My children enjoyed reading the story Green Eggs and Ham. This picture book is referenced in movies, sitcoms, jokes, and general conversations because of its classic story line. Many can quote sections of this book, including the little rhyme: I do not like green eggs and ham.I do not like them, Sam-I-am. Prior to our 11-year ...
Teachable Moments
Redefining Parenthood: Focusing on Purpose, Not Just Character
I love asking parents, "What do you desire for your child?" I frequently hear words like happiness, generosity, and courage. Thinking about these responses, I find this quote from my pastor so interesting. "One of the things that hinders us from living courageously is a lack of purpose and calling." I would wager that happiness and ...
How to Teach a Child about Sadness
Teaching children about emotions is an important part of preschool and elementary learning; thus, it is a large part of the ABCJesusLovesMe Preschool Curriculum. While emotions, like joy and excitement, are fun to teach, covering a negative-feeling emotion like sadness can be intimidating. But by naming the emotion and talking about the feelings ...
9 Ideas to Turn Halloween Candy into Teachable Moments
Opening the pantry I was welcomed by the delicious aroma of candy my kiddos collected at our church's Fall Festival. While I love the yummy smells, enough candy and sugar greet me to start a small candy store. The do-not-waste-anything mentality inside of me won't let me throw it away. But I don't want my kids eating all of it. ...
How to Use the 4 Year Curriculum
Discover more in this series on Intentional Learning with the ABCJesusLovesMe Curriculum1. Combining the 1 and 3 Year Curricula2. How to Use the 5 Year Curriculum3. How to Use the 3 Year Curriculum in a Preschool4. Intentional Learning with the 2 Year Curriculum So far we've looked at ideas to be intentional with the 1, 2, 3, and 5 Year ...
How to Use Teachable Moments Every Day for Maximum Learning
Teachable moments. It’s a phrase that you will hear in abundance on this blog and on the ABCJesusLovesMe Preschool Curriculum website. And with almost 1.5 million search results on Google, it is a phrase that you have probably heard a plethora of other places as well. But what are teachable moments, why are they important, and how ...
Instilling Faith In Your Children
In my Biblical Discipline conferences, I humbly share that prior to having my own children I believed parenting would be easy. It wasn't long into my journey that I discovered raising godly children is anything but easy. And I know that I am not alone. Many of you are overwhelmed. You had great ambition, but somewhere between the piles of ...
What Deposits Are You Making?
In my mind, I have an ample amount of time before my children fly my nest to face the world. But the calendar is suggesting otherwise. Bubs started his first year of high school a couple of months ago meaning that I have only 3 years to finish the training that I started 15 years ago. Up to the point I have instilled in him a work ethic ...
Are You Skipping These Learning Opportunities?
Yesterday Little Man set up Monopoly, begging everyone in the family to join him. It is a game that I loved as a child. As a parent, I tolerate it. Crazy how things change like that. But, I knew it was important to my young son. Even though it wasn't always pretty, I was thankful that I grasped the moment. As we played I recognized the ...
When Your Child Refuses to Sit and Learn
For the past few weeks, I have seen several questions concerning children who don't want to sit for learning time. I often hear two sides to this issue. Those who believe that toddlers and preschoolers can't sit. Forcing a young child to sit is actually harmful. And, those who believe children must sit for long periods of learning because ...