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Monday, June 28, 2010

interview & a giveaway!

A few months ago, I invited Ashley Goertemiller of Behavior Boosters to come to my MOPS group and present her workshop. All of the ladies loved her ideas and how simple and easy they were to implement. I bought her Big Book of Boosters and love it! We have used a few in our home and have had great success with them!

Recently, she sent out an email letting us know that Book 1 of her collection is offically published! I immediately contacted her and asked if she would be willing for me to interview her and host a giveaway on my blog. She was thrilled at the opportunity and without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Ashley...



1.First of all, what is a behavior booster?

A Booster is a fun and simple idea that you create with your child(ren) to encourage positive behavior in a visual or tangible way. Not only does it inspire the child to behave and get them into that good habit (as well as understand applicable scripture), but it’s also a visual reminder for the parent to praise the child for the positive behavior instead of only getting onto them about their negative behavior.

2.What inspired you to start behavior boosters?

I began Behavior Boosters (although not realizing it at the time) as teacher because I wanted my students to have fun learning and not spend so much time correcting their negative behavior. When I became a parent, I wanted my children to 1. behave because they wanted to; not because of the negative consequences that would occur if they did not, and 2. learn Scripture that meant something to them personally, not just because they had to memorize it for Sunday school or AWANA, etc. Behavior Boosters became “official” after sharing ideas with friends who passed them on to others, which in turn had people contacting me to speak to their group or church. It’s been an exciting (and very humbling) journey as I continue to learn the failures and successes in being positive with my children and teaching them to love our Savior.

3.How easy are behavior boosters to incorporate into a family/homeschool?

The Behavior Booster ideas are intended to be very simple to use, with time increments from 0-5 minutes, to a max of 20 minutes to prepare. As a mother of five, I don’t have a lot of time or resources to spend being creative, even if I had the talent. Most of these ideas are simply using something from the recycling bin (e.g. baby food jar or paper towel roll), printing off the clip-art from my website, or using something that you can get from Wal-mart. Also, have your children get involved in creating it themselves so that you don’t need to spend time doing it and it can become more personal for them. Several of the alternative ideas listed in the books came from my children, my students, or friends’ kids.

4.Do you do workshops for moms’ groups or parents?

I have had the privilege of presenting workshops for MOPS and other parent groups, homeschool groups, preschools, churches, women’s conferences, and playgroups. I am open to doing a workshop for any interested group because, let’s admit it, we all need encouragement and ideas from each other (like Tamela’s wonderful blog, for example), and I’m happy to share what God has laid on my heart about the need for positive parenting.

5.What advice would you give to moms about instilling a positive behavior into their children?

DON’T GIVE UP!! It is tiring…no, exhausting, to be a parent, and to be a positive one at that! There are many times I wonder if I even looked each child in the eyes or hugged them or said something positive to them that day. It is so easy to get into a negative rut, but our actions truly do speak louder than our words. We can talk to them about the Lord, quote Scripture and tell them we love them all day long, but if we don’t show them with our actions and our own attitude, they won’t change. True change comes from within. If our heart is full of bitterness, anger, resentment, exhaustion, you name it, it will reflect in our actions and attitude. Happiness comes from happenings, but true joy, regardless of our circumstances, only comes from having Christ live inside of us and change our hearts. So don’t give up, but instead look to Christ who can provide us with joy and strength that comes only from Him.

-------------------------- giveaway is now closed!------------------------------------------------------

**Asley is giving away one (1) copy of Book 1 of her collection! There are 3 ways to enter the giveaway:

1. leave a comment on this post letting me know which behavior you could use a booster for
2. visit the Behavior Boosters' website and leave a comment indicating something you liked about her ideas
3. blog about this interview/giveaway on your own blog and leave a comment with your blog link

The giveaway is open now through Friday, July 2nd at midnight. Good luck :)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

heads up...

I'm SO excited and couldn't wait to share something with you! Tomorrow, I will be posting an interview with Ashley Goertemiller, author of Behavior Boosters, and she has so generously decided to giveaway book 1 of her collection of Boosters!!! There will be 3 ways to enter the giveaway, so be sure to check back here sometime this week for the details. The giveaway will start tomorrow, June 28th and run through midnight Friday, July 2nd.

* If you are new to my blog and want to see what a Booster is, you can see the ones we have used in our home so far:
encourage one another
eggs-actly
taste bud-dy

Thursday, June 24, 2010

homeschool village - manners!



Check out all the wonderful ideas and resources over at the homeschool village.

What practical teaching methods/exercises are you using to teach etiquette and manners to your children?


As of right now, I am using Behavior Boosters. The author of these books came to my MOPS group and did a workshop with us and I loved her ideas for teaching/motivating children to behave in a positive way. All of her ideas are fun and simple and are based on a scripture.

Here are 3 examples of ones that we have done in our home and have helped my children.

encourage one another


"Encourage one another and build each other up".
1 Thessalonians 5:11a

eggs-actly


"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."
Colossians 3:20

taste bud-dy


"Keep your tongue from evil."
Psalm 34:13a

number dog



This was our number line this year for preschool (1-20). I think he is just too cute!








materials -
several different colors of paper
laminator
sharpie
circle cutter
*I used a music note for his feet.


I think a caterpillar would be so adorable, too!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

"center" board with pictures!


