Activities, Early Childhood Education, Homeschooling, Preschool, Toddlers
When I was a child learning math concepts for the first time, I don’t recall ever using math manipulatives as part of the learning process. In fact, the only real memory I have of using a math manipulative was when my parents gave me a multiplication chart. This helped me tremendously in understanding the basic ideas and rules of multiplication…
There are a number of benefits to the use of manipulatives in math instruction and practice. This is especially true (but not limited) to early…
Lifestyle, Motherhood
…I know everyone celebrates differently, with different activities, different food, different meeting places, etc. Not only that, but things change once we become parents. Our priorities shift a bit. The way we celebrate through those child-rearing years looks a lot different from the way we celebrated in our child-free years.
…this year I decided to put together a blog roundup to birthday celebration ideas about how mothers typically enjoy spending their birthdays, and with whom. I gathered some mothers and asked them the question…
Habits, Lifestyle
We’ve talked about a lot of things, and hopefully, we have been challenged and have made some lifestyle habits through all of the conversations we have had. That is why for this last conversation, I want to talk about personal growth. My goal is that you will take this Live Heart-Fully Conversation and continue on your own personal growth journey to deepen your relationships and also better care for your own mental, emotional, spiritual health…We are all always in a state of growth. For some, it may look like learning to practice kindness toward others or extending a favor or a helping hand to someone in need. Others may need to overcome an intense fear or courageously speak out in loving truth to a family member who needs to be held accountable. For all of us, our personal growth is a constant, ever-changing plane that we are learning to navigate as we head towards a particular destination.
Habits, Lifestyle
There are those hopes and desires that happen quickly, perhaps even right away. In other cases, there are those that take years, decades even before the slightest movement forward is seen. Chasing dreams is hard. The waiting is also hard. But there are times when both are necessary in order hope to grow and inspiration to increase.
Sometimes, the fulfillment of a dream is in the timing. Other times, it is in our own maturity. There are also times when the people in our lives are not the right ones to support us while we are chasing our dreams.
For this Live Heart-Fully Conversation, I have invited Rebecca Woolf-Ratzon to share some words that I hope will inspire…
Habits, Lifestyle
I grew up having some internal struggles related to fear and have learned the necessity of learning how to overcome fear. Due to some events and circumstances surrounding my life at the young age of six, my life has been riddled with insecurities related to being rejected and abandoned…I have struggled with friendships. I have felt invisible, forgotten, neglected, insignificant, and ultimately, rejected. These feelings of fear have often consumed my thoughts when planning for a party or gathering. I have learned that pressing through and discovering how to overcome my fear is the only way to move beyond those fears…I have invited Katy Malkin to this Live Heart-Fully Conversation because she has struggled with similar mental/emotional fears that have plagued both her childhood and adult life. Katy is full of wisdom and provides plenty…
Activities, Toddlers
Since my son is sure to bring home something like a stick, a rock, grass, mud, leaves, bugs, picked flowers, bark, and just about any other imaginable thing he can collect from a nature walk, we have loads of loot hanging out around our home, just waiting for a creative activity.
So, without further ado, I present you with some fresh new and simple leaf activities for preschoolers. These are all activities you can do when your little one brings home a fresh new pile of leaves. And what’s really special about these activities is that none of them are seasonal! In other words, you can complete each of these activities whether it is fall, spring, or summer (and maybe even winter depending on your location).
Activities, Toddlers
Guess what! It’s fall! And along with fall comes a huge number of fallen leaves. Leaves of many varieties of colors, sizes, shapes. They are golden, red, orange, purple, brown. These leaves are dropped from grand and gorgeous trees like the elm, oak, aspen, maple, and willow. The rainbow of leaves line our walkways, curbs, roads yards and parks. They also drop onto our cars, window ledges, and into our gutters. Although it is not the only thing that signifies the arrival of Autumn, this colorful array of fallen leaves is a very clear sign that Autumn is here. And let’s be real-anyone who appreciates natural beauty can appreciate Autumn for its natural beauty. That is why I love preserving leaves and have put together this tutorial on how to preserve leaves…
Habits, Lifestyle
I had a time in my life, when I was in my twenties when I had allowed sin into my life. It started in my heart when I was in college because I had some anger towards God about some things. By the time I was in the second year of my career, the sin manifested in my life fully. But nobody aside from me knew about it. It was my dark little secret. I was still serving in my church, teaching in children’s ministry, going to my community groups, and in general, still living the Christian life, outwardly.
A friend from college called me one night and asked me…
Habits, Lifestyle, Love & Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting
We make choices every day. Most of the choices we make seem harmless. However, there are many choices we make every day, some of which are mentioned above, that effect our lives and the lives of those around us whom we love and adore. The effects can either be positive or they can have harmful, even dire outcomes on our relationships.
Choosing love, grace, and patience in our response and actions is not easy to do. It will require we put away many old habits, and start practicing new ones daily. You will need to be intentional. Finally, it will require paying attention to the words we choose, our demeanor, and our attitude.
That is why I invite you…
Habits, Lifestyle
I am beyond excited to introduce Lela Putman in this Live Heart-Fully Conversation. Lela is an amazing and strong woman who has truly had to fight not just to regain respect, dignity, and self-worth for herself, but also for her husband of two years…for Lela, the last couple of years have brought some real and personal challenges for both her and her
