How to Be Awesome at Quarantine with Kids Part 3

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Previously, we talked about eight ingredients that we can use to help fill our days while we are social distancing at home.  Here are some specific activities for most of those categories to help get you started.  I tried to find easy, no or low prep options that you can do with whatever supplies you have at home.

Academics

• Flash Cards
• Sudoku
• Crossword Puzzles
• Workbooks
• Rhyming/Matching/Opposites Games
• Board Games like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Solitare, Scrabble, etc.  My kids especially love the Richard Scary Busytown Game.

• Pick an animal, sport, historical figure, country, etc. that they are interested in and research it together
• Spelling Games
• Keep a Journal or Video Diary
• If you have a chalkboard, write spelling words or letters on there and let your child "paint" them off with a paintbrush and water.

Reading

As I mentioned before, reading with your child or setting aside time for them to read independently is probably the most important thing you could do during these next few weeks.  You can find free audiobooks on podcast apps or rent them from your library through Libby or Hoopla if available.  There are also some on Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube.  See my last post for some recommendations.

Gross Motor

• Masking/Painter's tape works well on hard floors.  Make shapes or lines and have them try to walk along the tape without "falling" off.
• Tape crepe paper streamers at angles through a hallway and have kids bob and weave their way through the "laser field."
• Simple songs like the Hokey Pokey or Father Abraham can get kids moving.  Or put on some music and have a dance party!
• Obstacle courses can be made indoor or outside.  Masking tape, pillows, and pool noodles can be used in surprising ways to create obstacles inside!
• "Heavy Work" chores can be a surprising source of gross motor activities.  Have small children pull all the cushions off the couch and help you vacuum it, then replace the cushions.  Help (and supervise) them climb on a step stool to dust the top of a shelf or table.  For older kids, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, etc. double as housework and gross motor!

Fine Motor for Young Children

• Have children paint some sticks from your yard and then when they dry, tie some ribbons on them.  Put them in a vase for a colorful centerpiece.
• Put different kinds of paper, TP tubes, ribbon, etc. in a box with a pair of scissors and let them practice cutting!  (Stay close and make sure to supervise this one!)
• Put sticker dots (or just draw them) on a page and have your child connect the dots with a pencil, crayon, or marker.  
• Lacing cards are available to print online, or you might have some from Target.
• Give them strips of fabric or ribbon to thread through the holes of a laundry basket, chain link fence, chicken wire, or anything else with holes big enough.  
• Playdough!  Have them roll snakes and then cut them with scissors, roll different size balls, make shapes or letters, etc.
• I have a whole Pinterest board full of more great ideas for fine motor activities here.
• Coloring books and mazes like this one are a hit with my four year old

• Both of my kids have really enjoyed these foam mosaic craft kits

Fine Motor for Older Children

• Rainbow looms and weaving looms are great for more advanced fine motor practice.

• Paracord bracelets, macrame, and friendship bracelets

• Simple cross stitch or sewing projects

• Adult coloring books or printable pages

• Spirographs

• Finger knitting

Art

• The more open ended the art, the better.  Put a bunch of supplies on the table and see where they go with it.
• Mirror painting or bathtub painting are fun alternatives to the usual.
• Magazine collages
• Stamps, foam stickers, or stencils
• Directed drawing activities give step by step instructions.  Do one with your child and hang them up together when you finish!
• Watercolor pencils are a fun and less messy way to paint.  You draw with them like regular colored pencils and then paint over them with water.  Or dip them in water and see how different they write!

• Kwik Stix are tempera paint sticks that make painting less messy and easier for young children to control.

Music

This one is easy to incorporate into other activities simultaneously.  

• Play classical music during art time or while coloring and knitting.  There are plenty of playlists on Pandora, Spotify, or YouTube.
• Play upbeat music for a dance party or while doing an obstacle course.
• Play name that tune with Disney songs or whatever your family listens to.
• Let your kids do their own cover of their favorite song and make a video.  
• Pull out some pots and pans, your old recorder, or whatever else you can turn into instruments and have a jam session.

Sensory

This wasn't one of my eight categories but it's worth listing because a lot of food items typically used for sensory boxes aren't available right now.  So here is a list of common sensory box fillers that aren't food.  I'm not saying go buy any of this specifically, but maybe it will give you new ideas. (Use caution and supervise young children to prevent eating or choking, of course.)

• Shredded paper (even better if you have a shredder and they can watch you make it)
• Marbles
• Bingo Dots
• Pompoms
• Buttons
• Flower petals or other nature items from your yard
• Cotton Balls
• Cut Up Straws (let them cut up the straws first!)
• Easter Grass
• Cut Up Foam
• Bird Seed
• Fake Snow
• Glass Gems (used as vase fillers in hobby stores and Dollar Tree)
• Aquarium Rocks
• Water Beads
• Soapy Water
• Poker Chips
• Rainbow Loom Bands
• Yarn, Ribbon, and Fabric Strips
• Feathers
• Beads

Housework

I know, I know.  Sometimes it's more work to get them to "help" than to just do the work itself.  Think of it more as an activity than actually helping. I'm pretty sure if you have older kids, you know what they can do, but here are some ideas for young children.

• Wash doorknobs and baseboards with baby wipes.
• Sweep with a small broom
• Dust with a feather duster or a dry washcloth
• Wipe down bathroom counters with a baby wipe
• Put toys on shelves
• Fold washcloths and match socks
• Set the table with help
• Wipe the table before or after a meal
• Put bib/pj's/clothes in hamper

I hope this gives you some ideas to get you started!  Please don't see this is as a list to work through from beginning to end.  I am just throwing out a whole bunch of ideas so that hopefully a few of them click with someone.

Next post, I will describe my themes for our "Spring Break Quarantine Camp."

How to Be Awesome at Quarantine with Kids Part 2

This post includes affiliate links.