I wanted to incorporate centers into our school day and since I have very limited space, I needed something that was easy to get out and didn't take up much floor space. So I came up with the idea to make a "center" board. This was very easy and cheap to make because most of the supplies came from The Dollar Tree!







materals:
foam poster board
large pockets
laminator
exacto knife
dry erase marker
die cuts

ideas:

sight word matching - write 1 sight word on each pocket and 1 sight word on each die cut, have child match the sight words together



number correspondence - write a number on the pocket and have child put that amount of counters in the pocket



counting money - write an amount on the pocket and have child put the exact amount in the pocket



telling time - write a time on the pocket and have child put the corresponding clock in the pocket or vice versa





jeopardy (great for review with science and social studies) - for each pocket: write 1 review question on an index card and put the card in a pocket, give each pocket a value (100 points, 200 points, 300 points, etc), if the child answers the question correctly, award that child with the points on the pocket
*as an extra teaching bonus, have child do mental math to keep up with their score!

directions:
1. laminate 20 large pockets
2. cut them out
3. use an exacto knife to slit the openning of the pocket
4. use double stick tape to adhere the pockets to the board
5. write on the laminated pockets with a dry erase marker
6. wipe off the pockets to reuse again and again and again!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

homeschool village - refreshing!


I love this idea of a homeschool village and want to be apart of it, too.

What do you - homeschool mom - do to get refreshed for the next school year?



Since this is my fist year homeschooling, that's a good question and one that I haven't given any thought to. But, now that you mention it, I plan to:

1. along with my family, go on a family vacation with Matt's family

2. waste some days out by my friend's pool : )

3. read some books - currently I'm reading So Long Insecurity: You've been a bad friend to us by Beth Moore

4. try out some new recipes

5. plan for a new school room

simple gift idea



supplies -
hand soap (this one came from Bath & Body Works)
small white tag
rub ons
ribbon

*These hand soaps are great to keep on hand because you can gift them for any occasion!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

sight word review

I like to keep things fresh around here when it comes to repetitive work. And, since my oldest daughter is JUST. LIKE. ME., so does she!

Here are a few ideas for sight word review that we do:


bright colored cards on a loose leaf ring (mix them up occassionally)


bingo


on cute little die cuts
(put these pencils in a pencil box and have child read one at a time)


word, build, write from Home Grown Hearts

** for more preschool ideas and activities, check out The Preschool Corner!

Monday, June 7, 2010

"center" board


I wanted to incorporate centers into our school day and since I have very limited space, I needed something that was easy to get out and didn't take up much floor space. So I came up with the idea to make a "center" board. This was very easy and cheap to make because most of the supplies came from The Dollar Tree!






materals:
foam poster board
large pockets
laminator
exacto knife
dry erase marker
die cuts

ideas:

sight word matching - write 1 sight word on each pocket and 1 sight word on each die cut, have child match the sight words together

number correspondence - write a number on the pocket and have child put that amount of counters in the pocket

counting money - write an amount on the pocket and have child put that exact amount in the pocket

telling time - write a time on the pocket and have child put the corresponding clock in the pocket or vice versa

jeopardy (great for review with science and social studies) - for each pocket: write 1 review question on an index card and put the card in a pocket, give each pocket a value (100 points, 200 points, 300 points, etc), if the child answers the question correctly, award that child with the points on the pocket
*as an extra teaching bonus, have child do mental math to keep up with their score!

directions:
1. laminate 20 large pockets
2. cut them out
3. use an exacto knife to slit the openning of the pocket
4. use double stick tape to adhere the pockets to the board
5. write on the laminated pockets with a dry erase marker
6. wipe off the pockets to reuse again and again and again!

** I plan to post pictures of the different ways to use the board as soon as I get some batteries for my camera.

For more preschool ideas and activities, check out The Preschool Corner!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

tot school

Ethan is 2 and a half (my baby boy!) and while the girls and I are doing schoolwork, this is what he does for school...



He reads lots and lots of books.



He likes doing play dough.



He likes to color.



He likes to do pom-pom mats.



And, he really really likes to run and hide
with magic markers and color himself : )

Thursday, June 3, 2010

5 senses



This week we talked about the letter Nn and since the word nose starts with the letter N, I thought I could tie in a lesson on our 5 senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

This lapbook we made with a few game components. I included a hot/cold sorting game, an example of rough and soft textures, a mini book, an eye diagram, a tongue diagram puzzle and sound bingo.


Here is the middle of our lapbook.

resources:

(click on the thumbnail to download the file)

mini book found here
tonguediagram.docx



Here is the back of our lapbook.

resources:
sound bingo.docx
sound clips from iTunes (search under general sounds):
Church bell tower
Toliet flush
Phone: electric ringing
Animals: duck quaking
Animals: rooster crows - 2
Animals: birds chirping
Animals: cow moos - 3
Animals: cats meowing
Tools: hammering
Sports: dive into water - splash
Camera 35mm click/wind
Animals: horses


cover:
our5senses.docx

Be sure to check out Homeschool Creations for more preschool ideas and activities!

taste bud-dy



Here is another behavior booster that I've been doing with my oldest daughter. She is having a hard time controlling her tone of voice and I found this booster in the book I bought. It has been a great visual for her. When she uses an ugly tone of voice, I ask her to go color a section of the tongue black. When she uses a nice tone of voice, I ask her to go color a section of the tongue pink.

She occasionally looks at the tongue and comments that there are more sections that are black. I take this opportunity to remind her of ways she can use a nice tone of voice.

True story - The other morning I was upstairs and she came upstairs to tell me that she colored a section black because she KNEW she was using an ugly tone of voice! Self discipline - gotta love it :)

Keep your tongue from evil. Psalm 34:13a

**For more preschool ideas and activities, be sure to check out The Preschool Corner.