara Chupp

I’m adding new rocks to our Jordan River Stones today…

Is that why the Israelites keep recounting their past–
to trust God for their future?
Remembering is an act of thanksgiving,
this turn of the heart over time’s shoulder to see
all the long way His arms have carried.

~Ann Voskamp

This is not a new idea… (it’s actually quite old).

Nor is it my idea… (it’s actually one that God thought up).

But we’ve piled up “Jordan River Stones” for many years now.

The idea comes from Joshua 4 where God told the Israelites to:

“Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone…that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord…so these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever…so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”
~Joshua 4: 5,6,7&24

So whenever something happens that reminds us of God’s love or provision or power, we write it down on a stone to help us remember to– not forget.

Because it’s so easy to forget–
His goodness.
His faithfulness.
His power.
His love.

And the kiddos do ask– “What do those stones mean to you?”

Some rocks remind of big things– healing, financial provision, a new birth…

Some seem small– like the time our Laura prayed we would find an American Girl doll at a garage sale. Even after I made several, faithless attempts to fill her with doubt. God answered her prayer that day because He knew it would show her 7-year-old-heart something special about who He is and His love for her.

I see that rock and remember our young daughter dumping her small bag of change into the lady’s money box and I think, “His lovingkindness is great toward us…” ~Psalm 117:2.

I look back over these rocks of rememberance as I add a new one today…

…praising Him for the way He gives us concrete evidence of His love.

I want to remember.

“But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is (His) faithfulness.”
~Lam. 3:21

~Kara @The Chuppies

InLinkz.com

20 Comments | Filed Under: Babies, Boys, Discipling Children, Following God, Fun For Kids, Girls, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Hope, Parenting, Prayer, Special Needs, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tagged With: character training, child behavior, Defying the Culture, Education, Expectations, forgiveness, God, God's Word, intentional, motherhood, parenting, prayer, School, thankful, trusting God, worry

Changing our country…one prayer…one child…one life at a time.

July 27, 2012 By Angela

As July begins to wind down and August approaches…..like many moms, my thoughts turn to the rapidly approaching school year.

I think about what I need to do and get….how I need to be better organized this year and what I need to focus on in the coming school year.

As the start of a new school year begins to dawn, I’d like to send out a challenge to all of us…..a sort of “Let’s Make a Difference” kind of challenge.

It goes something like this:

What if we as Christian moms laid down our education labels and joined together to pray for our kids, for YOUR kids, for the kids down the street, and for the kids living on the wrong side of town…….what if we rallied around ALL of our kids and lifted them up each and everyday? What if we went into battle on our knees in prayer each and every morning for the souls of our children? And not just our children, but for our friends children. For the children in our neighborhoods……for ALL children….those that we know and those that we don’t know.

That’s my challenge.

Let’s lay down our educational labels and join hands and hearts as we unanimously pray for the children who go to the public school down the road, for the kids who go to the private school a little farther into town, for the children we know who are homeschooled and for those in our town that we don’t know……lifting them ALL up..

Each day

Every day

To our precious and loving Father.

Let’s make a commitment

Whenever we see a public school, a private school, or homeschooled children…..we make a commitment to pray for them. Right in that moment.

Right there.

Right then.

I know in the town I live in I can drive by at least 2 elementary schools, 2 high schools, 1 middle school, and 2 private schools within any given day. I have friends who homeschool and get to meet with them many times through out the week, giving me even more opportunities to pray.

It’s as simple as that……seeing and praying.

As a former teacher, I know how desperately prayer is needed in our schools….ALL forms of them.

Why? Because schools, no matter the kind, are filled with people…….and people need Jesus.

Want to change our country? Well, I’ve got a plan for you!

Pray for our children!

Pray for the future leaders of America……

You see, when we pray…..things happen.

When we join together and pray, it’s powerful…..so powerful that it brings Satan to his knees. Satan doesn’t tremble when we go to church, write blog posts, or read Christian books. He trembles when we open God’s Word and pray.