You just found out your children's school is closing for three to four weeks.  You can't take them anywhere.  You can't travel.  You just see days and days full of hours and hours yawning ahead of you.

Picture credits to Douglas Adams and this site.

Remember from my last post, if reading ideas about activities and plans stresses you out, walk away now.  Everyone copes differently.  Some people need this info, and some need to hear me say it's ok to do nothing.  Do what you need to do to get through.  And not all of these ideas will work for all age groups and all family situations.  You are welcome to message me with specific questions, and I will do my best.  I'm just trying to help in the very small ways I can, so if this helps, great.  If it doesn't help, no worries.

But let's say you need some suggestions.  I have some areas that I consider basic ingredients for my day.

Let's go through each area and talk about some basics.

• Academics

Many schools are transitioning to e-learning or online class components.  If that is the case for your school, make this a priority.  That means it gets done early, and intentionally.  If you like a schedule, set a time to all sit down and make it happen.  If you like it looser, set boundaries around what has to be completed each day before screen time or free play.  

If your school is not giving your children academic work to do from home, like most of the schools in my state are not, you can still devote some time each day to working on academics that will help them retain what they are learning.  You might use math flashcards, spelling games, books from the library about what they are studying in history or science, or whatever else you think would help engage their minds.  We are going to talk in a later post about theme days, and it is easy to find some quick activities for math, science, etc, that go along with pretty much any theme you can imagine.

• Reading

Setting aside reading time each day might be the very best thing you could do over the next few weeks.  You can order books from most local libraries online, and pick them up quickly without having to stay long in a public place.  If your library is closed, you could also order them new or used on Amazon if that isn't an option.  Chances are, you probably have a ton of books at your house already that you can pull out.  For little ones, read to them or with them every day. For older kids, set aside DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time each day.  Model it yourself!  Let them see you sitting on the couch reading during DEAR time.  

This is a great time to pick a chapter book to read aloud to your family.  The Read Aloud Revival has great suggestions for family read aloud books.  And if you don't like to read out loud, you can find audio books at your library or on YouTube, Spotify, Podcast Apps, Libby, Hoopla, Audible, etc.  Not all of those will be available to everyone, and some of them are free while others have a cost, but there are plenty of resources available.  Audiobooks have a magical way of entrancing kids from 4 to 14 (and adults too) and they will give you topics of conversation, inside jokes, and ideas for academic enrichment.  If you need some quick recommendations, I am reading Anne of Green Gables right now to my kids, ages 4 and 7.

And my husband is reading them The Green Ember.

We also recently finished Thorton Burgess' Big Book of Animal Stories and loved it!

• Gross Motor

Think big movements and big muscles.  Running, jumping, tumbling, jumping jacks, etc., are all gross motor activities.  There are lots of great exercise and activity videos on YouTube for kids.  Two of my favorites are Jack Hartman and Cosmic Kids Yoga.  You can also print out activity cards like these and set up an exercise circuit or an obstacle course for them to do.  If they can do gross motor activities outside, even better!  Jump rope, cartwheels, freeze tag, etc. Kids crave the deep muscle input they receive from gross motor activities, and they need to stretch and get out that energy, for everyone's sanity!  

• Fine Motor

Fine motor activities are the ones that require precision and detail, such as lacing, tying, sewing, pinching, etc.  For younger children, this can look like sorting pom poms into ice cube trays, or making a Froot Loops necklace.  For older children, it can be cross stitch or macrame or making paracord bracelets.  Stacking and balancing blocks, playing Jenga, coloring, and playing with Legos can also be fine motor activities.  I try to incorporate at least one fine motor activity into each day.

• Art

Creative expression is important, especially in times of stress!  Pull out some old magazines to make a collage.  Let everyone paint abstracts.  Make a nature mandala in the backyard.  There are tons of easy art projects that don't require special supplies and don't create too much of a mess.  You can search Pinterest for easy art ideas, or do something that goes with your daily theme.  One art project a day can give kids an outlet for expression and encourage them get lost in an idea.  While they're at it, why not pick up a paintbrush yourself?  You might be surprised how good it feels!

• Music

Music is soothing and has been shown to lower stress hormones and unify groups of people.  Whether it's a living room dance party or practicing an instrument, try to bring some music into your day!  YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, or even just the radio can provide some background while they paint or some rhythm while they perfect their dance moves. 

• Free Time

Remember when we were kids and we were allowed to get bored?  It's still an ok thing.  Boredom is actually important to kids because it encourages innovation and creativity.  If they aren't used to unstructured free time, or if they haven't had any since last summer, it might take a while to get used to, but that's ok too.  Start with a set time, and tell them it is their time to free play.  No tech or screens, and no structured activities.  There might be wailing and gnashing of teeth in the beginning, but eventually they will wander off and find something.  (Offering extra chores or tasks as an alternative always worked for my mom. Just saying.)

• Housework

We already talked about how things are going to get messier than normal.  Incorporate your kids into helping keep the house clean.  If they are little, it might be as simple as "helping" you sweep with a small broom or wiping doorknobs and baseboards with a wet wipe.  (Mine started doing that at 3 years old.)  If they are older, they can help fold clothes and towels, clean their rooms, set the table, etc.  It contributes to the sense of adventure and the attitude of "we are in this together" if they are included in the daily tasks more.  Again, there might definitely will be complaining, but it is worth it to use this time to teach about serving our family and taking care of our things.

Housework can also include cooking!  Get them involved in making snack bags, lunches, bread, dinner, desserts, etc.  It might make a bit more mess, but hey, you've got extra time now!

Of course there are plenty of other things you could add in, and we will talk about some of those next time, but if you hit all eight of those every day, plus meals, you are well on your way to filling the hours.

Next, I will give you some easy, no-prep activities in each of these categories that you can pull out on the fly.  Then I will talk about some theme day ideas if you want more detailed plans.  As always, comment or message me if you have questions.  I'm happy to help!

