DOOO YOUR WOOOORK!!!

For weeks I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to get my daughter, Savanna, motivated to do school work. She's 6yrs old (we are doing 2nd grade curriculum), and for some reason she just went on strike one day. She is so very smart and creative, she's been doing school since she was 2yrs old, but she just decided she wasn't going to do the work anymore. She couldn't stay focused and I was constantly telling her, "Do your work!" "DO your WORK!" "DOOO YOUR WOOOORK!!!" I worried that I had pushed her too hard. Maybe she wasn't ready for 2nd grade? She wasn't challenged by Kindergarten or 1st grade material, but she's technically supposed to be starting 1st grade this year. Maybe it's just too much? Or maybe she's attention deficit? I know I hate to say that word, but maybe there's something to it. She-just-can't-focus!! And getting her to read a book was like pulling teeth! I'd had enough.

So we took a break.

We do year-around schooling so it's not that big of a deal for us to take a few days off every now and then. And I was so over it (as you can see from the previous blog in which I confess that sometimes I want to give up!). Then we had our Vacation Bible School at church and her best friend came to stay with us for the week; she's also homeschooled. I couldn't not do school since her friend "M" is homeschooled too. So I planned out lessons for each day and we got back in the swing of things. Seeing her friend excited about learning really sparked something back up with Savanna and I wasn't going to let that spark die! If you've read my previous blog "Plans! Glorious Plans!" then you know that I use a post-it board for my lesson planning. That next week I planned out all the lessons, posted them on the board, and for some reason I had the idea to write a "To-Do" list for her. I wrote down her assignments for that day and set it next to her brand new binder with the cute little chocolate lab puppies (oh, new school supplies work wonders!). When she came to the table, I said with a smile, "Here's your work for today. Do each assignment and then when you've finished, check it off."

Wow.

I've never, and I mean NEVER seen her work so diligently. She LOVED checking off the To-Do list!! It was like a mission for her to see if she could get it all done. She was so focused, organized- I almost cried! Not really :) But I was very excited!  We also got her a little journal from the dollar bin at Target that is a mini book report log. After she reads her book, she logs it in this journal. It asks for the author's/illustrator's names, if it is fiction or non-fiction, # of pages, who her favorite characters were, what her favorite part of the book was, to draw a scene from the book, and to rate it on a scale of 1-10 stars. She LOVES it. She wants to read everyday! And she's even choosing more challenging books that she doesn't have to look in the babies' board book bin to find! I am blown away.

So...

Do you have a child who is showing disinterest or possibly feeling bored with school? Are you totally frustrated? It's not the end of the world, although at times it might seem that way :) Sometimes it's the simple things that make a difference.

• Try giving her a "To-Do" list to follow each day and encourage her to get everything checked off. You could even do a reward system with this! It gives them responsibility and makes them feel like they have ownership in their schooling.
• Get her some new, fresh, school supplies. Sometimes because our kids are homeschooled, we forget that excitement of going to the store and buying new supplies. Especially if you do year-around school and this isn't really the start of a new school year for you! I remember as a kid I used to LOVE going to buy new school supplies and it made me excited to start school. Our wonderful church family got the kids each a new backpack - Hello Kitty for her, Super Heroes for him - and they are so tickled about having them. (FYI, it's our great new "storage system"... we keep them on their chairs with their workbooks, binders, pencil boxes in them and we don't have to go searching for stuff everyday!).  
• Give her an opportunity to choose a project or a field trip that really interests her. Maybe she's bored with the workbooks for now and needs to do a big oral report and lapbook on the Corythosaurus. (For those of you who know me at all, you know we love dinos!) Or take a field trip to a museum or aquarium and let her study things in a different environment. Sometimes getting out of the house can really help.
• Don't be afraid to take a break. That's one of the beauties of homeschooling that I'm concerned a lot of us are afraid to utilize. We get so worried that other people are going to question how we spend our days that we're too afraid to let our kids enjoy a break. It's OK. They won't fail. Let them play. It may be just what they need to get back on track. :)