I’m reminded in James 4:7-8 that when we humble ourselves and resist the devil….He will flee from us as we draw close to our Lord and pray.

You know why?

Because our Father is good.

He loves to listen to His children and when He does, He draws close to us when we draw close to Him……seeking His will instead of our own.

Seeking His guidance.

Yes, we as Christian moms can truly change the world….one prayer, one life at a time.

It all beings with a prayer.

It all starts when we love others as ourselves.

We are called to be women of love and mercy……what better way to love our sisters than to pray for their children?!

I want to see ALL our children reach the finish line both spiritually and academically regardless of their form of education.

My sweet sister, I love you……and I love your kids.

I want you to live your best life…..a life that is surrendered and focused on Him.

I want no less for your children or for mine!

I want All of us to bring glory to our Lord…..being obedient to whatever path He has called us to.

Let’s join together, pray together and together bring glory to our Lord…..our one and only purpose!

So who’s with me?

I’m excited to start this challenge with YOU and see how God is going to move!

Love God Greatly!

-Angela

www.GoodMorningGirls.Org

12 Comments | Filed Under: Following God, Prayer Tagged With: children, Education, prayer

The How (and Why) of Creating a Nature Table

July 14, 2012 By Kara Chupp

Summer is the perfect time to start a nature table (or area) for your family…

But first–

The Why.

Because…

The heavens declare the
glory of God;

The skies proclaim the
work of His hands…

~Psalm 19:1

And because…

When I look at Your Heavens,

The work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

What is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

~Psalm 8:3 & 4

And because…

“…exposure to nature is crucial to healthy childhood development–-

and direct exposure to nature gives children a window into the heart and majesty of God.”

~ Go Out And Play

The how–

is fairly simple.

First, choose an area in your home where you'll have room for

several containers, books, boxes, mirrors, binoculars, bottles, jars and/or trays.

Gather any resources you may already own for identifying

bugs, birds, reptiles, leaves, plants, stars, mammals, rocks, trees and animal tracks.

It's good to especially aim for guides that cover your own particular area

so that your children can use them as they find discoveries in their own backyard-habitat.

The library is also an excellent place to start if you don't have these guides on hand.

We've found most of our books at

garage sales, thrift stores, on ebay, or as used books sold online.

Set out several storage containers that can be used for displaying the items your children find.

We like to use glass bottles, canning jars and wood trays for our displays.

Old printer's trays, with their many compartments, are excellent for sorting rocks and shells.

We also keep a jar with cut up bits of card stock that the kids can use to label the items they find.

Our nature center is constantly changing as the seasons change

and as our crew discovers new treasures to add.

Having a designated nature area keeps us all on-the-look-out

for items to add as we explore the outdoors.

It is also one way to share our awe and wonder of God's creation with others who visit our home.

Life quickly becomes busy and hectic, moving at such a fast pace

that it's easy to pass by and not really notice the amazing intricacy that surrounds us.

A nature table is one way to–

Pause.

And to really appreciate the gifts that God gives us through

“the work of His hands.”

~Psalm 19:1

“I so long to
grow deeper in astonished wonder.

For too long I
raced through life with my eyes straight ahead,

not pausing
long enough to look down at the flowers

or up at the
twinkle of stars.

When you see
the heavens, do you see the glory of God?

Do you
experience the wonder at God's creation?

If not, stop
racing long enough to turn your gaze up

and ask the
Father to pour wonder into your heart.

It's a prayer
He loves to answer.”

~Linda Dillow

Blessings,

Kara, The Chuppies

| Filed Under: Babies, Boys, Decorating, Following God, Fun For Kids, Girls, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Parenting, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tagged With: child behavior, Creation, Defying the Culture, Education, God, God's Word, Homeschool, intentional, motherhood, nature, parenting, Summer

Help Your Child Become a Better Reader This Summer

June 1, 2012 By Kara Chupp

“A room without books

is like a body without a soul.”

