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Encourage Summer Reading

June 16, 2017

Summer reading is sometimes one of those goals you set at the beginning of summer and by the end of summer, no books have been read or the pile is sadly very small.

All the good intentions and charts and plans seem to fall by the wayside as pool days, vacation, picnics, play dates and family fun crowd out the quiet moments designated for reading.

Yet, reading is a favorite past time in our house.

We LOVE reading.

Reading is fun, educational, adventurous, exciting and inspiring.

Reading is a great way to take a break from life, visit a new place and learn something new.

Teaching our children to love reading takes preparation, dedication and some good old parenting creativity.

During the school year, we have the help of school assignments, programs and other special incentives to get our kids reading.

But, during the summer, the job falls 100% on YOU.

How can we make kids enjoy summer reading? How can we encourage them to spend time lost inside the pages of a great book?

It can be challenging, especially if you have a son or daughter who dreads the thought of books.

So, how can you encourage summer reading in your home?

Whether you are a busy family like us each summer or whether you spend lots of great quality time at home, here are some tips to encourage summer reading!

Summer Reading Tips

Make books available. Have them in every area of your home.
Have lots of different kinds of reading available. Maybe today your child feels like a good novel or maybe they feel like looking at a picture book or maybe they want to learn about something specific… Having lots of great choices really helps kids want to read!
Provide rest time. No matter how old your kids are they need some quiet time each day. Especially in the busy, hot summers. Rest time ensures time to sit quietly and read.
Make a reading space. Sometimes we set up blankets and pillows under the dining room table or we make a blanket tent or I set out a blanket in the middle of the floor and tell my girls it is a reading island. A change of scenery at home can help get a good 30 minutes of quiet time with books!
Visit the library. Your kids might be bored with your books at home! Grab a book you would like to read and plan to spend an hour in the air-conditioned local library. Your kids can explore books and enjoy some time reading new books.
Visit a book store. Big bonus of book stores… coffee shops for Mom! I love grabbing a coffee and taking my girls to the children’s section of our book store.
Make some reading charts. Your local library may even have a great summer reading program already set up for you!
Set reading goals. Ask your kids what they’d like to read and how much they think they can reasonably read over the summer.
Talk to your child’s teacher. They may have some great reading tips for your child’s reading level!
Read aloud. Choose a series that everyone will love and read it out loud together.
Make sure YOU read in front of your kids!! Setting a good example of reading in your home will show your kids that reading is a lifetime activity to ENJOY!

A few reading things we love:

Kindle Unlimited – This has been SO HELPFUL to us. I can get all different kinds of books for the girls on their kindles. Whether you have the free app or a kindle, this program really helps me find books my girls want and have them available to read. Plus, a kindle is an easy, lightweight way to haul lots of books with us as we travel.

Digital Libraries – If you have a kindle or the app, you can download the digital versions FREE from your library! Ask your librarian for help to set that up.

Audible – Instead of reading aloud yourself, try listening to books on the go! Kids can color, build with legos, craft or lay quietly while books are read to them.

Special Tips for Overseas Moms:

Reading can be hard when you are overseas. Finding books in English is not easy. But don’t give up because reading can still be a great summer activity for your kids!

1} Ask around – other expats will have books and usually they are happy to share or trade!

2} Visit the book store – I know… the books aren’t in English. BUT… there probably IS an English section in the store. Plus, my girls still look at the books in French! Kids books are usually fun to look at regardless of the translation. Language learning AND summer reading at the same time.

3} Find an international school – If you have an international school in your country, they probably have a real library! Ask if you can visit sometime through the summer to borrow books. They just might let you!

4} Look for free PDF books online – there are lots of places to find free books online! Sites like EPBookSpot, Archive.org, All In One Homeschool {reading links on the right sidebar} or ManyThings have lots of books, some of them with the audio versions as well!

Free Websites for Families

10 Websites You Need to Know

5} Free reading websites – Something like Wattpad allows your kids to read other kids’ writing AND allows them to add their writing to the website!

What are some fun ways that you encourage reading in your home?

