Friday, September 16, 2011

10 Points of Joyful Parenting- Ann Voskamp


10Point Manifesto for Joyful Parenting

(any text in turquoise links to posts for more explanation & encouragement)::
2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.
3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.
4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!
5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.
7. Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.
8. Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals — because children’s hearts feed on touch. I’ll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible — the taller they are, the more so.
10. Today, I will laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create a culture of JOY!

You can read this list, and Ann Voskamp's blog here.
She also has this book "One Thousnd Gifts": 



Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Atmosphere, Discipline, Life

Charlotte Mason Method A method of education popular with homeschoolers in which children are taught as whole persons through a wide range of interesting living books, firsthand experiences, and good habits. Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her method, the Charlotte Mason method, is centered around the idea that education is three-pronged: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life. By “Atmosphere,” Charlotte meant the surroundings in which the child grows up. A child absorbs a lot from his home environment. Charlotte believed that atmosphere makes up one-third of a child’s education. By “Discipline,” Charlotte meant the discipline of good habits — and specifically habits of character. Cultivating good habits in your child’s life make up another third of his education. The other third of education, “Life,” applies to academics. Charlotte believed that we should give children living thoughts and ideas, not just dry facts. So all of her methods for teaching the various school subjects are built around that concept. (Excerpt from www.simplycharlottemason.com)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Be the Kind of Women...


Peaceful Home

"If our lives are too stressed, it is hard to be patient, and we tend to be less peaceful.  If people have not been listened to, they will not feel patient or loved.  Furthermore, a person who is hungry and has not had a good meal at the right time will also lack patience.  You can see that getting a good atmosphere is a tall order and that there is more to it than meets the eye."

"Atmosphere. The one that is genuine, honest, open, true.  And this means asking for and giving forgiveness, for we all sin.  None of us gets it right; none of us is easy to live with."

-Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
(Excerpts from "For the Family's Sake: The Value of Home in Everyone's Life")

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Tot School

Thinking about homeschooling? 
Check out this neat site... 

1+1+1=1

Sunday, September 4, 2011


Check out this site: