Sylvia Surprise!

One of the main reasons why I homeschool is so that I have more time to do fun things with my family, and yet, at times it is very difficult to say no to cleaning and yes to sitting down and reading a book or playing a game with them. Last night the house was a mess, I had just gotten home from a meeting and wanted to get dinner on the table before Joey got home.  Sylvia had had a great gift idea for daddy for a while now and it had become one of those things that I kept saying, "tomorrow" to.  I am so glad I chose to say yes to it.  The kids thought it was fun and needless to say, it was the best gift Joey has ever received!

Luke helped with the wrapping.

What could it be?!

A Sylvia!

And a hug!

The Gift of Lights and Self Confidence

Last night we went out for pizza with some friends and then went to The Gift of Lights. We had never been before. It is a park that is loaded with eight million Christmas lights and you drive through in your car. I think the kids really liked it and I really liked how it was a family activity that Sylvia could be buckled in for (I wont even tell you about her at the pizza place.) This morning we went to our MOPS meeting. We got to do a service project. We put together kits for women in a shelter. We then had a speaker on self confidence. I jotted down some tips she gave us for helping our children have confidence...

TIPS

-Tell them your stories and experiences (successes, failures, embarrassing stories, etc.)

-Set a good example

-Enforce rules

-Love unconditionally

-Show affection

-Express your belief in their abilities

-Supply challenging chores

-Teach problem solving

-Establish a safe environment (at home)

The speaker also said that a study was done of 1,700 families that had confident kids and three things were always the same,

1. The children were loved and appreciated.

2. The parents were more strict and disciplining.

3. The parents demanded accountability, responsibility, and self control from their children.