2013 Planning: Kid's Lessons Binder

I've honestly never been much of a New Year's resolution maker, but with life only getting busier these days, I feel the need for it this year.  I prefer to think of it as planning instead of resolutions, but that's just me.  In my head, flexible planning gives me the wiggle room I need to stay sane while a list of firm resolutions seems to invite stress into my life.  So I sat down last week with pen and paper and got to work.  I planned specifically in three categories:

• Books to Read
• What to Teach my Kids
• Eating Habits

Obviously there are SO many more categories that I could have and perhaps should have planned for, but in order to keep things simple and doable, this is a start for me! 

Today I'm sharing my second category with you: What to Teach my Kids This Year.  There are a total of five things that I plan to do with them every week.

1. Mondays: Manners Lesson

After much research on the topic, I finally decided on this resource: Good Manners for Today's Kids by Bob and Emilie Barnes.  I wanted something with a Christian philosophy behind the reason for what we say and do, and this book seems to fit the bill.  I have not yet read through the whole book, but I'll let you know when I do!

Each week I plan to teach one good manner to my kids through reading, a story, and a practice game. 

2. Wednesdays: Memory Verse and Song

I absolutely love this resource, and I highly recommend it!  I heard about The Memory Bible for the first time a few months ago when my pastor recommended it in church.  I got on the computer that week to order it.  Lucky me, I found it on Ebay for ONE buck!!!  Granted it was not new, but it was in "good used" condition, and I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived at my door in rather excellent condition - oh happy day!! :)  Anyways, my point is, even if I had bought it brand new, I would still say that it would have been worth every penny.  The songs are awesome!  And they are very singable, even for really young children.  The verses are simplified for young kids to learn very easily, and the songs are designed to help kids remember the verses.  We just started with the first verse this week, and my kids are already loving the CD!

3.  Fridays: Character Trait

Resource: Get Wisdom! This book includes 23 lessons that teach qualities of wisdom and godliness.  The lessons are short and simple with cute illustrations to help children remember the traits.

The above three things are lessons that I plan to do with my kids at some point during the day, preferably in the morning.  Our days are still pretty flexible since my kids are not in school yet, but that will change this fall, so I'll have to re-evaluate my schedule then.  These lessons literally take no more than 5-10 minutes, which is perfect for my kids who don't like to sit still. :)

4. Evening Family Devotions

Our plan for evening family devotions (which we do right before the kids go to bed) is to follow the lesson plan for the God's Love Bible Storybook. (The lesson plan is available as a free download here).  Again, given our kids' ages and short attention spans, we need something short and simple, and this is perfect for them.

5. Catechism

Lastly, we will also be using the catechism provided with the God's Love Bible Storybook.  (Also available as a free download here).  Simple questions with short answers that beautifully point our kids to the gospel.

Lesson Organization Binder

After deciding what to do, my next project was to create some kind of organization system to keep track of what we're doing.  Seriously, if I don't stay organized I lose my mind!  I chose to use a binder with tabs. 

I was given a maternity binder from my OB at the beginning of my last pregnancy, and since I'm done with that, I recycled the materials but kept the nice sturdy binder for such a time as this. :)  

Something had to be done about the cover though.  I pulled out some scrapbook paper, cut it to size, watered down some glue I had on hand, and then glued it on using a foam brush.  

I've always used Mod Podge for similar projects, but I didn't have any, so I just poured some glue into a jar then mixed it with water until I got a good consistency.  Cheaper, and honestly, I thought it was much easier to work with than mod podge.  

After drying, I added a very thin layer on top, concentrating on the edges to seal them. 

For the tabs, I just used some letter stickers I had lying around.

Here's what we have inside so far...

Bible Tab: God's Love Bible Storybook Guide

Verse Tab: This week we did the "A" verse.  I had Aubrey write the key word and then draw a picture of the story that went with the verse.  This story was Moses parting the Red Sea.  It was an AWESOME day! :)

Our character trait this week was Listening.  The illustration was rabbit ears, so Aubrey drew a picture of a rabbit on the page.  I also wrote down a few points to remember about listening.

Catechism

I'm really excited about these plans for this year.  I love that God promises that His word will not return void!  Even now when our kids are young, we are planting seeds.  I know they need the power of the Holy Spirit to really understand these lessons, and my prayer is that some day soon my children will accept God's free gift and invite Him into their lives!

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