Here's a black and white version of the graphic so you can print it out and check it off if you want.  Both graphics were made for me by Megan Floyd at meganfloyd.com .  She is amazing.

Awesomely Easy Toddler School: Letter A

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  My opinions are all my own.

Last time, I introduced Toddler School as a way to incorporate learning into your toddler's every day routine.  Today, I'm going to go over specifically what we did with the letter A, so if you wanted to, you could use this as a kind of template to make it easy on yourself.  No need to reinvent the wheel!

Just as an aside, please remember that this is not forced or meant to be a super structured sit-in-a-desk time.  This is a fun, do whatever she's interested time.  Not every child responds to this kind of thing.  If yours doesn't, you'll have to get sneakier or more creative about how you introduce information to them.  You can still do it, but maybe not in this way.

Ok, but if you do want to do what we are doing, this is how we do it.

Calendar Time and Number Play

First of all, we start out day by doing our calendar.  I talked about it in my last post.  The calendar is a great way to practice counting, number recognition, prereading skills, days of the week, months, and more!  I also use calculator play, number puzzles, and the Poke a Dot books for number and counting practice throughout the day.  These are not really related to my alphabet theme, but I do try to make a point to do at least one number activity or book with her each day.

She loves playing with "her" calculator.

Alphabet Unit

As I said in my last post, I decided to do units based on a letter of the alphabet.  Each unit lasts approximately two weeks.  During that time, I try to cover two famous people (one man and one woman), at least one animal (usually a bunch), one place, and one object, all beginning with the target letter.  I also choose a character trait that is usually based on at least one of the people we are studying.  (It may or may not begin with the target letter.)  Here are the ones I chose for the letter A.

Man:  Albert Einstein

I have some leeway in whether I want the first or last name to start with the target letter, and it varies depending on which person I choose and honestly, which books my local libraries have.  We found a couple of simple ones on Einstein, and we emphasized that he worked hard and studied so that he could discover new things.

Also, I recently got her this book, Quantum Physics for Babies:

It is awesome, and the last page says, "Now you are a quantum physicist," with a picture of Einstein, so it got read a lot.

Woman: Amelia Earhart

This was Cricket's favorite part of the whole letter A unit.  She absolutely loves Amelia Earhart!  We got several books from the library about her, but Cricket's favorite by far was this one, called I am Amelia Earhart.

It really is a cute book, and apparently the illustrator used to work for Marvel Comics and some other big names.  Cricket would often repeat the lines Amelia said, like, "This is awesome!" and "This isn't a good idea.  It's the BEST idea!"  We emphasized that Amelia Earhart was very brave to do all the things she did, and the book makes a point of saying that she wasn't a natural pilot.  She just worked harder than anyone else.  I loved that part.

Brian found an old pair of tinted goggles that
immediately became her "Amelia Earhart goggles."

I used this coloring page for Amelia Earhart, but you can find plenty just by Googling it.

Animals: Alligator, Ant

We got a book about alligators and crocodiles and had fun reading it and looking at the pictures.  I used this coloring page for the alligator.  It is actually a whole set of letters made in the form of animals that begin with that letter, so I am making a little book out of them as she colors each one.

Places:  Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica, Australia, Alabama, America

Letter A is the jackpot when it comes to places.  Print off a map and you'll realize that the majority of the continents begin with the letter A, as well as several oceans, states, and countries.  (Not all of them begin with the traditional "A for Apple" sound though, so I used those for letter recognition, but not for the phonics emphasis.)  The main place we focused on was the Atlantic Ocean because it went along with the life of Amelia Earhart.  We also found some library books about Antarctica and Australia, so we ended up talking about those some, too.  They were a cute little series that was just perfect for a toddler attention span, with cool pictures and facts.

     

I printed off a world map to cover the oceans and continents, and I printed off a map of America and a map of Alabama, because we live there.  We also checked out a colorful children's atlas to look through, and a couple of books on Alabama.  Cricket especially liked Y is for Yellowhammer.  It goes through the alphabet and tells an interesting fact about Alabama for each letter.  They make them for several different states.

Object: Apple

The activities from 1+1+1=1 (more about them below) were all apple themed, so that was our main object, but of course, we talked about lots of words that started with A when we found them in our books or just out and about.  I think we even managed to eat applesauce and/or an actual apple sometime during the two weeks.  I am not stressing about trying to coordinate snacks to fit my theme (like some blogs I've read).  This one just happened to fit.

I also used this airplane coloring page because we were already talking about Amelia Earhart, so she had seen the word airplane a lot. The word airplane doesn't start with the traditional "A in Apple" sound, so we didn't focus on it for the phonics part, but we did use it for the letter recognition.  Airplanes are also great to talk about because toddlers are just starting to be aware of airplanes in the sky, so it comes up regularly.

By the end of our two weeks, our kitchen cabinet display was pretty full.

Character Trait:  Bravery

I know it doesn't start with an A, but since bravery came up naturally in the Amelia Earhart books, I made a point to emphasize it during these two weeks and beyond.  When she did something on her own the first time, we told her she was brave like Amelia Earhart.  We talked about how being brave meant doing something even when you were a little scared, like going into her bedroom when it was dark and turning on the light herself.  This has been something we have continued to talk about with other historical figures and Bible figures, emphasizing that there are many different ways to show bravery.

Bible Activities:

As I mentioned before, I printed off these amazing verse cards and put them on a ring.  The verse for A is "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15."  Cricket had no trouble memorizing this.  I would just read it to her and show her the card each morning, and for almost a week, she just listened.  Then one day, in the middle of lunch, she just started saying it.

I have to say, I was a little skeptical of trying to get her to do memory verses.  I didn't know if they were too long or too complicated, but she picks them up so fast!  We still review all of them every day, but she absolutely can say them by memory by the end of the two week unit, just saying them once a day like that.  Kids' brains are amazing.

We also read a Bible story every day from our Big Picture Interactive Storybook.