**adapted from my original 10 Ways to Encourage Summer Reading posted on mom-spot.com

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Travel Journal Ideas for KIDS! With Printable Pages

May 12, 2017

As families who travel a lot, finding ways to remember the fun means finding some travel journal ideas.

Whether you homeschool on the go like we do sometimes or are going on vacation and want your kids to have a way to jot down the details and memories of their days, you need a format, a guide, a journal of sorts made just for travel.

Travel journal ideas that will spark their interest, build their creativity and give them a memorable way to keep track of each family journey.

Family travel journaling is something we’ve done on and off over the years.

Finding travel journal ideas is not always the easiest thing to do. And, making sure to have a journal on hand when you need it can also be challenging.

But it is worth it.

Kids Travel Books gives us a great reason for travel journaling and says, “The reason being, I concluded, is that when you read and write, your life is truly enriched. The more you read and write, the deeper your thoughts and the deeper your understanding of the world. And let’s face it, the more you read and write, the more intelligent you become and the brighter your future.” {you can read that article here}

“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter. And lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.” – Jack London

In all of our searchings for travel journal ideas, I decided to created something super simple and basic. A family travel journal that would be a continual list of places we’ve been, airports, countries, foods, languages and so on.

We could fill it out, put it in a binder and keep updating it year after year, journey after journey.

A one place keep all for family travels around the world.

{When you subscribe to our blog, you get that 20 page family travel journal as a free download!}

But that didn’t help me with the day to day memories of our girls.

What did they want to remember and write down?

How could they do that in a way that wouldn’t seem like “school” or be too much writing?

Was there just a simple 1 page guide to help them record the fun, important memories of each day?

So, as a companion to our family journal, I created this for my girls. It can be printed page by page or in full to get as many pages as you want. Put it in a binder or folder and you are good to go!

Kids Travel Journal Pages

Now, after you grab both of those journals, you still might be looking for a book or travel journal as a gift for your kids.

Travel Journal Ideas

1} Lonely Planet – My Travel Journal and their My Family Travel Journal Map are both great ideas to start!

2} My Travel Journal with “snap, stick, write and draw” journaling ideas on each page

3} I Was Here: A Travel Journal for the Curious

4} Ooly Pocket Pal Journals – comes in a pack of 8 with 6 different styles to choose from!

5} Postcard Journaling – I LOVE this idea! Grab a postcard each day on your travels, write family memories on the card, hole punch the corner and gather together with a ring for a creative travel journal!

6} Letter Writing – Have your kids write themselves a letter each day. This pack of 48 colorful blank note cards with envelopes will help them create a letter box of memories to read one day.

7} Blank Index Cards – Give each of your kids a pack of 100. Have them draw, write, color, bullet journal, record memories… options are endless.

Be sure to have a special box for the letters or the cards. Something like this would work great.

8} Sticker Journal – Go crazy with some fun stickers and let your kids put together a journal, notebook or card with stickers to remember the day.

9} Conversation – Do you know that kids remember things best when they are spoken? It is true. Stories told over and over will stick with them longer than some cute pinterest printable. So along with the journals, have them tell you the story out loud or you tell your memories of the day. This will help spark their own memories and give them a way to put the fun of your travels into words.

10} Expandable Folder Collections – These colorful letter sized folders would be a great place to store tickets, pamphlets, postcards, papers, maps and other collectables from each destination. You could also keep one large expandable folder for the whole family! Each adventure can be labeled and your family treasures filed safely in one place.

Families who are on the move need ways to remember and record the journeys.

As we begin another big year of travel, I’m excited to give a few of these ideas a try. I want our girls to have tangible ways to record their memories… and have some fun while doing it!

How do you keep track of your family travels and memories? What travel journal ideas can you add?

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Home Remedies For Beginners

May 8, 2017

You are on the hunt for home remedies for yourself or your family.

You don’t know much about home remedies but you hear a lot of people talking about these natural health type things.

You know there are home remedies that will help you greatly without having to make a trip to the doctor but you aren’t sure of the what/how/when it comes to medically helping your family from home.

You feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.

Your friend sells essential oils and you don’t get on board because it just seems like too much to figure out.

And honestly, you don’t want to be “oily” anyway.

You see, I’m the beginner who has felt those things.

