Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Family Council

     I came across the most amazing resource for LDS Parents, a neat guide sheet to Family Councils and Personal Interviews. I will admit, this is something I am NOT good with! I guess since I homeschool and am with my children 24/7 I feel like having Family Council and Personal Interviews is just not something right up there importance wise. I truly changed my way of thinking after reading “ A Mother’s Book of Secrets” By Linda Eyre and Shawni Eyre Pothier. LOVE THEM!!!

     Anywho… they have a chapter called “ Five-Facet Review”. What a wonderful gold mine! I love this idea. Basically it is an in depth conversation between mother and father, about how each child is doing. You go over five facets of their lives.. Physically, Mentally, Socially, Emotionally, and Spiritually. You pray and discuss these five points for each child. Then you are ready to go into the Personal Interview with them. I highly recommend reading this book, not only are they parenting super heroes… but the pictures are gorgeous!

     Ok, on to the guide sheet for Family Council and Personal Interviews. I found that HERE. What a neat blog by the way, I can’t wait to read the entire thing! Here is a cheat sheet for parents! How great is that!

     Alright parents, let’s discuss this. I need some help and will be doing our first ever Family Council, Personal Interviews and Five Facet Review. What are some good ideas from you guys ? What helps? What doesn’t work ?

     Happy Parenting! Love, JL~

family council

Personal Interview

book of secrets

You can purchase this book HERE

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

November Family Network Challenge

    A Big Thank You to Janine for writing this challenge for us!!!!!

 

Everyone has had a bad day.  One of those, spilled-coffee-in-your-lap, baby’s-diaper-leaked-3-times-before-breakfast, car-doesn’t-start kind of days can really put you in a foul mood.  But what if you were shown a little appreciation that day?  Wouldn’t it lift your spirits and make life’s little mishaps less of a burden?

diy thank you cards

This month start a new tradition and teach your children one of the most important values you can.  Try making these simple DIY thank you cards as a family and show appreciation to people in your community.

Simple DIY Thank You Cards

Materials:

Cardstock or pre-folded cards

Different colored scrapbooking/construction paper or washi tape

Regular scissors and edgers

Glue

Coloring supplies

Printable “Thanks” Tags

It’s crazy how easy these are to make!  First, if you’re using a full sheet of cardstock, fold it in half with the short edge together.  Cut the sheet in half and fold it in half again on the short edge to make your card.

Next, have your children cut long strips of different colored paper and use kraft edgers to make a decorative cut on one end of the strips.  To make this even easier, you could cut lots of strips ahead of time and just have your children do the decorative edge.

diy thank you cards

Glue the strips with the straight edge lined up with the top of the card.  To make this part even easier, you could use washi tape!

diy thank you cards

You can print these free “Thanks” tags by downloading the template below.  Cut them out ahead of time or have your children help.

diy thank you cards printables

Glue the tags over your paper strip collage and Voila!  Heat up some hot chocolate and make a bunch with the whole family.

diy thank you cards

Now that you have your cards, make sure you put some in your bag.  When you are out and about this month, have your children give the cards to people in the community like your waiter, cashier, or someone who says something nice to them at the store.

You could also plan a special delivery to the fire or police station; even the family doctor.  These little gestures of thanks go a long way in making someone’s day better and instilling values in your children!

The Giving Thanks November Family Challenge

How are you giving thanks as a family?  We would love to hear about it!  Please leave a comment or grab a button and link up below.  You can also send me a picture of your idea and I will post it to my facebook page.

Need more inspiration?  Follow the Gift of Giving Pinerest board with tons of ideas to help you teach your children how amazing it feels to give to others.