I did a blog post a little while ago on how and why we chose that storybook Bible.  We are loving it so far.  The stories are a little longer than Cricket's normal books, and since there is one story per page, sometimes she gets anxious for me to turn the page, but she usually makes it through the story ok, and she is definitely picking things up.  The other day she started repeating, "God always keeps His promises," which was the theme of the story on Abraham we had read that day.

I also try to make sure we listed to some praise and worship music or some verses set to music at some point during the day.  Pandora has a great praise and worship station, and Seeds Family Worship has some AMAZING Scripture set to music that she and I both love.

Other activities we did during the two weeks:

Play Dough

I have a set of alphabet cookie cutters that my sister-in-law gave me, and boy have they come in handy over and over!  Here's a set you can get on Amazon:

When we were talking about the letter A, I gave her the A cookie cutter and she had a blast making her own letters.

Google eyes and pipe cleaners are also super fun.

Alphabits

Alphabits are the new Cheerio's at our house.  I got them for her birthday party, but she loved them so much, I've kept getting them!  (And they're surprisingly not full of sugar!  They have a pretty short list of ingredients, too.)  She loves pointing out the letters as she's eating them, and even spontaneously decided one morning to look through her bowl of dry Alphabits to find the letters that spelled April.

It didn't even occur to me to do that, but we've done it several times with different words since then.  Whenever she finds a target letter in her Alphabits, we make a point to say the sound it makes.

Alphabet toys and puzzles

I absolutely love my Melissa and Doug Alphabet puzzle.  It is how she learned her letters in the first place, back when she was potty training.  She would spend forever working on that puzzle, and by the end of the week, she could recognize every letter and say the word for the pictures underneath them.  She still plays with it a lot.

Other alphabet toys that I love are the foam bathtub letters,

the magnet alphabet on our fridge,

and this Light Up Alphabet Apple that I got at a consignment sale.

They are all great review and practice for letter recognition and phonics sounds, and there are lots of things you can do with them.

Printables

As I mentioned before, I use several printables from 1+1+1=1.  It is a great site with just TONS of stuff you can use for your young child.  I just use a few basic ones, like the traceable target letter and the letter with a couple of pictures around it, both of which I put in page protectors so she can use dry erase crayons to color every day.

    
If you haven't discovered this combination yet, you're welcome.

Toddlers are not able to write letters accurately yet, so don't push that.  Just let them color the picture and watch you make the letters.

I also print out a couple of her pages on cardstock that Cricket can play with over and over.  There is always a little puzzle picture for the target letter, a matching shadow game, a sequencing game, and a lacing picture.  Cricket loves these and often asks to play with them several times a day.

So there you go.  That's everything I used for the two weeks we focused on the letter A.  Please remember, I didn't do all of this every day.  Some of it, like the play dough, I may have done once a week.  It just depends.  Also, remember this is just an introduction.  This isn't kindergarten.  My goal was for her to be able to recognize the letter, give the sound it makes, (or one of them anyway, since it's a vowel), and learn some stuff about people and places.  I didn't work on lots of phonics practice or writing drills.  It's just directed play.

I hope this helps inspire you.  If you come up with other ideas, please post them in the comments so we can all try them, too!

Choosing an Awesome Storybook Bible

This post contains affiliate links.  I am not otherwise compensated for my opinions.

I over-think things.  I know this.

Sometimes it is exhausting.  I can't choose a product without doing hours of reading and comparisons and evaluations.  Sometimes I wish that one time I could just not care.  Just one time, I could grab something and go with it.

This is not that time.

I decided that it would be great to get a storybook Bible for Cricket's Easter basket.  What follows is the criteria I developed for comparing them and choosing the one I felt would be best for Cricket and for our family.  It might not be the best for you, and I'm not bashing other books.  Just take this as one person's opinion.

1)  What is a storybook Bible?

Unlike a Bible translation, a storybook Bible (also called Bible storybooks, story Bibles, or some other combination of those words) is not a literal or even paraphrased translation of the Bible.  It is a retelling of a selection of stories from the Bible intended to be more accessible to young children.  They are usually designed to be read to a child, although there are a few that are simple enough for a beginner to read himself.  Storybook Bibles are usually illustrated and many times include discussion questions, suggested responses, or even activities to go along with the stories.

2)  Why use a storybook Bible?

Well, honestly, after everything I have looked at lately, I have to say that it might be easier to just read straight from the Bible.  I mean, most of us grew up being read to from an actual Bible.  It's not like it's impossible for kids to understand.  I'm not saying story Bibles are a necessity; however, they are nice because they help children to get engaged with the Bible in a more accessible way.  The pictures help hold their attention and the language is geared towards their level of understanding.

3)  Which one to choose?

Oh my goodness.  Little did I know what I was getting into when I started this.  I looked at maybe ten or twelve different story Bibles, and that wasn't even all of them!  When I was growing up, I think there may have been one or two available.  Now, there's an entire aisle of them at the Christian bookstores!

So I came up with a criteria to help me compare them.  These may not be the things you look for in a story Bible, but this is what was important to me.

• Theological Accuracy

Does it accurately depict the main themes of the Gospel, such as sin, redemption, God's love, etc.?  Does it tell the stories accurately or does it embellish or reduce them to the point where the main point is lost?  I get so annoyed when I have to rewrite Cricket's books as I read them to her because they are saying things that just aren't true.  For example, saying that a dove came and rested on Jesus at his baptism is not theologically accurate.  It was the Holy Spirit, and to simplify it to just a dove removes the power of that first look at the Trinity.

• Historical Accuracy

There are many "facts" that we learn as children about the Bible that we later have to unlearn.  Did the wise men come to the stable the same night as the shepherds?  Were there really three wise men?  Was Daniel a little boy when he was thrown into the lion's den?  Was the ark so tiny that the giraffe had to stick his neck out the top window to fit?  Was it a whale that swallowed Jonah?

