Get Real with God ~ Discipline=Love

Are you a pack rat? Do you love to keep things just because they have some meaning or memory attached to them but don’t give any tangible benefits?

I’ve been organizing and sorting out our playroom, it’s like a drug for me, I can’t get enough of it! I honestly like it when clutter builds up so that I can spend time sorting it out! One of my daughters is deeply attached to everything she owns. Everything from McDonald’s Happy Meal toys to crafty paper projects that she’s put her heart into. So, needless to say, when I’m in the “ZONE” she’s not a happy girl. I have to be pretty sneaky and sometimes down right tough when it comes to her and her little treasures. While it bring me no delight to see my daughter sad, it is my joy to help her not be bound to things of this world: stuff. It’s just stuff.

My motto is: People are more important than stuff.

She can accept this answer somewhat because she does love people—VERY much. All this stuff is making it so the people living here are feeling crowded! Still, she gets fixated on something and her day is ruined because of the one tiny little thing (a my little pony comb)that has become the focus of all her attention and she’s forgotten about everything else she still has.

Isn’t that just like us? The Lord has blessed us with so much, more than we need, and yet we get fixated on the ONE thing that we don’t have or are about to lose so we sit in a puddle of despair.

Hebrews 12 says:

^“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

It’s painful to be disciplined, it’s painful to let go of things and people we love, it’s hard to resist sin in whatever form, but we can rejoice knowing that when God is working these things out of us, just like we work them out of our children, he’s doing it because he loves us. What an amazing gift!

So if you are going through a hard time and you feel like the Lord is taking away from you the things you love, remember this verse, remember that discipline is one of the elements of love, then you can be like our Tots, who after they’ve been disciplined run into our arms because it’s the safest and most wonderful place to be, and you too can run into the arms of the Father.

Cute Tots Coming Soon!

It's been awhile since we have shared your Cute Tots, but the day is arriving soon! If you'd like to share your tot with our awesome group of readers here at Totally Tots, please go here and see how!

We are sharing Cute Tots on March 31!!!

If you’d like your tot to be included please get your email/photo to me ASAP…at least by tomorrow, 3/25 {I know it’s fast-but I forgot to post the reminder and I am going out of town}!  If you sent your tot in between Nov and now, I have your photo waiting to share!

Looking forward to seeing your Cute Tots and visiting your blogs!

Once Upon A Book: I Want to Be an Astronaut

I Want to Be an Astronaut by Byron Barton

Book Summary: Blast-off! Up into the sky goes the space shuttle. Into orbit, the astronauts get a taste of ready-to-eat food, experience zero gravity, go for space walks, and even fix a satellite. It's fun to fly aboard the shuttle...and then come back to earth.

 

Bible Verse

Psalm 148:3--Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.

 

For our space adventure, we started with the Astronaut Preschool Pack from Homeschool Creations as the basis for our activities. Jonah loved the pre-writing skills practice. Once a struggle to get him to hold a marker and follow the lines, he did this activity over and over now that he's feeling confident with it.

 

Jonah also really enjoyed the shadow matching activity in the Astronaut Preschool Pack from Homeschool Creations.

 

Math

I had some star cutouts left over from my teaching days that I numbered 1-10. Jonah used the 1-10 number line (from the Dollar Tree) to help him place the numbers in order. We also used these to count objects.

 

Countdown Practice

We practiced counting forward and backward. For the countdown from 10, we placed our hands together above our heads and pretended do be in a rocketship. We bent our knees as we counted down until we were in a squatting position. When we reached zero, we yelled "Blast off!" and shot our "rocket bodies" into the air.

Art

We made a simple shape rocket.

 

Music

We changed the words to "10 Little Indians" to "10 Little Stars"

 

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Stars,

4 Little, 5 Little, 6 Little Stars,

7, Little, 8 Little, 9 Little Stars,

10 Little Stars in the Sky!

Review & Assessment

 

For a quick review we played a game of "Splat" on our magnetic erase board. To play "Splat", I gave Jonah a magnet to "Splat" the letters I asked him to find. Since we were reviewing A for Astronaut, I wrote several A's on the board and filled in the spaces with other letters. He then had to find all the A's and "Splat" them. Later, I changed the game depending on certain skills I wanted to review and assess--ABC order, letter sounds (I only wrote a few letters at a time), and even numbers. This game is so versatile!

