(And All My) Work Be Praise

Silas was surprisingly agreeable when I asked if he wanted to do an activity this morning, so I pulled out my box of toilet paper tubes, the can of pom-poms, and the mini tongs to re-create an activity from when Levi was two . (Levi was just barely two, and Silas is nearly three, but that's a difference in attitude more than aptitude between those two!) It didn't stay educational for very long -- I was hoping to count pom-poms as we put them in the tubes -- but it was  fun and occupied his attention for over twenty minutes! He struggled a bit to manage the tongs. Such concentration! Even with a brother laughing in the background!

I have been trying for three weeks to get Silas to do this rectangle activity. Usually the glue stick is one of those coveted items that gets him excited about a craft, but he is dead set against it. So, in the name of authenticity, I'm going to stop hoping the craft will happen and just show you real life instead! The goal: glue some black rectangles onto a larger rectangle. (Silas is standing next to me right now shouting, "I DIDN'T glue, Mommy! I didn't!") I even flipped the paper over and tried to get him to glue anything anywhere. No dice. Today, he chose to eat leftover oatmeal instead. I don't even know how his bowl got from the counter to the little table. He did, however, spend time each day I tried putting the cap on the glue and taking it off again, which is a great fine motor skill. And right this second, he's in the kitchen picking up all of the black rectangles he threw all over the floor in his rage, so we're p...

I realize I've been a bit sparse here on my own blog lately, but I did find time to write a guest blog for a friend. You can read me today over at Ohio Homeschool Assessments talking about my favorite resources for free printables, and how I find and store them!

I have long counted the daily study for  Bible Study Fellowship as my personal devotion time, even though I have long felt a little guilty about it. Though there are plenty of personal application questions, it's always felt a little more "academic" than my ambiguous notion of "quiet time" allows for. (This is all very random and not really based on anything concrete, but there you have it.) This year, I felt rather challenged to do something more, say, introspective than BSF during Lent, so I downloaded the She Reads Truth app onto my new iPhone. I'd heard of the studies/devotions from Money Saving Mom and a few other sources, and since a number of the studies were free, it was convenient more than anything else. Long story short, I haven't been disappointed, and I highly recommend it if you're (a woman, and) in need of a source for daily devotions. All of the plans are free online (but some are paid-only through the app); the Bible readin...