I know these may seem like small, insignificant details in the grand scheme of things, but I just have a thing about telling the truth.  In fact, if you did a poll of all of those questions to people on the street or even people in your church, I bet you would find that there is still confusion about the answers, even though the they are right there in the Bible.  The truth is important.  We don't want our fanciful interpretations to cause someone to stumble (making the story of the flood seem unbelievable by not showing how large the ark really was, for example).  And why teach things to children that we will have to unteach later?

• Complete Stories

Does it tell the story of the Bible in some kind of chronological order?  Do they tell parts of the stories, or the whole thing?  Does the story of Jonah stop after the fish?  Does the story of Daniel go beyond just the lion's den?  Does it show David as king, or just when he fought Goliath?  I grew up learning the Bible in such tiny pieces that I was in eighth grade before I realized that the Jacob from the story of Jacob and Esau was the same Jacob who had 12 sons!  If we want our kids to really get the  message of the Bible, we need to make sure we present it as the complete story it is.

• Realistic Artwork

Since most storybook Bibles are illustrated with cartoon-like pictures, I'm not necessarily talking about lifelike artwork.  What I looked for was artwork that makes the Bible look like it could have really happened, versus artwork that makes it look like fairy tales.  Also, "European Jesus" pictures are a huge pet peeve of mine, so I wanted something that at least made an effort for ethnic accuracy.

• A Non-Legalistic Message

So many children's books treat the Bible like a collection of Aesop's Fables that can be pulled out at random to teach a lesson about what we should or shouldn't do.  I looked for a story Bible that pointed to the Gospel and to Christ, not to legalism.  (Yes, the Bible does tell us things to do and not do, but that response comes from a loving relationship with Him, not a list of do's and don't's.)  

A good way to measure this is to look at how they treat the story of Noah.  What is the "point" of the story?  I have seen everything from "Noah worked hard, and so should we," to "We shouldn't make fun of people like the men made fun of Noah."  Neither of these are the emphasis of the Biblical account of Noah, and they set a dangerous precedent.  Also, those kind of interpretations make everything in the Bible about "me" instead of about God's work throughout history.

(Fun fact: Nowhere in the Bible does it say that anyone made fun of Noah or mocked him for building the ark.  Neither does it say that they beat on the outside of the ark when it started to flood.  Those are the kind of extra things that are often added to children's Bible stories, and we grow up believing them to be in the Bible.  I believed both of those things were in the Bible until I was an adult.)

• Minimal Censoring

I do understand that the Bible is full of crazy, weird, and sometimes gruesome things that children may not be ready for at the ripe age of two.  However, I think we do a disservice to children by censoring the Bible to the point where we leave out the basic themes of sin, judgement, and even death.  We have no problem introducing concepts of evil, death, and punishment in Disney movies, (see The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Princess and the Frog, and Sleeping Beauty for some pretty scary examples of evil and the bad guy getting his/her punishment) but we balk at telling them that God punishes sin.  We permit them to hear about violence in fairy tales, but we suddenly have a problem with it in the Bible.  (Wolves eating children whole and witches baking children in ovens are ok, but we can't tell them that David cut Goliath's head off?)

To gauge this in the story Bibles, I looked at the stories of The Fall and of Noah.  Do they gloss over God's judgement of sin in the world?  I also looked for inclusion of other more difficult stories, like Abraham sacrificing Isaac.

• Beyond the Basics

Does it include just the basic Bible stories that are considered "appropriate" for children, like Daniel and the Lion's Den, Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, etc?  Or does it pull in some less well-known stories like David and Jonathan, Nehemiah rebuilding the temple, or Jesus being tempted?  Those are not necessarily the specific ones I was looking for, but I just like to see it go into more detail than the classic Sunday School stories.

• Reading Level

If you look at what's available, you find that you could easily buy a new storybook Bible every year to meet your child's ever-changing needs.  They have the baby Bible, the toddler Bible, the kindergarten Bibles, the elementary Bibles, etc.  Honestly, I can't afford to buy a new one every year, and I think it's kind of silly/wasteful.  I want one that we can use for years to come that will continue to hold a child's attention and teach new things as he or she matures.

See?  I told you I over-think things.

4)  I Found an Awesome Storybook Bible!

As I said before, I went through almost a dozen different storybook Bibles, and I found one that I just love.  It's called The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook.

The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook,
Click the picture or link to look through samples from the book or to purchase from Amazon.
Also, if you purchase the book through Amazon, you can get the Kindle edition free!

Note:  There is another story Bible with the name "Big Picture" in it, but it is not at all the same.

This book is brand new, and it has got to be one of the coolest Bible storybooks on the market.  It passed my criteria with flying colors!

• Theology:  The text is basically the Holman Bible translation, modified slightly for a younger audience.  There is virtually no editorializing, embellishments, or additions.  There is very little censoring at all in this Bible, other than for space.  There is no hesitation in discussing sin and judgement, or God's love and redemption.

• History:  You guys, the historical accuracy in this Bible is maybe the best I've seen in a children's Bible, especially in the pictures.  Jesus is a little boy when the (two!) wise men come to see him at his house.  Daniel is an older man with a grey beard in the lion's den.  Jesus' scars are even in the right place (wrists instead of hands) when he appears to the disciples after the resurrection!  I could go on and on because I was so impressed with the attention to detail in the art.  Since the texts are basically straight Scripture, of course they are very accurate as well.

• Completion:  I love how MUCH of the Bible they get into this book!  They tell the story of Jonah right to the end.  They tell not just David and Goliath, but also God's covenant with David, David and Jonathan, and  David's sin and redemption. 

• Illustrations:  The artwork is cartoons, which is fine, but it is realistic (the ark is really big) and ethnically accurate (Romans look Roman and Jews look Jewish).  Jesus even wears different clothes in different pictures!  Imagine that!  As I mentioned above, the artists really focused on making the pictures as true to the actual Biblical accounts as possible, while still making them fun and interesting for children.