The Gift of Givingby Janine, TrueAimEducation.comService Projects for Kids- Kid World CitizenTeach Thoughtfulness Through Daily Gratitude Notes This Month: It may lead  to happinessTeaching the girls to think of others though thoughtful donations.  We donated decorated shoes to kids in need.Teaching Kids the Art of Graciousness when receiving gifts.Teaching Children To Think Of Others: A Simple Random Act of KindnessTeaching Children the art of gratitude.  Make a gratitude tree with the family. What are you all grateful for?snow globes - Christmas giftHandmade Christmas gift ideas: no knit scarf, tic tac snowman kisses, unique bookmark, heat pack, holiday notepads and more.Mini Can Food Drive - To Help Teach Children To Give by FSPDT #momsfightinghunger #nokidhungryAnti-Hunger Organizations We Love {Moms Fighting Hunger} Alldonemonkey.comSave The Date: Three fabulous ways you can get involved and support No Kid Hungry #MomsFightHungerOperation Christmas Child Shoeboxes!Take the Dole Champions for kids back to school challenge and help children in need receive healthy snacks.The Good Long Road: {Kindness Crosses Barriers} Call to Action: Donate Back to School Supplies #BackToSchool #giveThe Good Long Road: Happy Birthday, Eric Carle~We're Doing a Very Hungry Caterpillar Virtual Food Drive to Help Very Hungry Kids! Join Us!!GIrl Rising and the Gift of Educating Girls #GIrlRising #EducatingGirls #eduThe Good Long Road: Happy Birthday, Eric Carle~We're Doing a Very Hungry Caterpillar Virtual Food Drive to Help Very Hungry Kids! Join Us!!50 Ways to Make a Difference this Summer!The Good Long Road: Baked Goods - Do Good: Join the Great American Bake SaleHow to Help Tornado VictimsPennies of Time: "Penny of Time" Adventure: Care Kit for the Homeless.  Candid Slice inspired us to make these travel sized care kits ready to hand to someone in need.  It was a great way to help the boys start to understand how being homeless affects even the smallest detail of a person's life.  Highly recommend this service act!  Teach kids to serve.10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Make a DifferenceAn App every mom Should Have! Free custom thank you notes that you can text or email.Ideas to say thank you for a nurse that has did a great job!  Nurse gift. Teach children to serve.Featuring "Love Notes" By Craft & RepeatJust one of the Miracle Stories that happen EVERY DAY at the over 170 children's hospitals! Thanks for your support!Read a book online and a book will be given to a child in need every time you read one!Thank You from Moms Fighting Hunger - Innovative Ideas, Activities and Inspiration for Helping Kids Learn to Give to Others #momsfighthunger #nokidhungryBest of 2012 - From 21 Days of Gratitude to 365 - Making Gratitude a Daily PracticeCesar Chavez and...Thanksgiving? Being a family of service and giving.See On

The Family Network

giving thanks november family challenge

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.trueaimeducation.com/2013/10/diy-thank-you-cards.html" title="christian parenting and education" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.trueaimeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/family-challenge.jpg" alt="christian parenting and education" style="border:none;" /></a></div>


Play with Your Family


Fun on a Dime


Serene is My Name Not My Life


LDS Parenting


Mom to Three Babies



*By linking up, you are granting me permission to use and/or re-post photographs from your blog or website.



Ideas on Giving Thanks as a Family





1. Thanksgiving Gratitude Board 








2. thankful thanksgiving tree 








3. thankful hands 








4. Thanksgiving Activities for Kids 








Or use the new Add link method ?





(Submissions close in 26d 13h 29m)



URL:

(URL of your blog post)



Name:



Email:

(Not visible)



Trouble linking up?

Try here



Link tool by inlinkz.com

Love One Another …. The Post I’ve Been Waiting For

love-one-another
     I’ve tried for months to write this post. After a “comment” from a branch president… I’ve been worrying and praying and trying to figure this out. You see he told me that ‘someone’ had mentioned to him that I am acting like an expert in parenting and that I didn’t deserve to have this blog. Well, of course it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. You see back when I first started this blog, I was on fire! I loved it! I knew with all of my heart this is what Heavenly Father wanted me to do! I loved the fact that lots of LDS Parents could gather together and share ideas and encourage each other! I loved it! Then, with one comment, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Two years I’ve done this blog. I’ve had many amazing friends and writers who have guest posted on this blog, and basically I hadn’t even written a post myself, for quite a while. So why, did this person think I was trying to be an ‘expert’ ??

     I immediately sat down and re-read the entire blog. I felt proud of the blog. Then I tried to re-read it in the point of view of the person who had commented on this. I still loved it. People who know me in real life, all gathered around me and said, you do NOT act like you know it all. You are a humble parent. That made me feel good. It’s true… I am absolutely the most guilty, overwhelmed momma around! I always feel like I could be doing more. But that is one of the reasons I started the blog. Because I wanted ideas… I wanted other people’s points of view, how did they deal with things ? I wanted to research and write about topics that concerned parents all over the world. I certainly didn’t want anyone to think… oh she knows it all. I soooooo do not know it all…… I don’t know anything ! I’m still learning and will continue to learn each day of my life! So, basically, I stopped writing. I wanted to see if I could live without LDS Parenting. I wanted to see if I could live without this blog. After a couple of months, I realized I missed it to much. So here I am…. laying it all out on the table. Yes I mess up. Yes I am dealing with a chronic illness and I can’t do all the super amazing things that I want to do. Yes I love my kids and I love being a parent. It’s the most important work of my life! The reason I was born! So the blog is up and running again. I don’t even know if anyone reads it anymore, but I’m here. I’m going to keep writing and inviting people to write here and researching and studying and learning!!!! Would you care to join me ??
     So here’s to a new start. Happy Parenting! Love, JL~