I’m the unbeliever at times.

How can an oil do that?

How could a tea help with that?

How does one herb accomplish all that?

How do you even know how much or when?

How do you know who to trust when someone tells you about some tea or vitamin or supplement?

But, a few years ago, I became a believer.

And I made a decision to at least learn more.

Being overseas really speeds up the need to know and learn about home remedies.

Having a sickness or rash or unexplained pain when a doctor is far away is scary! Especially when it is your kids.

Often times the person behind the counter at the pharmacy doesn’t really know about what you are asking.

Sometimes the big trucks that are supposed to be hauling refrigerated medicines break down for hours and hours on the side of the road. And that medicine still gets shelved and sold at the pharmacy.

Sometimes, even though the doctors really want to help, the language barriers, cultural practices and educational differences keep us from being on the same page with basic care.

During our first term overseas, I’ve had a few different times when I needed medical help and had to figure out what to do from home.

And each time, I didn’t have what I needed on hand. But between help from friends in the states or hunting something down at the market or standing in a shop with my google translate giving me the vocabulary… I’ve been able to treat these things at home.

It takes asking questions, researching, googling, talking to friends, reading books and making sure you have a good understanding of what you need and why.

It takes prayer and a little bravery to step up and start using home remedies for your family.

You can do it.

Even beginners can help their families from home.

This coming from the girl who never felt a single contraction after having 3 babies because I’m a little in love with epidurals.

This coming from the girl who hates taking vitamins and never remembers to stay on my daily regimen.

This coming from the mom who is quick to call the doctor.

But sometimes, things can be treated from home and even beginners can find home remedies for their families.

It can be simple. The overwhelm can subside. And home remedies can take place without going “oily”, if you know what I mean.

Simple Home Remedies for Beginners

1} Essential Oils – When we first landed in Africa, the dirty water had gotten in my ears and I was dealing with terrible, gross ear infections. That story is long, starting with tubes in my ears in 2010. Anyway, the ear thing got out of control pretty quickly and our first 8 weeks in country were awful for me. I couldn’t hear anything, my head hurt, I had puss coming out my ears… yeah. that. I’d remembered using antibiotic drops after surgery so I walked into a local pharmacy and bought the drops. They helped with the immediate infection but it would keep coming back because of the fluid built up in my ears.

A friend wrote me and said, “You should use essential oils!” And I thought, “No way! That isn’t going to help this bad of an infection.” She was insistent and sent the oils to me here in Africa. I found this video online about which oils to use and how to use them for fluid in the ears. AMAZING and nearly instant results. The fluid drained within about a week and I’ve been able to keep my ears good since then with this technique and just a few simple oils.

Annalise got a weird, scary rash last summer with huge blisters that would burst and literally burn her skin with the acid inside. Some kind of beetle, we were told, will do that if it touches your skin. Tea Tree Oil to the rescue. Acne? Infected mosquito bite? Mango worm? Tea Tree Oil. Headache? Peppermint oil. On and on I could go. I’ve had oils mailed to me, flown to me and even found a few in local markets here.

I’m now a believer in oils and I’ll be bringing a good supply back to Africa with me when we return.

Essential Oils for Beginners – a really helpful resource

doTERRA Oils – I started using these. There are many kinds and brands. Just do some research and find the ones you trust and want to use. But taking a kit like this when you move overseas is a really good idea!

2} Tea – Whether we need to sleep after a stressful day or have a headache or upset stomach, I’ve learned that tea can really help. Natural, herbal teas with chamomile or lavender. There really are so many teas available to help with everyday issues. You can even mix your own.

3} Apple Cider Vinegar – Buy yourself a big bottle. And make yourself some hot tea with honey. Stomach, skin, gall bladder, colon… so many things can be calmed and helped with a tablespoon or two a day.

4} Epsom Salt – When we were training for the marathon in France, I had gone for an xray on my foot because I was in so much pain. The xray was normal and I just prayed for God to show me what to do to help my foot! I truly believe that God dropped epsom salt in my heart. We were on the hunt for it but it is not common at all in France. After some funny discussion with the pharmacy, I found a small bag of epsom salts. Withing a few days of soaking my foot, I was healing and doing better. The salts opened a deep running blister in my foot that I didn’t even know was there. Gross, I know… but I was able to treat it at home and run the marathon. Epsom salt baths and soaks are helpful for many things and really good for you! Those dry, cracked feet? Soak them. Promise. I’ve since had these bags shipped over.