• Message:  The introduction of this story Bible specifically says that the message of the Bible is "Be saved," not "Be good."  There is a tie-in to the Gospel and Christ at the end of every story, showing God's "Big Picture" (get it?).  There is no legalistic cherry-picking of morality tales.  The focus is on God's love, man's sin, and the redemptive work of Jesus.

• Censoring:  I can't even tell you how minimal the censoring is.  I was surprised but pleased to see even stories like Barak and Deborah left in there.  (You know, the one where the girl puts a tent peg through the guy's head?)  They were not shy about the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Bible, but they did make sure it wasn't overly gory.  

• Variety:  Like I said up there, I was thrilled at how much of the Bible they got into this book, considering it is a storybook Bible.  They have almost every Old Testament book covered by at least one story, and in the New Testament, they even cover some of the epistles and the early church!

• Level:  The reading level is geared primarily towards early elementary, so it will be usable for a long time.  She will enjoy the pictures and the basic ideas of the stories now, and as she gets older, she will benefit from the application and deeper messages as well.

• As it says in the title, there is also an interactive element to this Bible.  You can scan the pictures and special codes throughout the book, and it will animate the stories and give additional features.  I don't have an iPhone, so I can't speak to how awesome it might be, but it has gotten pretty good reviews.  I hope to eventually be able to use this feature whenever we get around to joining the 21st Century.

Again, I realize that there are lots of Bible storybooks out there, and I am not saying that they aren't valuable.  I am just sharing my thoughts on this one because it was exactly what I was looking for.

I am so excited to start reading this with Cricket!  I know we will all enjoy going through this storybook Bible together, and I can't wait to see how much she learns from it!  

Things that are Awesome: Young Toddler Edition

(This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.)

We are definitely in the "young toddler" phase right now.  Everything has to be done "Self!" but she is very clingy and wants me to watch her do everything and pick her up pretty frequently.  She is fascinated by lights and music and textures, but her attention span is still pretty short unless I'm right there with her to keep her engaged.  She asks for something and then immediately bursts into tears when I hand it to her.

It's crazy times.

Here are some products that are on the awesome list right now at my house.  They keep her attention, they encourage learning, or she just loves them.  I included affiliate links, but I am not otherwise compensated for these recommendations.  These are just things that I use and love.

Butterflies Dolls

Cricket's Grandma introduced me to these dolls, and they are awesome.  They are made in the spirit of an old timey rag doll, so they are soft.  No plastic faces to bang your kids in the head.  They have soft yarn hair and sweet clothes that you can take off (but they don't come off easily, so you don't have a mysteriously naked doll lying around.)

I love these dolls.  They are everything a doll should be, and nothing it shouldn't.  They don't talk, laugh, poop, walk, feed themselves, or do calculus.  They don't have an online "avatar" you can use play games with.  They aren't a hundred bucks a piece, like some other dolls.  They're not overly sexualized and they don't have unrealistic body types.  They are just a sweet, soft, cuddly doll.

Cricket loves them, too.  We have two of them, and she absolutely has to take one with her wherever we go.

The downside is, the only place you can buy these is at Cracker Barrel, so I don't have a link to give you, other that that press release.  Still, it's totally worth a drive to your local Cracker Barrel to pick one up.  Shoot, get two!  At $20 a piece, they're a steal!

Poke a Dot Book

This is such a cool book!  It's a big board book, and it has these plastic bubbles in the pages, and when you poke them, the turn inside out and make a "pop" sound!  Then you turn the page and poke it again to make it pop back! Basically, it's like a book that contains reusable bubble wrap.

Yeah.  Mind blowing.

Cricket things this is the most fun thing since they invented the swing.  Best of all, it's a counting book, using the song about the monkeys jumping on the bed, so we pop the buttons and practice our counting at the same time!

There are apparently a couple of other books in this series, so I'm putting those on the wishlist for sure.

Plan Toys

    

Cricket's Aunt Mallary got her these two, and I don't know who loves them more, me or her.  First of all, they are the most well-made toys ever.  They are made with no chemicals, and they use organic wood, soy-based inks, non-toxic glues, and a whole bunch of other awesome kid-friendly stuff.  The company uses sustainable manufacturing practices, which makes moms happy, too.

But the best part is the toys themselves.  They are fun and open-ended, and they are so dang cute, you'll want to play with them, too!  The flower toy has a little seed you plant in the pot, and little tiny garden sheers!  The veggies have Velcro to hold the two sides together so you can "cut" them with the little wooden knife!  Precious!

These are toys that grow with kids, and as an educator, I see lots of potential in them for learning as she gets older.

Melissa and Doug Puzzles

These might be the most-used items in Cricket's room, especially the alphabet puzzle.  They are bright colors, and the pieces have pegs, so they are easy for tiny hands to hold onto.  They have pictures underneath the pieces, too, for bonus teaching and fun!  I get so excited watching Cricket do these puzzles, knowing she is learning vocabulary, beginning literacy awareness, and practicing spacial skills all at the same time!  And she just thinks she is having a blast!

Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Tea Set

Cricket's Gigi got this for her recently, and she just ADORES it.  I don't usually go in for super girly, overly pink things, so I wouldn't necessarily have picked it out for her, but it's great.  It has three settings, one of which helps teach kids to say please and thank you, which is a kind of unique thing for a toy.  I mean, lots of toys teach ABC's or like, colors, but manners?  That's cool.  Another setting plays music, but Cricket's favorite setting is the one that just makes the sounds of pouring water when she tips it over.  It's cute.

The set also comes with a plate and some little cookies that teach shape recognition and sorting, as an added bonus.

Fisher Price Nativity

You guys, I have been waiting and waiting to get this!  I saw it last Christmas but decided to hold off on it until Cricket was a little older, but now I got it!  It's just awesome.  It's a ton of figures, and they really thought of all the details.  And the star lights up and plays, "Away in a Manger."