I hope that you're enjoying homeschooling your little ones. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I try to be transparent on this blog about my struggles and fears with homeschooling so that I can better minister, but at the same time, I have SO MANY BLESSINGS from this experience. Just the other day I watched my 4yr old son playing "Seek & Find" with phonics flashcards and it was truly beautiful to see him connect the letter sounds and read words! I love it. I love watching my daughter get so excited when she does science experiments or listening to her read an Aesop's Fable for the first time. I love sitting and reading book after book after book with my 17mos old twins and listening to them talk in their little baby language when they get excited over pictures of lions or dogs or elephants (or basically any animal really!). It's been an amazingly wonderful, scary, fulfilling, trying, blessed, frustrating, humbling, hilarious, touching, maddening, and splendid adventure and I am so glad that God has given me the opportunity to do this. Aren't you??

Bye for now,
Kristina

Why Dinosaurs are Essential to the Gospel

I love dinosaurs! My kids love dinosaurs! And I am so excited to share with you resources and teaching tips about these amazing creatures! But let me start in the beginning.

Literally.

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Before we can teach our children about these fascinating beasts, we need to have a firm grasp on what we believe. So many Christians today have been deceived by the Evolutionary theories that are being taught as fact and they have forgotten the foundation of our faith... CREATION. Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God? Do you believe it is infallible and inerrant? If you can't trust the first few pages of our sacred Scriptures, can you really trust any of it? God has given us a complete guide to the questions of life. All we have to do is study it, understand it, and TRUST it. So for those of you that think Creation is just a nice story to teach the kids in Jr Church, think again! Creation is a vital part of the Gospel. If we don't believe the Creation account, how can we believe the crucifixion? The Words in Genesis about our Creator are just as true and holy as the Words in Matthew about our Savior. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So with that, let's take a quick refresher course on Creation:

Day 1- God said let there be light (This is not the sun; many scholars believe this refers to the light of His glory)
Day 2- God separated the waters from the heavens (basically he made the atmosphere and the sky)
Day 3- God separated the water and created land, then filled the land with plants and vegetation
Day 4- God created the sun, moon, stars, and space
Day 5- God created the winged things and sea creatures
Day 6- God created land animals and humans
Day 7- God rested

Ok so what does this all have to do with dinosaurs??

Well, among other falsities, Evolutionists teach us that dinosaurs lived millions and millions of years ago and that they never coexisted with humans. They teach us that dinos all evolved over millions of years from one "prehistoric" (FYI there's not such thing as prehistoric. You can't have pre-history!) dinosaur called the Plateosaurus that supposedly lived 230 million years ago. They theorize that from this one dinosaur, it evolved and changed over time and became the over 500 DIFFERENT species of dinosaurs we know of today. That this one dinosaur evolved itself into carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, grew to 100ft long and shrunk to 50cm tall and every size in between, became both male and female, had large brains and highly intelligent, as well as tiny brains and dumb as rocks, and the list goes on. It's really quite ridiculous if you really sit and think about it.

The point I'm trying to make is this: doesn't it make much more sense that DINOSAURS WERE CREATED? That a great and powerful God thoughtfully created each species of dinosaur, giving each species specific traits and characteristics to help that dinosaur survive. That He did EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID... He created the sea creatures and winged things (including dinosaurs that lived in the water like Plesiosaurus and Nothosaurus, and dinosaurs that flew like the Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus) on the 5th day and He created the land animals (including all dinosaurs that lived on land like Tyrannosaurus Rex and Stegosaurus) on the 6th day... the same day He created man and woman. Each species of dinosaur, from egg to death, shout to the Creator and give us amazing opportunity to teach our children about our Awesome God!

