Summer Reading Series: Amelia Bedelia’s First Vote

The economy, job growth, health care, contraception, and foreign policy don’t mean much to first and second graders. However, give them the chance to vote on whether or not they can run in school hallways, eat ice cream sandwiches for lunch or take a field trip to the circus, and all of a sudden, learning about elections, voting, and democracy is cool, yo. Score another win for Amelia Bedelia. The pint-sized politico channels her inner activist in Amelia Bedelia’s First Vote. If you are looking for a light summer story that’s heavy on humor and will surely help prevent seasonal … Continue reading

For the Strength of Youth Series

Have you read the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet lately? I hadn’t until I was called to a Young Women calling a while ago. All I remembered was that as a youth I used to think of the pamphlet as guidance for what I wasn’t supposed to do. As I looked at it again, I was amazed at the simple doctrines, the understanding, and the love that radiates from the pages of this pamphlet. Everything is so direct and simple. Everything is doctrinally sound. It’s fabulous. Whether you have a teenager around the house or not, this little book … Continue reading

Activities for Your Baby–Introduction

Recently in the forums, someone asked about what types of activities she could do with her twins who are still under the 3 month mark. Many of us seasoned moms said just taking them out, talking to them, singing to them etc. would be sufficient. Let me say first that I absolutely agree with just trying to incorporate as much interaction as possible into your day. However, this mom has twins and I know first hand that it’s a little difficult to interact with both of them at the same time in the same way you do with a singleton. … Continue reading

Media Review: American Cultures for Children Video Series

The American Cultures for Children series, available on VHS and DVD, provides excellent introductions to other heritages for children. These videos give an overview of the cultural history and experience of ethnic groups in America. Their strength is that they show not only the distinct culture and scenes of a foreign land, but Americans of that culture in the U.S. today. There are twelve videos available: African-American Heritage, Arab-American Heritage, Central American Heritage, Chinese-American Heritage, Irish-American Heritage, Japanese-American Heritage, Jewish-American Heritage, Korean-American Heritage, Mexican-American Heritage, Native American Heritage, Puerto Rican-American Heritage, and Vietnamese-American Heritage. Each video follows the same format: … Continue reading

New Blogger Introduction

Greetings everyone! I wanted to take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth Kane. I am a new blogger in the area of Marriage. Previously I was writing in the category of Single Parenting. I am thirty-years-old, I have two children, a daughter who is four-years-old and in preschool and a stepson who is almost eleven –years old and in the fifth grade. We all reside in Southern California, where I moved to from Arizona in 1994.I was recently remarried in April of two thousand six to a wonderful man who was my neighbor! I have a good … Continue reading

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading

The Prayer of Jabez: Intro

I’ve decided to start a blog series on one of the most life changing prayers. Some of you might remember right after the new millennium, many churches were heavily promoting Bruce Wilkinson’s book titled, The Prayer of Jabez. Just as with Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life, Bible studies were popping up throughout churches as the hunger for God’s blessing was cried out to Him. The short acknowledgement in the book of 1 Chronicles chapter 4: 9-10, has left a lasting impact on people’s lives changing the way many pray. Jabez’ life must have been special as the writer … Continue reading

What is Age Appropriate Sexual Development in Early Childhood? Introduction.

A child of four inserts a pair of scissors into her bottom. A child of eight attempts to put his penis into his little sister’s vagina. Is this acceptable behavior? No. Is it developmentally normal? No. These are indicators of something being wrong and worthy of concern. What is developmentally normal though? It can be so confusing and scary when a parent catches their children engaged in sex play. Usually the parents first reaction is shock, followed quickly by anger, and then concern, both for their own perception of perhaps being a bad parent and then for their child: “Am … Continue reading

A Mom’s Guide to Sanity: Introduction.

I haven’t been blogging very much during the past 45 days. It isn’t because I haven’t wanted to write or don’t have a lot to write about. It isn’t because I’ve been enjoying the long summer days or a vacation in Hawaii. I haven’t been blogging much because I have been parenting a child who suffers from mental illness. It really isn’t important how or why my child suffers from mental illness. I can make up a thousands reasons for her situation. It isn’t any easier because she is an Adopted child, because no matter how she became my daughter–she … Continue reading

Parenting Series: Intro

What bigger assignment do we have as parents than raising our kids in a God respecting and loving home; planting the seeds of wisdom into their young lives that they may grow and blossom into the adults God would have them be in preparation for their own? This isn’t always easy. After all, we are only human and dealing with our own Christian walks on a daily basis. So how can we, who are so imperfect, impart truth and wisdom of our perfect and loving Father in our children? The next several blogs I would like to write will be … Continue reading