Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: Five Minute Devotionals for Children

Every night before bed, we typically read a story from our Jesus Calling Storybook Bible.  However, we have been through this whole Bible multiple times, and I wanted to find some devotionals to do for the summer nights.  My mom happened to find these amazing devotional books at a book fair and bought them for my son's kindergarten graduation gift.  They are so perfect for my children and discuss topics that every kid needs to learn about.  The authors Pamela Kennedy, Anne Kennedy Brady, and Douglas Kennedy make each story relatable and enjoyable!  I highly recommend these devotionals to do with your family!

Book #1

Book #2

Book #3

Book #4

Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: Fruits of the Spirit Cornucopia

Objectives:
* To learn what the Fruits of the Spirit are and what they mean
* To create a visual representation of the Fruits of the Spirit
* To memorize Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control."

Materials:
* Bible - Galatians 5:22
* Brown Construction Paper
* Tissue Paper (Fall Color)
* 9 Popsicle Sticks
* Glue or Tape
* Scissors
* Fruits of the Spirit Song and Video
* Fruits of the Spirit Printable from me :)

Procedure:
* Read Galatians 5:22 from your Bible and explain what "fruit" means.  Talk about how God wants our hearts to be filled with these characteristics.  Pray together and ask the Father to help you have all of these fruits in your life!  You can also watch the video from the link above.  It is a great song that your kids can sing along to in order to help them memorize this verse.

* Explain to your child that you are going to make a cornucopia with all of the "fruits" of the Spirit.  Talk about how a cornucopia is commonly used around Thanksgiving, and it's "filled" with lots of foods to celebrate and give thanks to God.  Discuss how God wants us to be filled with the fruits of the Spirit just like a cornucopia is filled.

* Roll a piece of brown construction paper into a cone shape and tape or glue it to hold.

* Cut out each fruit and say the name of each one.  The alliteration of the fruit name and the fruit of the Spirit name will help them remember each one.



* Stuff a piece of tissue paper into the cone to make it more full and to hold the fruit.

* Glue each fruit to the top of a popsicle stick, and have your child place each one inside the tissue paper.

* A cute cornucopia of the Fruits of the Spirit!



Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: ABC Bible Verses

Thoughtful Objectives:
* To memorize scripture according to the alphabet
* To create a scripture book

Materials:
* Spiral of Index Cards and a Pen
 Or...
* Printables of your choice from:
   Homeschool Creations
   I Can Teach My Child
   Totally Tots
   Delighting in Today
(There are also cute printables on Etsy available for purchase)
* Scissors
* Ring or Ribbon to attach book together

Procedure:
* I have been working with Sawyer for a while on scripture memory.  This is so important for all of us to do, and young children have an incredible mind of remembering in order to learn verses at an early age!  We have done many verses that go along with The ABC Bible Verse Book. 

* The lesson this week is to make a scripture memory verse book for your children.  When I started scripture memory with Sawyer, we just made a book out of a spiral of index cards. This is what I've always used for my own scripture memory, and it has worked well for Sawyer.  However, pinterest has shown me tons of cute ABC verse printables that you can cut out and make into a book, as seen on the links above.  Choose whatever you would like to do! I encourage you to start learning these verses with your kiddos and teaching them the truth of the gospel.  What better way to share the love of God with our children than through His Word!

Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: The Ten Commandments from Train Up A Child

Social Skills/Thoughtful Objectives:
* To listen to the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments
* To learn what the Ten Commandments are and why God gave them to us
* To create a visual representation of the Ten Commandments to help remember each one
* To discuss how to obey God's rules for us

Materials:
* Bible - Exodus 20:1-17
* Ten Commandments Printable from me :)

* 2 colors of construction paper
* Scissors
* Glue
* Marker

Procedure:

* I saw this idea on Train Up A Child and thought it was such a great way to teach the Ten Commandments. However, I knew that my children would not understand the biblical wording of each commandment, so I found different phrases on a children's poster and made my own printables to help them comprehend what each rule means.  You are welcome to use the others from Train Up A Child.  There is also a cute Commandment Train to make if you want to. 

* Read Exodus 20:17 from your bible or use a children's bible.  Explain to your kids what these rules mean and why God gave them to Moses and to us.  Discuss how to obey these commandments.  You can role play different situations to help them understand.

* Cut out each commandment from the printables.