 

 

A special shout-out to The Home Teacher for reminding me of this game I used to play in my kindergarten classroom!

 

Snack

Since astronauts eat their food in ready-made-packs, we had a Go-Gurt for snack and talked about our book.

Other Resources We Used

• A is for Astronaut  writing page from Spell Outloud
• Man on the Moon Unit from Musings of Me

 

 

 

Little Hands-On abc's and 123's - Early Graphing

Do you own pattern blocks?  Besides the usual activity of making pattern pictures with them, we have used them to make simple graphs.  Grab a handful of pattern blocks and sort them.  Then line them up as shown in the photograph and count them.  Discuss, which shape is there more of?  Which shape is there the least of?  Are there the same amounts of any shapes?

Here is another idea for a pre-graphing activity.

 
If you don’t own pattern blocks, don’t worry.  You can accomplish the same sort of thing by grabbing a handful of Chex mix.  Or mix three or four different kinds of cereals or crackers in a big bowl and then grab a handful of that. 

When math is edible, it’s even more fun! 

 

Play With Me ~ Farm Animal Block Mates & Unit Blocks

This month our Play With Me toy is something that pairs wonderful with wooden blocks ~ Farm Animal Block Mates. This fun pack extends the basic wooden unit block and will add MUCH fun to your little one’s day!

The Farm Animal Block Mates includes 5 animals in the box {a sheep, cow, pig, goat, and horse}. Each animal comes in four pieces ~ head, tail, front and back legs. The pieces are the perfect size for little hands, chunky and sturdy, giving your child some great fine motor practice as they fit the pieces together.

The four pieces fit onto a standard sized unit block and ‘lock’ into place on the block with the handy ‘Slip Grip’ system.

Here are some more fun and creative ways to use the Farm Animal Block Mates with your little one.

Jen pulled out her LeapFrog Fridge Farm and had her boys build what was in the barn with the Block Mates.

Jodi had her kiddos sort the pieces by head, tails and feet.

Carisa’s bunch also used their Rainbow Blocks along with the Block Mates to make some pretty animals! They used additional Rainbow Blocks turned on their sides as feeding troughs and filled them with different Learning Links as pretend hay {another great color sorting activity!}.

Have fun stacking and balancing the animals once they are put together {just a warning that it gets trickier the more you try to stack and little ones may get frustrated}.

Otherwise, just stack them haphazardly. :) A pig pile, if you will.

Jenn’s boys also had fun matching animal cards from Homeschool Creation’s Animal Sorting File Folder Game to the appropriate block mate animal.

A few more ideas {thanks to Jodi @ Granola Mom for God}:

• sort by color
• have a pretend animal race.  Using a dice, have your child roll the dice.  Whatever the number reveals, have the animal walk that many “steps” hops.  Winner animal receives some pretend food.
• have the child place the parts of each animal on separate wooden block as you relay the sound the animal makes.  So first, you would oink – on goes the head.  Then, you might neigh – on goes a horse body part on a different block and so on . . .
• study about each animal!  Read a book! 

Both the Farm Animal Block Mates and the 5 Piece Unit Block Set can be purchased directly from the Guidecraft website or from Amazon.

Would you like to win a set for your kids? Jodi @ Granola Mom 4 God is giving away a set of Farm Animal Block Mates along with a set of 5 Unit blocks {ends March 28, 2011}.

Much thanks to Guidecraft who provided this toy for us to use and review as a part of the Guidecraft Mom Bloggers team.

Little Books for Little Cooks ~ Duckie’s Rainbow

Rainbow Pancakes

Ever want to taste a rainbow? Some yummy rainbow pancakes might just do the trick!

The Book Before You Cook…

Duckie’s Rainbow

by Frances Barry

Summary: Follow along on Duckie’s colorful journey home,  where she eventually sees a beautiful rainbow!

When It’s Time to Cook…

You’ll need:

• pancake mix (or the ingredients to make your own)
• food coloring

To Make:

1. Mix up the pancake batter.
2. Separate the batter equally into six bowls.
3. Add food coloring to each of the bowls to make the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
4. Cook the batter on a griddle.
5. Enjoy eating your rainbow!

