“One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Vosjamp is the name of the book that my dear friend Liz just gave me. Our family has recently suffered a loss, a great and unexpected loss, and the writings of authors like Lysa Terkeurst and… Continue reading

As parents of faith in this world, we have a job during Christmas. It’s our most important job, our responsibility, but in its true essence, it’s our privilege. We plan: we take pictures for a family card, we check addresses, we shop… Continue reading

One of our kids liked to read more than the other.  Curt would sit and read book after book, and then he would reenact scenes from the story.  He would imagine he was part of the story. Gina liked to… Continue reading

When I was teaching, yes, I had to focus on content. Reading and writing strategies and patterns in ancient history were carefully planned as daily goals. But what I didn’t “plan” was equally as important. There were endless opportunities to… Continue reading

Problems and worries are too much to bear alone.   It seems as if this is affecting our kids as much as us. There’s an author of children’s books that I only discovered as a middle school teacher, Kobi Yamada.  I… Continue reading

(repost) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.   Philippians 4:8 Let’s just face it.  There is a battle for… Continue reading

Merriam Webster defines phonics as: : the science of sound : ACOUSTICS : a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups, and especially syllables There have been back and forth trends in education regarding the… Continue reading

We have certainly become accustomed to getting answers immediately. What is that actor’s name?-Google it. What do you put in a shephard’s pie?– Google it. How long do you boil that kind of pasta?-Google it. How deep should those tulip… Continue reading

As parents in this “modern age” of history, we have to be able to sift through the STUFF that doesn’t matter and focus on what does. Life, even for our little ones, has become much busier. There are multiple reasons… Continue reading

School starts soon. Just that statement alone causes some anxiety, right? The summer “reading list” can provide a challenge, especially for those in middle and high school. I remember trying to encourage (coaz, bribe) my kids to begin early in… Continue reading

We recognize the benefits of reading to our kids when it comes to how it helps THEM. But, does this reading time, this slowing down of the hurried pace, also benefit us as parents? I believe YES. The Australian Parenting… Continue reading

The University of Cambridge recently released findings (June 28, 2023) about the many cognitive and emotional benefits of reading for pleasure, starting at an early age: Reading for Pleasure Early in Childhood Linked to Better Cognitive Performance and Mental Wellbeing… Continue reading

Cookbooks are books too. An easy, fun, and interactive way to “read” with our kids this summer is to use cookbooks! There are so many benefits to using cookbooks with our kiddoes. We’re asking them to read, think, evaluate, and… Continue reading

We hope to make summer fun for our kiddoes, and we hope to build special moments and memories with them. At the same time, we want to encourage reading fluency and help prepare them for the next educational year. One… Continue reading

I do believe that almost all of us can fit in a few minutes of reading with our kiddoes a day. We just have to believe it’s important and make it a priority. We all juggle a lot of things… Continue reading

As I’m thinking about summer reading ideas for our young kiddoes, I keep going back to my own childhood summers. Daily life really was simpler and slower. My brother and I literally had to choose ONE HOUR a day of… Continue reading

These two concepts have taken on an entirely new meaning for me in “retirement” —which has been incredibly busy. Life really hasn’t slowed down, but I personally am learning to slow down. Learning being the key word here. As a… Continue reading

A few months back, I wrote a blog titled “Incorporate (your idea of) Good Music” and talked about music and reading both being good for the soul.   I also shared ideas about using music during reading time, often instrumental music. … Continue reading

We know it’s important to read to our children and we know that it is also good for us as adults.   “Good” may be an understatement though.  Taking time to read can literally change brain function.  Yes, it is one… Continue reading

Why is reading to our little ones so important, and do we really need to start when they are babies? You decide!  Following are some of benefits of why we should promote reading.  I’m going to focus on these benefits… Continue reading

Yes, there is a song by this title by Lauren Daigle that I have listened to 100 times, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaT8Jl2zpI;  it is simply beautiful.  That song probably influenced this BLOG title, but there is a totally different intention behind it. This… Continue reading