* Then have your child make handprints with paint or trace and cut their handprints out of construction paper and glue them onto a second piece of construction paper.

* Glue each commandment in order onto a finger of the handprints.

* Number each finger 1-10 and write "The Ten Commandments" on the bottom.  Review each commandment and ask your child to explain what each one means.  Pray together and ask God to help you follow and obey each of these rules.

Summer Thinking - Week #2

Mighty Math Monday: Lego Math
Math Objectives:
* To use addition and subtraction skills with legos
* To recognize the symbols +, -, and =, and understand what they mean

Materials:
* Printables from The Kent Chronicles ( I had to copy the images and paste them into Word.)
* Legos
* pencil

Procedure:
* Great pinterest find from The Kent Chronicles!

1. Print out the worksheets from the link above.  Show your child how to count the dots on each lego.  Then help them understand that a + sign means to add the dots all together or a - sign means to take that number of dots away.  Starting with the addition pages, help your child add up the number of dots on the legos.  Then help them write the total.  You can use real legos, as well.

2. When doing the subtraction pages, cover up the number of dots you need to subtract to help your child visually see the "taking away" of the dots.

Totally Technical Tuesday: ABC Mouse
Technology Objectives:
* To find and explore the ABC Mouse website on the computer
* To practice using the mouse with dragging and clicking skills

Materials:
* Computer
* ABC Mouse Website

Procedure:
* I'm sure you've seen the advertisement for this site on T.V.!
1. Go to the ABC Mouse site online.  There is a 30 day free trial for this program.  We love it so much that we purchased access for the first year!  You can fill out the information for your child, and they can start their own learning path.  You can also just explore and play the games you want to.  Remember to help your child use the mouse by guiding their hand first, then allowing them to do it on their own.  This site is fantastic!!!  Enjoy!

Wacky Word Wednesday: Sight Word Book

Language Objectives:

* To create a sight word book using flashcards
* To start memorizing sight words (10 at a time)

Materials:

* Printables from Unique Teaching Resources
* scissors
* rings or ribbon to attach flashcards together
* hole punch

Procedure:

* I found this incredible website from Unique Teaching Resources that has free printables for 1,000 sight words!!!
1. Using the link above, print out the number of sight words you want to start with from Fry's First 100 list.  I printed 30 words, but we will do 10 at a time each week.  Cut out the words, punch holes in the top corners of the cards, and attach them all together using a ring or a ribbon.

2. I also printed the checklist off for the first 100 words in order to keep track of the words Sawyer has learned.



3. Introduce the book to your child.  Say the words for them as you flip through the book, and have your child repeat after you.  Continue flipping through the first 10 words 3-4 more times.  Keep practicing throughout the week until your child has memorized these words.

Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: God Made Me
Social Skills Objectives:

* To understand that God made us
* To recognize that God made different parts of our body for special reasons
* To look at bible verses to help understand what each body part is for in God's eyes

Materials:

* Printable from Danielle's Place

* scissors

* crayons or markers
* glue

* Bible

Procedure:

* Another fun pinterest find from Danielle's place!
1. Print out the "God Made Me" page from the link above.  Cut out the words at the bottom and have your child match the words to the correct box.

2. Look up verses in the bible that discuss these different parts of the body.  Talk about what God intended us to do with each part of the body.  Here are some of the verses we looked at:
Listening Ears: Isaiah 30:21, Mark 4:9
Wonderful Eyes: Psalm 119:18
Helping Hands: Acts 9:36, 1 Timothy 5:10
Guarded Mouth: Psalm 19:14, Psalm 71:8, Proverbs 21:23
Happy Heart: Proverbs 15:13
Beautiful Feet: Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15

3. Have your child color the picture to look like them!



Silly Sawyer!

Fantastically Fun Friday: Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Fun Objectives:

* To create sidewalk chalk paint by following a recipe
* To use the fine motor skills involved with painting

Materials:

* plastic cups
* corn starch
* water
* food coloring
* paint brushes
* a sidewalk to paint :)

Procedure:

* This is a fun alternative to sidewalk chalk!  There are lots of recipes out there, but this one worked best for us. 
1. Pour about a cup of water into each plastic cup.

2. Mix in 1/2 of a cup of cornstarch.

3. Put a few drops of food coloring into each cup and stir.

4. Using the paintbrushes, have your child create designs on the sidewalk or driveway.  The colors get brigther as the paint dries.  Sawyer loved this!