Reading Jars (a way to re-use all the little toys cluttering your house and motivate reading!)

Here comes summer! I needed a way to motivate my 7 year old girls in their reading. They just were not all that willing to sit and read very often, and needed to practice. I got an idea when looking at all the little random things shoved in the corners of the schoolroom. 

Quickly I grabbed two mason jars from the cupboard, one wide mouth for little hands to reach in and the other regular mouth. Next I took a sharpie and wrote on the regular mouth jar, "Reading Jar!" with stars and happy faces, covering it with random stickers from the sticker drawer. Next, I scoured my house for little bits. You know the bits: games pieces without the game, pretty buttons, little shells, broken hair clips, a domino or two, beads,dice and more. I found enough to almost fill the wide mouth jar by looking in our junk drawer, schoolroom and corners of my kids bedrooms. Next I told them the rules. "Whenever you read a book to someone (even the dog!) or when someone reads to you (Mom, Dad, Grandma, brother etc. . .) you get to reach into the jar and pick out whatever you want to go into the reading jar. When the reading jar is all filled up there is going to be a big surprise!" 

I'm saving the Groupons I got for a local kiddie amusement park for that special day! To my surprise and delight they already filled up half their jar! We have been doing a lot of reading! They have fun reaching in and searching for their little choice for the jar. 

Worshipful

Beautiful! So creative and worshipful.

 

wor·ship·ful

[ˈwərSHəpfəl]

ADJECTIVE

 

1. feeling or showing reverence and adoration:

   "her voice was full of worshipful admiration"

Now Word from Scripture- Isaiah 55

I feel like God is highlighting this scripture for this season. Blessings to you!
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
         Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
         So are My ways higher than your ways
         And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
         And do not return there without watering the earth
         And making it bear and sprout,
         And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
         It will not return to Me empty,
         Without accomplishing what I desire,
         And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. “For you will go out with joy
         And be led forth with peace;
         The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
         And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
         And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
         And it will be a memorial to the LORD,
         For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”
Isaiah 55:8-13

My painting to represent 2016!

My painting to represent 2016!

  "I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground." Isaiah 41:18
"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Isaiah 43:18
Have an amazing New Year!

Turn STEM into STEAMM- ART and MUSIC is important to Education

Whenever I see the tag word STEM I have always thought something was missing. Doesn't science, technology, engineering and mathematics walk hand in hand with the creativity and brain development art and music training provides? There is a strong connection between music instruction and math ability that is well known. (google it- there are too many references to post here!) I have seen with my own eyes, as an art teacher, children light up when they are doing art. Often, their confidence and creative skills greatly improve. Also many children find healing from trauma and decrease in stress as a result of doing art.  Isn't that what we need in our society? I hope this generation of children find love in art and music and use these God given gifts to worship Him and serve others. Whether they use it in a traditional sense, or in science and technology, it will be a benefit to many and enhance their lives.
#turnSTEMintoSTEAMM #creativitymatters #bringbackartandmusic

My son writing his own music
#turnSTEMintoSTEAMM