I will say though, the link above doesn't have the full set.  As far as I know, you can only get the full set, with the shepherds and everything, at Walmart.  Last year they were in the stores, but this year I had to order mine online.  Otherwise, you have to order the basic set and then order the shepherds separately, which is crazy expensive.  Why would they not just put that all together?

But still, it's awesome.  My sister and I played with our (porcelain) nativity set every year when we were kids, and if we'd had one that was specifically built for us, it would have been our favorite toy.

Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Head

Cricket's Aunt and Uncle introduced her to this classic when we were in Portland.  She studied it carefully and figured out how to put the pieces in the holes on her own, which she was very proud of.  She loves putting the pieces in and out of the little trap door, too.  There are tons of sets, in basically any theme you can imagine, so you are sure to find something that will make you smile as well.  (Darth Tater, anyone?)

So those are the most popular toys in our world right now.  If you have a toddler, or friends or family with a toddler, any of these would make great Christmas gifts!  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some playing to do...

For more awesome gift ideas for young children, check out these other posts:

Awesome Music for Babies and Toddlers

Awesome Books for Babies and Toddlers

Things that are Awesome:  Summer Baby Edition

Awesome Books for Babies and Toddlers

I did a post a while back about great books to read aloud, and I wanted to follow that up with a list of books that Cricket has really loved.  Most of them are board books because she can easily and safely turn the pages, and because I love the idea of her having access to books any time she wants.

Sandra Boynton Books

If you haven't heard of Sandra Boynton yet, you need to go find one of her books immediately.  They have adorable pictures and funny lines that will make even the adults in the room giggle.  Our favorites are Moo, Baa, Lalala, which teaches animal sounds; Happy Hippo, Angry Duck, which does a great job of introducing emotions; Snuggle Puppy, a fun and silly baby love song; and Pajama Time, great for singing when they're getting ready for bed.  There are tons of other great ones, too.

Mini Masters Series

These are one of my favorite baby finds ever.  They are board books that use paintings from the masters for pictures, along with cute rhymes that tie them together.  My sister got me started on these by giving Cricket Dancing with Degas, which she loves.  I have since gotten A Picnic with Monet and In the Garden with Van Gough, both of which are also awesome.  They're not expensive, and what a great way to introduce great art to children at a young age!

Baby Faces

I think all babies toddlers go through a phase when they just absolutely love pictures, especially of other babies.  I don't really know why, but maybe they just feel like they can relate.  We got this book through the Reach out and Read Program at our pediatrician's office.

I have to stop a minute and tell you about this program.  It is so great.  It's a non profit organization that provides books to children through their pediatricians.  Every time we go for a well visit, Cricket gets a new book that is geared exactly for her age.  These books always end up becoming the new favorites.  The program also works with doctors to incorporate advice on reading together as a family into your check ups, which as a teacher I love because reading to your children when they are young is the single greatest advantage you can give them academically.  No amount of Baby Einstein videos or V-Tech toys have been directly linked to later academic achievement like daily reading to your child.  I love that my pediatrician considers this as important as other aspects of healthy child development.

Ok, tiny rant there.  Anyway, books with real pictures of babies are awesome, and Cricket loves them.

Pride and Prejudice

I am totally in love with this book, and the whole Cozy Classics series.  First of all, the pictures are photographs of elaborately constructed scenes using needle-felted characters.  Needle felting!  How cool is that!?  And they look amazing!  Each picture is accompanied by a single word, and yet somehow, the basic story is totally in there!  The great part about just having one word on each page is that Cricket pretty much has it memorized by now, and it gives a lot of freedom for us to talk about the pictures as she points out different things.  They have a whole series of these, and I'd love to get some more.  They even have Emma coming soon!

Dr. Seuss Board Books

You can't talk about kids' books without talking about Dr. Seuss!  A lot of his regular books have been adapted to the shorter, more sturdy "Bright and Early Board Book" series.  Cricket's favorite is Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, which reads like a chant and is very fun, until you get to the end and are reminded creepily of Planet of the Apes.  She also loves The Foot Book and The Eye Book, which are not my favorite 'cause I feel like he pretty much just rhymed random words, but whatever.  She likes them.

My First Picture Album

 

Cricket's Grandma got this book for her for Christmas, and it is just the best thing ever.  It's a soft fabric book with clear plastic pockets that you can put pictures in.  The pictures are protected and she gets to look at them as much as she wants, which is great, because like I said, she is obsessed with pictures and would read my Shutterfly albums all day if I let her!

One of the coolest things about this book is that you can change out the pictures whenever you want to, and it's like a completely different book!  I actually want to get a couple more of this style book so I can make one book of her friends and one of the rest of the family I couldn't fit into the first one!


I'm sure there are lots of other books that Cricket is into right now.  It seems like she's always got a book in her hand!  What books do your little ones love right now?

How to Be Awesome at Hiking and Camping: Part 2

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Last time, I talked about the basics of packing for a hiking trip.  But before you set foot on a trail, it's important to take some time to change your mindset.  This is a big focus of all the books and magazines we studied for years, and it makes sense.  Most of us start out with very little experience outside of a very developed society, and the rules and expectations are just different.  You have to think like a hiker when you're in the backcountry, or you and others around you will not have a great time.

Think Like a Hiker

1)  Every Ounce Counts.

Let's talk about those first disaster trips for a second.  What kind of stuff did I pack in my bookbag?  (Because it was a bookbag at that point, not a hiking backpack with padded shoulders and a waist strap.)  Let's see:  hardback books, jeans, cans of beef stew (gross), and an entire canister of Gatorade powder.  Like, enough to make 30 gallons of Gatorade.

Why?  Why would I bring those horribly heavy, terribly impractical things on a three-day (ended up being a one-and-a-half day) hike?  Because I wasn't thinking like a hiker and because I was terrified of forgetting something.  This is why it's so important to make your master list and go through it many, many times.  You don't want to be impulsively throwing extra things in your bag at the last minute "just in case you need them."  That's a good way to add another ten or so pounds to your pack.