5} Vitamins – Living overseas greatly increases our stress levels. That stress takes a toll and I’ve seen it take a toll in the health of missionaries. Last winter, I was experiencing great fatigue. I was needing a ton of sleep and just not feeling well at all. I did go to the doctor in Dakar and he very wisely gave me a prescription for 30 days of high dose liquid vitamins. I think there were 5 vitamins in the vials. Each morning, I would add 3 vials to some juice. Within a few days, I had my energy back and was doing better. I think we often discount how important a little vitamin D or E or C can be in our daily lives!

6} Youtube – Abby was having really bad pain in her hips. We again went for xrays and the doctor said she needed stretching and physical therapy. Well, to get physical therapy 3 times per week meant driving back and forth to Dakar and paying a lot of money. Of course, we’d do it if it was needed but I knew we could do it at home as well. I did some research, found a few credible youtube channels with stretching routines, physical therapy videos and some simple exercises she could do for her hips, back and legs. Her and I worked through those videos together, making sure she was doing them correctly and following the instructor. She is doing so much better now and has learned the stretches she needs to do when she starts to feel that hip pain. I wouldn’t recommend just hopping on youtube for everything, but in some instances, it can be a huge blessing when medical care is far away.

A few other posts I’ve written about health:

Mommy Tips for Sick Kids with a printable chart

Healthy Ways to Lose Weight

Running Tips for Beginners

Taking Care of You

Needing Time Away

Resources:

A Beginner’s Guide to Medicinal Herbs with herb plant growing tips!

Prescription for Natural Cures

Alternative Cures

Living overseas and not having access to health care can be a scary, overwhelming part of life.

But arming ourselves with information is comforting, beneficial and empowering. Being able to cure something naturally from home has been a blessing for our family.

But, I definitely need to learn more.

What is your go-to home remedy?

What resources to you have for home remedies for beginners?

Are you a beginner? What is holding you back from learning?

Please share here in the comments!

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What Do You Want to Learn

May 3, 2017

The want to learn. grow. change. mature. live. excel. step out. do more.

Learning is always happening but it takes a certain amount of purpose to grasp the lessons, hold on and truly grow.

I’ve decided that learning is always, always a good thing.

I want to learn so many things.

You too?

“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” -Jiddu Krishnamurti

For me, the past years have been full of a huge list of things I’ve learned.

Travel, moving, culture, language… the lessons are many and the challenges great.

Yet, there is acknowledgement in my heart that I have more things to learn.

Much more.

There are always things to learn, yes?

New things that God is doing… new things that just might require pulling up the boot straps and actually stepping out into the waters of something new.

Part of learning is getting up, getting out and moving forward. Stretching, slowly building momentum to something greater… and that is what I sense God doing in my heart.

Some of these things are spiritual. Some are practical. Some are things I’ve been wanting to do. Some are things I’ve been asked to do… just an all around personal learning to-do list.

Want to Learn

1} Learn how to be me again – that might sound just crazy to you, but to me (and a lot of other missionary expats) this is very real. We check ourselves at the airport and don’t know how to find ourselves within an entirely new context. This author said it like this, “Expats too often check significant parts of their lives at the airport. They assume that they can’t do things because it is not instantly obvious how they can.” We all know it IS possible to do and be those things… we just don’t know how. So my number one on this list is to learn how. Do you ever feel like you need to learn how to be you again after a life change, transition, struggle or growth step?

2} Learn to keep growing in my relationship with God – New seasons take new depths with Jesus. I’m learning that God’s Word is truly alive and active for my circumstance, my stage of life. He is deep and wide and full of things to learn. The Holy Spirit longs to teach us and grow us and take us further. I want that. I want to learn to DO that. Even if time with God is messy and life is busy, I need to keep growing in God.