~G.K. Chesterton

In my pre-mama-days, I was a high school English and Speech teacher. Though you’d never know it with all the errors I find after I hit “publish”.

In my pre-mama-days, I was also a certified Reading Specialist.

But even with all that…

I still didn’t truly understand the importance of phonemic awareness.

But then, God gifted us with our first child, who is bright and creative and funny and kind and who we love beyond measure…

But she is also dyslexic and she really struggled with reading early on.

“Once you learn to read,

you will forever be free.”

~Frederick Douglass

And so began my real awareness…

Of phonemic awareness.

To give an over-simplified-definition–

Phonemic awareness is the ability to distinguish between different sounds and to manipulate sounds. And phonemic awareness is an important basis for reading.

AND–there are things you can do this summer to help your child grow in this area.

“The function of a good book is to stand like a signpost

guiding the reader to the Truth and the Life.”

~Tozer

Phonemic awareness is not–

–the ability to recognize and name letters.

–the ability to say what sound each letter makes.

–the ability to memorize sight words.

Phonemic awareness comes before all that.

And it has a huge impact on future reading skills.

Research shows that poor phonological awareness and phonological skills, often predict poor reading and spelling (and often speech) development.

Phonemic awareness is–

–the ability to hear individual words in sentences.

(Think…clap for each word you hear in the sentence “The cat is fluffy”.)

–the ability to hear and divide words into spoken syllables.

(Think… clap once for each syllable in the word “television”.)

–the ability to differentiate sounds within a word.

(Think… tell me each sound you hear in the word “r-a-t”.)

–the ability to hear and produce rhyming words.

(Think… what words rhyme with “fox”?)

–the ability to substitute sounds verbally and come up with new words.

(Think… change the “kuh” in cat to an “mmmm” and now what word do you have?)

–the ability to blend sounds.

(Think… can you put together these sounds to make a word? “Fff–oo–duh”?)

–the ability to hear alliterations in words.

(Think… what same sound do you hear in the words “fff-un, fff-ood, and fff-rog”?)

And…

If you have a pre-reader or a struggling reader,

Or you just want to help your child become a better reader this summer–

There are ways to encourage the development and improvement of your child’s phonemic awareness, and in connection, their reading skills.

Some simple activities that promote phonemic awareness:

(many of these work great for summer travel and car rides)

–Clap out the words in a sentence (one clap for each word).

–Practice clapping out the syllables in words (one clap for each syllable).

–Play a game of–who can think of 5 words that start with the sound “ssss”?

–Practice rhyming words.

–Read books that encourage phonemic awareness (see some of our favorites below).

–Use songs, rhyming games, nursery rhymes, and rhyming poetry as much as possible and let your child fill in the rhymes when you’re reading.

(For example, from Green Eggs and Ham…”I would not eat them in a box. I would not eat them with a _____.”)

–Play the verbal game of “What’s left when you take away_____?”

(If we take away “ssss” from the word “star” what are we left with?”)

–Play the “What word does not belong game?”

(For example…”box, fox, rocks, cat” or “cat, cake, cord, ball”.)

–Sing songs that rhyme.

(“I spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with blue…it’s something in this room…it’s your shoe” or “Carrie-Carrie-bo-berry-fee-fie-mo-merry…Carrie”.)

–Use counters. Give you child a pile of blocks and have them put down one block for each word in a sentence…or for each sound in a word.

(“I went to the zoo” = 5 blocks. “candy” = 5 blocks…I try to choose words they like. smile.)

–Use rhyming pair puzzles or make your own by printing out simple object photos of words that rhyme.

–Play with compound words.

(Say the word “horseshoe” and then ask “If you take away shoe…what do you have left?”)

“No man can be called friendless

who has God

and the companionship of good books.”

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Some of the books (we enjoy) that encourage phonemic awareness:

Sing a Song of Popcorn