Morning Basket

Once in a while you grab an idea from Pinterest and you actually do it! This idea is one of them. Inspired to Action shared a great little Hello Morning Basket (I'm having an awful time with the link, please check back and I'll try to properly give credit. In the meantime, you might try www.inspiredtoaction.com for the post) in early August and I had the pleasure of reading her post earlier this week. I made our basket the same day.

What is the basket? It's a morning Bible study basket which the original poster offers at breakfast with some inviting hot chocolate. I thought this would be a terrific idea for our family to use at breakfast- to bring everyone together and to do some prayer before we start school.

What's in the basket? Devotional books, Bible, and prayer sticks

What's in our basket? The 6 devotional books listed below, a Bible, and our own prayers sticks.

I had this put together in a few minutes- just the time it took to grab the books from the shelves and find the craft sticks!

Probably my favorite devotional book for kids- you can easy peasy add a craft to this one!

I've had this on my wishlist for years- just a great collection of stories and poems that teach children manners. Each story is followed by a note from the editor and a Bible verse.

We've had this one for a long time- I'll admit. It's not one of my favorites. The kids agreed.

Little Visits with God is a great one for the family.

This is an oldie but goodie...an alphabet of character training with plenty of pictures to keep little eyes busy.

How does it work? We bring the basket to the table- it sits next to our pencil tree on the floor and I grab it and while the kids are eating breakfast. I had been looking for the perfect opportunity to share from Everyday Graces which I've wanted for years and was recently gifted to me. The stories are just right for the morning and give us some talking points. I'm sure we'll choose other books as well, but the kids are all enjoying the stories from this simple book on manners. Interestingly, the book was edited by Karen Santorum (wife of the former presidential candidate, Rick Santorum) and has a forward by Joe Paterno- sort of interesting to read his words on the topic of manners and integrity in light of what has happened in the last year.

How do we use the prayer sticks? I have to say one of the things that attracted me the most to the basket was the prayer stick! The first morning the kids made the prayer sticks while I read the story. We added things like family members, missionaries, local ministries, friends, places around the world, and our leaders. I also suggested we add to the jar as time goes on or a situation comes up. The kids decided the best way to pray is to each choose a stick and then pray around the table. We've done the morning basket every week day since. Everyone from our 9th grader to our 2nd grader loves it. They don't like to start without and remind me if I look like I'm forgetting!

Now before you decide our homeschool is perfect, keep in mind that my kids scramble in and none of our mornings with the basket have looked the same and the sibling interactions are not always super positive for every moment of that time, but like the author at Inspired to Action reminds us: Perfection is not the goal, faithfulness is.

Make this (Pinterest) idea one you try at your house too. It only takes a few minutes to put together a small basket to get your day off to a great start and what a great way to teach our children to be faithful and steadfast.

And a little hot cocoa now and then doesn't hurt either!

What's in the Bible? Review {and Giveaway!}

A couple of years ago at the MOPS International Convention I had the privilege of attending a session on Kids & the Media given by Phil Vischer. He shared all kinds of facts and statistics about how programming affects children. Most of it was what you would imagine- too much poor quality TV equals too many kids watching too much junk. I must admit the numbers were stunning when you think about how many children probably watch a lot of undesirable material completely unmonitored.

Mr. Vischer also shared with us his new (back then) venture called, What's in the Bible? We all know Phil Vischer as the creator of VeggieTales, but he left behind the talking vegetables (which he declared "so 90s") for singing puppets & simple animations. The production costs are much cheaper, but his intention with What's in the Bible goes beyond his goal with VeggieTales. VeggieTales aimed to introduce the Bible through character lessons illustrated by Bible stories, but it didn't go very deep into the Bible itself.

What's in the Bible? is different because it seeks to teach children the content of the Bible in a creative way. So, when I was given the opportunity to review What's in the Bible? I wanted to try it and learn more about it. Prior to my review, I'd only seen clips of the show and even used one during a children's church morning. As part of the iHomeschool Network, I was given a choice of which volume to review and I scoured the list looking for something my kids weren't as familiar with. I landed on the kings of Israel in A Nation Divided- Kings & Chronicles (Volume 6). 

 What's Included?

* There are two 25 minute episodes per DVD.

* There is curriculum available for some of the volumes and more are on the way.

* Some study guides are available for parents.

* Coloring Pages for the kids

* Crafts & Games 
 
* News style show with an anchor and various skits as segments during the video- some favorites are the Sunday School Lady and the Bentley Brothers- to name a few.

* Phil Vischer himself helps to host the show and keep Buck Denver, the anchor, in line. He does a fantastic job of explaining the finer points along with the more controversial items.

* A digital download of the video- so you can watch on the go!

Take a Look!

So, What do I Think?

* I think Phil Vischer hit his goal with this series of DVDs. They are a fast paced, interesting way to introduce kids to the books of the Bible in a memorable way.

* It made my 13yo son laugh and he does a great imitation of the boy in the mini van. If I could, I'd show you. You haven't lived until you've heard your early teen son say, in a high pitched voice, "Mother- the King of the mini-van desires knowledge!" Ok...so you'd have to be there. Go and see!

* Based on the short clips I'd seen, I wasn't so sure, but seeing my kids enjoy them and remember the story of Kings & Chronicles tells me that it works. 
 
 How to Buy:

If you visit the home page of What's in the Bible? You'll see a chance to save on your own copy to get your library started. Otherwise, each DVD costs $14.99 from the website and $9.99 from CBD.

Win a copy of Volume 1: In the Beginning

 A Chance to Win!

I'm dipping my foot into the waters of Rafflecopter and I'd be delighted if you'd make one or a few entries for your chance to win a copy of Volume 1: In the Beginning. Good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: As part of this review process, I was gifted the Volume 6 and Volume 1 DVDs. In addition, I will receive a modest stipend for my opinion.

The Big Book of Animal Devotions

I picked up The Big Book of Animal Devotions last summer at the MOPS Convention.What a great book! It's coming in handy as Dan and I teach children's church at our church this month. Let's take a look at one of the 250 Daily Readings about God's Amazing Creation.

Recently, we did the porcupine. Each week, I give the kids a craft project to go with the animal. What else but tooth picks and a modeling compound would do the trick?

I always have a map and our DK Encyclopedia of Animals on hand to show off where our critter is from! That particular atlas is one of our favorites, the National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers.

R11 has been helping us out and as always she takes a project to the next level. I love how she darkened the ends of the quills.

I9's porcupine

Each reading comes with a Bible verse and focuses on a character trait. This lesson was about how to recognize what NOT to get into. I was so tempted to share a bit of Hank the Cowdog, the original where Hank gets in a tangle with a porcupine he swears is a raccoon. I can just hear Slim now, "Hank when are ya gonna learn about porcupines?" Classic stuff there....that little porcupine belongs to J6.

Another fine porcupine from class. Everyone loves to color with marker on model magic.

This has been a really good experience and I look forward to doing more with our kids at home. Instead of a craft for my oldest, I may choose a research project of some sort related to the animal. What I do know is that each week the kids are eager to find out which animal we'll be doing next!