So now that we've covered the basics, let's talk about HOW to teach about dinosaurs to your kids. First off, we love movies. We watch a lot of movies. And let's be honest, it's difficult to find any good documentaries or movies about dinosaurs (that have good graphics) that teach a Creationists view of dinos. Disappointing. However, there are many secular documentaries that are very exciting and informative about the mechanics of a dinosaur that you can watch with your child and discuss the differences between what the Evolutionist said (ie. this dinosaur lived 65 million years ago) and what the Bible teaches. My husband and I are big proponents for using movies as a teaching method. Kids in our culture today see movies the way people in Jesus' day heard parables. They are a great resource and we shouldn't be afraid to use them. If there's something that is not biblically sound, discuss it! You'll be surprised how much more your child will understand with a visual representation like a movie. The kids and I recently started watching Clash of the Dinosaurs by Discovery Channel (you can find this series on Netflix as well). Wow, really cool graphics and explanations of how dinosaurs worked from the inside out. Even taking a look inside the reptiles' eggs and how a baby dinosaur would have developed. Of course, it is Evolution based so the scientists say a lot of things that are not true. But my children have been studying Creation for a long time and will even call out "that's not true!" when they hear something that isn't based on Scripture. We talk about everything and it's an excellent teaching tool. (NOTE: this video is PG because it does show dinosaurs laying eggs, and it does show some blood when dinosaurs fight.)

You can also check out The Bible Explains Dinosaurs by Ken Ham, a world-renowned Creation Scientist. Ken Ham "explains the real history of dinosaurs, which is found in the Bible, not in evolutionary Theories. In The Bible Explains Dinosaurs you'll find answers to questions like: When did dinosaurs first appear on Earth and why did they vanish? Are dinosaurs in the Bible? Did they live with man? What are the "dragons" mentioned in the Bible? Can we actually use dinosaurs to present the gospel? This DVD also features music by Buddy Davis. Approx. 50 minutes."

Another great resource is Dinosaurs and the Bible by Ken Hovind. This is part three of a seven part seminar series on Creation. In this seminar, Dr. Hovind "traces the Biblical and historical references to dinosaurs and interviews people who claim they have seen living dinosaurs. Approx. 145 minutes." I have personally seen all of this series and it has some excellent information about Creation science that will be very useful to your teachings over the years. Dr. Hovind's seminars are more advanced, may not be best for little ones with short attention spans. But definitely worth YOU watching to get a good foundation and also great for middle school and highschoolers.

More video resources:
Answers in Genesis
I Dig Dinosaurs 
Dinosaurs: Genesis & the Gospel(this one has some neat sing-a-longs and quizzes the kids really liked)


Here is a great FREE DINOSAUR LAPBOOK unit study with printables that we are going to start next week! There is 13 report forms for 13 different (popular) dinosaurs in which the kids study the dinosaurs' anatomy, dietary habits, and other interesting facts. There's also some great coloring pages, handwriting practice, graphing, and more. They've also included a list of books (some I've listed here) that can supplement your study.


Books:
The Answers for Kids
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs (We have the children's version (here) which is still pretty wordy for kids that aren't reading chapters yet. If your kiddo is still pretty young, I recommend reading it ahead of time so you can give a basic explanation on each page instead of trying to make a squirmy preschooler sit for that long.)
Dinosaurs for Kids
The Great Dinosaur Mystery
25 Questions from Kids on Dinosaurs and the Flood of Noah
D is for Dinosaur: Noah's Ark and the Genesis Flood
The Great Dinosaur Mystery Solved Workbook & Study Guide


Neat Places to Visit on Field Trips:
(NOTE: Some of these places are secular and based on Evolutionary theory. Be sure to discuss the differences between Creation and Evolution as you go.)
Dinosaur World in Plant City, FL
The Shell Factory & Nature Park in N. Ft. Myers, FL
Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola, FL
Creation Store in Pensacola, FL
MOSI in Tampa, FL
The Imaginarium in N. Ft. Myers, FL
Discovery Museum in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainsville, FL
South Florida Science Museum in West Palm Beach


Also, here are some fun Dinosaur Craft Ideas and Activities!! Don't forget you can find all kinds of fun ideas on Pinterest as well.

In the end, have fun with it. Dinosaurs are such an amazing study and they are fun for kids of all ages (even grown-ups!). My kids have a love for dinosaurs and God's wonderful creation! I hope yours do too :) If you have any dinosaur related studies or ideas, feel free to comment and let me know. I'd love to hear how you teach your kids about some of God's coolest creatures!

Bye for now,
Kristina