Since I’ve talked a lot about breakfast conversations, it might interest one or two people to know that… a typical morning lately doesn’t include a mommy sitting down with all three kids at once, having a chipper conversation about spiritual things. Nope. Typically, Lee gets up early. Michelle thinks about getting up early and making [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
One of the long-term goals we have in teaching our children is helping them to govern their own behavior. Taking initiative is not something we associate with very small children; it is a quality cultivated over time. A child who does not have control over his spirit is like a city whose protective walls of [...]
For awhile I’ve wondered whether it is makes sense to allow my children to pray at mealtimes. We do ask them to pray, and sometimes they volunteer. I’m certain that I’ve avoided having them pray when they’ve been naughty (although I wonder if that’s more recognizing the priority of my own need to pray). But [...]
I’ve been thinking about the last few months and realized that I’ve not had many serious breakfast conversations with my children. Some of the lack is that Lee was home a good bit during the holidays, and some is just that I’ve not remembered to talk then. I realized recently that one reason I’ve not [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
Have you ever heard a large group of kindergarteners eating? Seems that this age is just getting to where they’re enjoying words, so they start making up their own. Each child trys to top the previous made-up word in silliness, and pretty soon, the whole table is laughing and talking nonsense. I’m at a loss [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
I grew up with feedback on my cooking. Some might be startled to hear a father gravely tell his eleven year old that her chocolate cake was too dry and the frosting excellent, but that’s exactly the kind of feedback I got from my dad. His evaluation was trustworthy. When he said my banana cake [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
I’ve been thinking about how simple routines with babies establish authority and lay a foundation for teaching obedience later on. What’s fun is that there’s a lot of freedom in how we teach authority and obedience. Mealtime is one situation where we generally manipulate the environment to avoid battles, but we still manage to stay [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
I keep forgetting how often what I think is misbehavior in Laurel (13 months) is really trying to do what her older siblings are doing. Sometimes she truly cannot do what they are doing (like cut and paste paper nighthawks). Other times she is stretching herself to do something well within her ability to learn [...]
Filed under: Child Development, Mealtime