A resource I am currently using that you’ll love:

3} Learn to communicate – Communicating in a new culture, a culture that has its own sub-cultures, it very tricky. Facial expressions, hand motions, words in many languages all blend into a whole new way of communicating with people. There is so much to learn about communication in other countries and cultures. Communication opens so many incredible doors to learning about ourselves and those around us.

4} Learn how share our story more clearly – Navigating social media and story sharing for a missionary family is terribly difficult. This goes with learning to communicate. Things change so quickly with technology that it is hard to keep up. Learning to stay on top of it is a daily challenge. Learning to share our story fully, honestly, meaningfully and creatively. Psalm 107:2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story…” We all need to learn how to do that effectively, purposefully and for His glory.

5} Learn new skills – Overseas life requires some serious pioneer woman skills. Slowly but surely, I’m learning new things and getting into a little bit of baking bread, making tortillas {which I’ve learned and you can too!} and so on. Jeremy is a huge help in this because he enjoys being in the kitchen {much to the amazement of our Senegalese friends!} and I’m so thankful for his love of all things cooking! And learning to share the kitchen, work together and end the day with jobs well done.

Another new skill I want to know more about is essential oils and how to help our family’s health with the right oils. This has been something I’ve been learning by doing. I have a few key oils that literally have gotten me through this first term overseas and helped my health greatly. Below is a resource to check out if you want to learn more about healthy remedies and essential oils too.

6} Learn to be home – This is starting to feel like home. Which is another huge long-term missionary milestone. Learning to be “home” wherever we find ourselves, where our family is together, where love is. And knowing it is a temporary home with a future home in heaven waiting for us. Home is a rough topic for expats and learning to understand the many facets of this is challenging but good. It means being able to live in the present and look ahead and do both of them well.

7} Learn to live fully – As part of mending, I’m realizing that I’ve been in survival mode for a long, long time. Just survive the application process. Just survive itinerating. Just survive all the goodbyes. Just survive language school. Just survive our first year overseas. Just survive rainy season… just survive. From one day to the next. Survive. Now, it is time to live. Not just survive. Because of our newness, there will still be great moments, long days of survival to come. But I need to make pockets of living. Where a day or two or three feels less like survival mode and more like normal life.

8} Learn to process well – The same author states, “Processing and complaining can start with the exact same statement. For example “This is really hard.” That is a fair and true statement but what you do with it sets you on one of two trajectories that ultimately lead to very different places. Processing the hard stuff is absolutely critical for staying well.” And after all we’ve been through, I want to stay well. Which means learning to process well. Process the new places, new cultures, new foods, new experiences, new feelings, new trials, new everything… and process it well.

“Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” Abigail Adams

9} Learn to read – What? me? learn to read? I am an avid reader. But an avid FICTION reader. I rarely read anything other than fiction, except my Bible… I rarely dig in too far to other genres. maybe once or twice a year… But this year, I’m already falling deeply in love with reading other things like the sermons of CS Lewis and the raw beauty of Elisabeth Elliot and the true stories of Lilias Trotter… learning to read and soak in new things.

This has been an amazing resource for getting new books to read:

10} Learn to do things in new ways – I’m continuing to learn to do things differently. to think differently. Learn how to shop here. Learn how to eat here. Learn how to have friendships here. Learn. learn. learn. learn. all things I know… but now I need to know them differently. Learn to do them in new ways. Culturally correct ways.

11} Learn to speak less – I want to learn to speak less. I need to listen. Just listen. and learn while listening. Listen rather than voice an opinion or add a thought. Just listen. Or just be silent and watch.

12} Learn to pray – Of course, I pray now. But I want that spiritual discipline to grow. I want to speak less to others and speak more to God. I want to go to Him first for all things. I want to deepen an already growing relationship. I want to hear His voice. I want to know Him more. and for that, I must learn to pray. more. longer. deeper. quieter. still.

Lessons I want to learn.

Ways I want my heart to grow and change.

Things that I hope to build.

Character, strength, trust, life.

What are things you want to learn?

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Encourage Summer Reading

Summer Reading Tips

Travel Journal Ideas for KIDS! With Printable Pages

Travel Journal Ideas

Home Remedies For Beginners

Simple Home Remedies for Beginners

What Do You Want to Learn

Want to Learn

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