The "Every Ounce Counts" rule means that you get rid of all the extra packaging when you pack your food.  It means that you take zip-off pants instead of a separate pair of shorts.  It means that you try to plan your hikes around water sources so you don't have to pack three days worth of water, one of your heaviest items.  This is the number one rule of packing, and it affects everything that you bring.

Some people get really extreme with this rule and drill holes in their toothbrushes, or take off the zipper pulls on their clothing.  Some people buy cheap books and just tear out the few chapters they think they will read on the trip.  If you keep those things in mind, all of a sudden, your debate about whether or not to bring toothpaste doesn't seem so crazy.

2)  Be Prepared

Yes, the old Boy Scout adage.  This seems to contradict the first rule, but they actually work together.  The challenge, and I think the fun, of packing for a hike is to take everything you need and not one thing more.  When you get back from your trip and unpack, you should be able to look at everything in your bag and think, "Yup.  That came in handy."  On the flip side, you shouldn't have to say, "I really wish I'd had that."  (I mean, besides pizza.  Everyone wishes for pizza while they hike.)

Brian is the master of efficient packing.

So when you pack, you are always going back and forth between needing to be prepared and needing to pack lighter.  Again, thinking back to those early trips, I may have had tons of unnecessary stuff, but I didn't have a foam mat, so I froze at night as the ground sucked all the heat out from under me.  All the jeans in my pack couldn't insulate me as well as a thin foam mat would have.  Choose carefully.

3)  Hope for the Disney Ending.  Prep for the Shakespeare Ending.

This kind of goes along with the whole "Be Prepared" thing, but it's a little more specific than that.  You need to think about worst case scenarios.

Because this guy is definitely worst-case scenario.
This guy happened.  To me.

In regular life, worst case scenario usually means we call 911 and have someone available to help us in minutes, or we have a car that we can drive to or away from wherever we do or don't want to go.  In the woods, worst case scenario is pretty bad.  Someone gets hurt, you have no phone signal, and you're several hours away from the nearest road.  Plus, you have no Google to tell you whether or not that little guy up there is going to make your finger fall off, or if the pain is just for funsies.

You need to spend some time reading up on first aid and emergency care.  Learn how to splint a broken bone.  Learn how to signal with a mirror.  Learn how to treat a burn.  Learn to recognize venomous snakes, and whether or not you have flesh-eating caterpillars in your area.  And most importantly, carry the right supplies in your first aid kit.  Carry sting-ease to treat insect bites and evil (but harmless) saddle-back caterpillar stings (see above). Carry burn cream, topical antibiotics, bandages, and medicine.  If there are snakes in your area, take a snake bite kit.  You'll probably never need it, but take it anyway.  Always, always always take a map.  Even if it's to a trail you've been a hundred times.  You never know when you might need to find the quickest route to the highway, and it's probably not that lovely switchback down the mountain you just spent five hours on.

In the ten or so years we have been hiking, we have only had to deal with minor injuries, the worst of which was some second degree burns, so odds are that probably nothing will happen.  We're also really careful, we think through situations to make sure we are not putting ourselves in danger unnecessarily, and we always have the supplies we need in case something does happen.  We hope it won't.  But we're ready if it does.

4)  Leave No Trace

This is a huge one.  It is your personal responsibility to make sure that any trails, campsites, or other locations you visit show no sign that you were ever there.

Pictured:  Unspoiled beauty.  Keep it that way.

Of course, first and foremost this means no littering.  Everything you pack in, you should pack out.  Don't try to bury your trash.  Animals will just dig it up.  If you bury your TP, make sure the hole is 6 inches deep or deeper.  (There are actually entire books devoted to the issues of using the restroom in the woods.)

Don't, I repeat, DON'T try to burn your trash on your campfire.  The fire is rarely hot enough to burn it completely, and it just makes a trashy mess for the next camper to clean out.  If you do find someone else's trash, pack it out when possible.

Beyond just trash issues, though, if you made your own campsite, when you leave, no one should be able to tell you camped there.  Re-cover the ground with leaves or pine straw, cover your fire pit with dirt (after it is cool enough to rest your hand on), and double check for ropes tied to trees.  Leave. No. Trace.

If you use an established campsite, still make sure that it is the image for a perfect campsite.  No trash, chopped branches, food on the ground, or whatever.  Leave. No. Trace.

When you're hiking, make sure that your foam mat isn't brushing up against trees and leaving little foam crumbs like Hansel and Gretel.  Move branches aside as you pass instead of hacking them down with a machete like you're Crocodile Dundee.  Take the switchbacks instead of cutting a path straight down the mountain, which increases erosion and adds wear to the landscape.  Walk single file in a group so you don't widen the path.  Talk softly so you don't disturb the wildlife for the group a few minutes behind you.  Leave. No. Trace.

5)  Share the Trail

There are lots of basic policies and customs for hiking that are rooted in courtesy and safety.  Spend time reading up on these in hiking books, blogs, and magazines.  For example, there are lots of do's and don't's when you are hiking on a trail with horses.  You always give them the right of way if they need to pass you.  You try to stand off on the side downhill and don't make any sudden moves so you don't spook them.  You try to find another trail so you don't have to hike in horse poop all day.  Those kinds of things.

Not familiar with "Leave No Trace" policies.

Generally, you pass on the left of the trail, and smaller groups tend to get right of way because they move faster.  When you stop for a break, move completely off the trail so other groups don't have to step over you.

Of course, don't litter on the trail.  Even sunflower seed shells, apple cores, and other "natural" trash is still trash that no one wants to see while they are out in the woods.


There are lots of other things to keep in mind while you are hiking and camping, which is why I highly encourage you to read some books about backpacking.  Here are few I recommend.  These are books we have read over and over, and they've been really helpful.

       

  Click here for Part 1 of this series.