My toolbox

This is a long awaited post that was inspired by a few other mamas who reminded me to share my toolbox, or should I say treasure chest, of teaching & training tools.  This won't be exhaustive, but hopefully, you'll find a treasure or two for your own toolbox.

A year or so ago, the idea of Circle Time was birthed from this helpful site (and quick! the ebook is on sale) and we started our venture of mama of little girls gathering together in the morning. Since the beginning, we have adapted, changed and grown our circle time but we started with these favorites:

 Each morning we would go through one "letter" in My ABC Bible Verses, which provided a memory verse and a short "real-life" practical application of the verse in the lives of a brother and sister. (Sometimes we switch it up and I replace their names with "Addy" and "Anna" which guarantees ensued giggles.)

I am also trying to read through the Bible in a year (or two?) with the girls and LOVE this plan that I downloaded from the Desiring God website.  As often as we can, I also read the corresponding story from The Jesus Storybook Bible.  If you don't have a copy of this Bible, please get one. Not only will your children love it but it truly helps even those of us that are "seasoned" to keep the big picture that every story in the Bible points to Jesus.

Some days we need a break from the routine and so we will read an exposition of a verse in Psalm 23.  This precious book will capture your heart and those of your children as you walk with Sammy sheep through Psalm 23.





Since we have been through My ABC Bible Verses many times, we are now going through another  "ABC" book, from Vision Forum.  I can't tell you how precious it is to hear our little girls walk through all 26 verses that they've memorized.  (And let me assure you that as parents, writing God's Word on our hearts as well makes all the difference, I think of our "A" verse daily as I remember that "A soft answer turns away wrath!"

This one is next on our list. We started with it but found that My ABC Bible Verses was easier for our girls to begin with to get the rhythm of Circle Time down. (This is a book I can see walking through for years even with older and younger children but with two girls under 3 it was a bit much for our maiden voyage.)

We want to cultivate an atmosphere of learning in our home because we believe that education naturally flows out of the family (In the beginning, God created a family...not a public education system or even a fantastic homeschooling curriculum!) So throughout our day we try to take every opportunity to learn. 

A few tricks: To keep busy children focused at a meal, we go through flashcards...everything from ABC's and shapes to national monuments and planets.  We have good friends that read through a Bible Story and go through catechism questions as well (This is on our list of things to do next!)  We also keep this memory verse wheel at our table and pull it out at meals.  

While these are all great resources for my children, there are a few things that I love as mom that help me direct my children.  Here are just a few:

The Shaping of a Christan Family

Shepherding a Child's Heart

  

Wise Words for Mom's

Mom's Notes

and a plethora of great audio like this from Vision Forum

As I write this there are dozens more tools that come to mind but hopefully, these will provide a starting point for your own treasure chest. And please, if there are gems that I am missing, please be kind and share them with me!

Happy treasure hunting!