Teaching Aid

My son convinced me to livestream a video. So I now have a youtube.com account – my username is sheilahdaws. Look me up if you want. I’ll also post all the videos I put on there at this website.

Here is the first one I did. It is a teaching aid with songs to help teach the senses. This is simple to make out of felt and can be used with infants on up. The songs are easy to learn and children enjoy them over and over. I hope you will enjoy creating your own “Joe” and singing with your children as you help them discover that they are “wonderfully made” by God. (Psalm 139:14)




If you can’t get the video to play, try clicking this link.

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Healthy Eating

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way… ‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food” (Daniel 1:8, 12,13,15, NIV).

The Bible story of Daniel teaches us the importance of eating the right foods. Daniel had been taken from his own country as a young boy. He remembered the teachings of his parents even in a foreign country as he refused to eat the foods that he had been taught were unhealthy.

It was around 600 BC when Daniel challenged his captors to study the effects of healthy eating. In June 2004, researchers at the University of Southampton did a similar study of the effects of healthy eating in over 1800 three-year-old children. After initial behavioral testing, all of the children got one week of a healthy diet without artificial food colorings and without any chemical preservatives. The results were that the children’s behaviors noticeably improved during this week.

What is a healthy diet for our children?
Children need whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, proteins from fish, poultry, eggs, meat, or from plant sources.

Children do not need to eat large amounts of sugar. In the 1800s, the average American consumed 12 pounds of sugar per year. By 1997, it jumped to 154 pounds per year. This amounts to 53 teaspoonfuls of added sugar per day (6-18 teaspoonfuls per day is the recommended amount).

Dr. Alan Greene of Children’s Hospital of Northern California says: “Giving your child a breakfast that contains fiber (such as oatmeal, shredded wheat, berries, bananas, or whole-grain pancakes) should keep adrenaline levels more constant and make the school day a more wondrous experience. Packing her or his lunch box with delicious, fiber-containing treats (such as whole-grain breads, peaches, grapes, or any other fresh fruits) may turn afternoons at home into a delight.”

According to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, our bodies are Temples for Jesus to live in. Until our children are old enough to take care of their own Temples, God entrusts us with their care spiritually and physically. Daily ask Him for guidance as you gently and lovingly guide them to make wise choices in every area of their lives.

 

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Time

If you haven’t heard, Steven Curtis Chapman’s 5 year old daughter was accidentally run over and killed on May 21. Please be in prayer for this family.

Not long ago, after trying to rush through a bath time with his young daughters, he wrote a song called “Cinderella”. You can hear the song by clicking here. Please listen after the song finishes as Steven tells why he wrote the song.

We have just a short moment in time with our children so “make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good.” (Ephesians 5:16)

Jesus set the example for valuing time spent with children: Then Jesus took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. (Mark 10:16) But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

I pray for you lots of time to snuggle and read with your little ones, hours of family playtime, and many opportunities to teach your children.

Building Memories

by Sandra D. Romans

So much to do – I have not time

To listen now, I say,

And hurry back to the chores

That always fills my day.

No time to listen? A small voice

Seemed to whisper in my ear…

Soon your little ones will be gone

And you’ll wish to hold them near.

I left my broom – the chores undone

And found them under the apple tree.

I held them close and listened while

Their love and we built a memory.



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Power in the Name

Sunday night I called my mentor who taught me to teach children. Her name is Jo Bevington. Her love for Jesus and passion for leading little ones to Christ is infectious. Although she never had children of her own, there are many, many children who have come to believe in Jesus either directly by her, or by the many mothers she has taught to train their children for the Lord. She started working with children as a teenager and is now 85. So that is around 70 years of teaching children and teaching others to teach children. She got her doctorate in early childhood education when she was 58. She did her dissertation on building faith in the preschooler, birth through 3 years old!!!! I told her I would love to get a copy of that and she said she might try to send it to me.

She said she did research one semester on the effects of the name of Jesus on the infant!!!!! Wow!! I believe that every child should hear the Name of Jesus every day of his life beginning in the womb. I still tell my adult children “Jesus loves you”. There is power, purpose, and protection in that name of Jesus –

Philippians 2:10 … so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Sing the Name to your babies; talk of Jesus daily with your children; lead them every day to call on His name in prayer; and let His powerful Name be the last thing they hear from you at night.

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Just A Mom??

I was blessed by God and my husband to be a stay-at-home mom until the last of my four children started college.

If you are a stay-at-home mom, remember you are never “just” a mom. According to Psalm 113:9 “…God makes you to be a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!”

Have a Happy Mother’s Day!!

I received this forward recently.

Just A Mom??

A woman, renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk ‘s office, was
asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job or are you just a
…?”

“Of course I have a job,” snapped the woman.

“I’m a Mom.”

“We don’t list ‘Mom’ as an occupation,
‘housewife’ covers it,”
Said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,

“Official Interrogator” or “Town Registrar.”“What is your occupation?” she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.

The words simply popped out.
“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant

words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest,

“just what you do in your field?”Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,

I heard myself reply,

“I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn’t) In the laboratory and in the field,

(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I’m working for my Masters,

(first the Lord and then the whole family)

and already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants —

ages 13, 7, and 3
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,

(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than

“just another Mom.” Motherhood!What a glorious career!
Especially when there’s a title on the door

Does this make grandmothers
“Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human
Relations”

And great grandmothers
“Executive Senior Research Associates?”
I think so!!!

I also think it makes Aunts
“Associate Research Assistants.”

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