Little Books for Little Cooks is a monthly feature that focuses on creating some edible fun with your little one.   We will share a fun book to read with your little one along with a cooking activity to do that ties in with the featured book. Sometimes there may be actual cooking involved…and sometimes just fun!

Treats 4 Your Tot

Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

• Guidecraft Wooden Farm Block Mates…ends 3/28/11
• Pick & Draw…ends 3/28/11
• Kiddie Catch All…ends 4/1/11
• The Puzzle Pod…ends 4/1/11
• Veggie Tales Easter DVD…ends 4/1/11
• Boon Potty Bench…ends 4/1/11
• Comfy Sacks Bean Bag…ends 4/6/11

Bolded are items we personally own and love!  If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!

In My Heart ~ Matthew 17:20

Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed {Matthew 17:20} is #6 from Seeds of Faith.

Full Page Verse Printable…

Verse Mini Book {which could also be cut into mini flash cards to have kids put the verse in order}… 

Copy Work Tracers {print & cursive} Copy Work Sheets… 

Full Verse Coloring Pages…

Seeds Family Worship printables here!

Visit the main Seeds Family Worship Printables page here.

Visit Seeds Family Worship to learn more about their ministry here!

Simple verse cards from Seeds, and also a verse memorization checklist can be found here on their site!

Once Upon A Book: Curious George and the Rocket

 

Curious George and the Rocket

by H.A. Rey

Summary:  Off on yet another adventure, this curious little monkey finds himself up in space . . . and receives a medal for it!

Bible Verse

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;  to search out a matter is the glory of kings. (Proverbs 25:2)

Sometimes I don’t think that Curious George is a good little monkey, though his books say that he is.  I admit that I enjoy Curious George, but when we watch or read about this little monkey, the kids and I always discuss what George should have done.  God enables us to be curious to seek Him out. Encourage your child’s curiosity but also teach them how to use it properly by asking you questions, going to the library with a trusted adult, and “safely” experimenting.  George often ends up being rewarded for his foolishness . . . however, it is always important to honor and obey your parents.

Crafts

Constellation Crayon Resist

Supplies:

• white paper
• white crayon
• black paint (I thinned the paint out with a little bit of water.)
• paint brush
• two paper plates
• stapler, glue, or tape

Directions:

• draw dots or stars on a white sheet of paper using a white crayon

 

• On a protected surface, have your Tot cover the white paper with the black paint.

• While the paint is drying, cut a hole in ONE paper plate – pretending it is the rocket window Curious George looked out of.

 

• Place the painted paper between the two paper plates, making sure the black side of the paper faces the window.  You will need to cut off the extra black paper so that it fits just inside the paper plates.  Staple shut.

• Ask your Tot what he/she sees out of his rocket window and mention that this was probably similar to Curious George’s view.  You can even use this printable or pictures from this Tot Book so that Curious George can peak out of the window of the space shuttle. 

Constellation Can

 

Supplies:

• clean and empty aluminum can
• nail
• hammer
• flashlight
• dark room

Directions:

• Beforehand, carefully poke holes into the bottom of an aluminum can, in the shape of a constellation (if possible).  I made a heart.

• Pointing the can towards the ceiling, allow your child to shine a flashlight through the open portion of the can when standing in a dark room.
• Light should poke through the holes and create a constellation on the walls or ceiling.

Constellation Drop

(Your Tot could even sort the stars, if you use ones like the above.)

Supplies:

• small pebbles, buttons, beads, M&M’s, or other small object
• stickers (preferably stars)
• white crayon
• black paper

Directions:

• Allow your child to drop a small amount of beads one-by-one onto a black sheet of paper.

• After each bead is dropped, replace it with a star sticker.

 

• Once finished, connect the stars to form a constellation!

 

See how Maureen completed this activity! 

Numbers:  Counting Backwards

Supplies:

• monkey or rocket

Directions:

• Tell your child that you are going to send your monkey or rocket to the moon.
• Just as the book counts, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . “ so will you!
• Instruct your child that when you say, “Blast Off!” that they are to send their monkey to the moon.

A special shout out of thanks goes to Maureen from Spell Out Loud who helped me with this post due to the “Star Toddler” being under the weather for most of this month!  And a special thanks to the big brothers for filling in.  (They were pretty delighted that they could help you and your Tot!  Please write them a note if you have a chance!)

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!