A New Way to Praise

A new way to praise your kids, that is!!!  So, a few days ago, I was chatting with my sister and she shared this article with me.  http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/  Now this article is about 5 pages long, so let me share the long and short of it with you.  (I did some major speed-reading while my Monkey Blossoms climbed on my lap!)  There was a study done on kids who were praised by telling them how smart they are and kids who were praised by telling them how hard they tried.  And the results were astounding!  Children who were constantly told they were smart, quit trying, got frustrated in adversity and frequently avoided hard problems and situations.  Children who were praised for real effort, tried harder, enjoyed a challenge and looked for more difficult things to attempt.  In short, failure freaked out and devastated the "smart" kids.  The others dealt better with failure.  After reading, it made sense.  I think a child unknowingly thinks, "I'm smart, so this should come easy."  When it doesn't, they get scared.  ("What's wrong with me?")  The other children learn eventually that their genuine effort is rewarded and consequently, they work harder to succeed.  Praise now sounds something like this here:

- I love how hard you are working to write so neatly. 

- I noticed you were trying hard to spell that word correctly.

- I saw that you were trying hard to be nice to your sister, when she was mean to you.

- I was grateful that you worked hard to clear the table so nicely for Mommy. 

I'm pleasantly surprised at how well this is reinforcing hard work and good, consistent effort in our house.  Try it.  Betcha won't be disappointed!

Experimenting Time...

The Sparkly Explosion!

 

 

Microwaving Ivory Soap

 

 

Good times!!!  :) 

A New Favorite Tradition

At the beginning of the school year, I instituted a new tradition.  It is referred to as the "Friday Experiment" here.  Every Friday, I have scheduled a hands-on, science experiment/experience.  "Oh," you say, "what is so impressive about that?"  Well, it's big stuff to me.  I don't like messes that can be avoided.  Read: I avoid Play Doh like the Bubonic Plague.  It is not allowed inside the house here.  I. just. can't. take. it.  However, I was raised with a Hands-On kind of Mom.  I know that is how kids learn so many important things!  So, I have to make myself do messy things with my Blossoms.  And, we're a few weeks into it.  I'm loving this new tradition!  We have microwaved Ivory Soap (just to see what happens) and made our own "bouncy" balls.  We are looking forward to a Sparkly Explosion tomorrow and making our own Fluffy Bath Paint too.  Pinterest is loaded with good ideas for our new tradition.  And I'm glad we're getting our hands dirty trying them. 

More on www.blueletterbible.org

An entirely different option is available on the home page of this amazing site.  Type in a passage of Scripture (ex. Ephesians 5).  In the right column, click Read/Print.  You can read the Bible in two formats (verse or paragraph) in the translation of your choice. 

Additionally, click LISTEN and you can choose from 4 translations for an audio version of the Bible.  (My husband paid a lot of money for my full set of Bible audio CDs.)  This truly is an amazing (free) tool for wives and moms.

Studying the Bible isn't just for pastors and Bible school students.  We, the average Christian, need to feed our spirits and be able to defend our faith.  We need to grow in doctrine!  It is our responsibility! 

Do you think that Bible study takes too much time?  www.blueletterbible.org removes that excuse, The answers are instantaneous.  You can find out what a Greek or Hebrew word means.  You CAN study the Bible.  I've been truly blessed by this web site.  I hope you find it as useful as I do.  Be blessed in your study of the Word!

A New Resource

My sister and I were recently discussing word studies and the easiest way to find where else in the Bible that same Greek or Hebrew word was used, no matter how it was translated.  I've used Strong's Concordance, as well as Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.  Voila!  She shared www.blueletterbible.org with me!  What an amazing resource!  I love it!!!!  I've been tickled pink with it every time I've used it since then.  Here's why:

- With the Bible/Dictionary search, you can search for a word in 18 different translations (rather than just KJV with a Strong's Concordance)  OR
You can search for a specific scripture.

- From there, you can check out the meaning of that word by clicking the Strong's Number superscript.  OR
You can click the Scripture reference and look at each individual reference and context with that word you searched for in it.

- Then, when you've clicked the Strong's Number superscript (that's the little tiny upper numbers), it will bring up the meaning of the word, how it is often translated and all the other references using that same word.  Also, you can click to check out connected Greek or Hebrew words. 

More next time...