Babies and Toddlers Archives - Character Concepts Blog

Summer Quiet Times- a daily respite for kids and mom

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Kari Boyer — 4 Comments ↓

I want to share with you something that I try to do with my kids most days in the summer. We call it “Quiet Time“. I’m sure this is not a new idea to most of you, however I think it is worth “re-mentioning” because I think it is a wise practice and very worth-while!

What is it? In a nutshell, Quiet Times are an intentional, specified time where each person is to be alone, occupying themselves quietly, and not allowed to disturb others. (not even mom!)

For my children who are young, but no longer napping in the afternoon, Quiet Times happen all year long. But as some of my children have gotten older, and their school days have stretched longer- taking advantage of this practice during the school year has pretty much worked itself out of our schedule. However- in the summertime, when our days aren’t filled with schoolwork and the responsibilities and schedule are different, everyone participates in Quiet Time. And you know something? We all enjoy it. Actually, my older kids seem to like it the best! I find that it provides a needed break from all the ‘togetherness’ and also a little structure to an otherwise care-free schedule. Neither of those are bad things, but too much of a good thing can quickly become tiresome and stale.

This is what “Quiet Time” looks like in our home:

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20 Ways to Delight in Your Preschooler

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Marilyn — No Comments ↓

So first of all, just what does it mean to delight in your preschooler? Delighting in them means you communicate that there is nothing you’d rather be doing than spending time with them. It means you focus on all the positive ways God made them unique. It means to communicate to their little heart that you are delighted to be their mom or dad and you enjoy spending time with them. It means intentionally focusing on what is really important and learning to step into their shoes. It means that you believe the best of them and are their biggest cheerleader. The world won’t do it. It’s up to you!

So- here’s a little list of 20 ways you can show your little one that they are special to you:

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Out of the Mouths of Babes – Preschool Thursdays

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Marilyn — No Comments ↓

Thursdays-Preschool-talk I’ve often thought I’d like to write a book of the cute things preschoolers say. They are so honest and often take life so literally.

I made a practice of writing the “cutest” things in their baby books. Now that they are getting older, it’s fun for them to look back and see some of the things they said and remember what life was like from their point of view.

It’ll help them to be better parents the more they can remember what it was like to view life from the point of view of a child.

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” Matthew 21:16

“Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2

We would love to hear some of the cute quotes from your preschoolers!!!

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Preschool Thursdays with Marilyn Boyer

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Marilyn — No Comments ↓

Delighting in Your Preschoolers

When preschoolers are tempted to interrupt while you’re talking to or listening to someone else, have them lay their hand on your arm to alert you that they need to talk with you. Teach them that is the polite way to get your attention and as soon as you can, you’ll give it to them.

Why We Chose to Keep Our Kids With Us In Church

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Marilyn — 4 Comments ↓

Through the years, we’ve chosen to keep our children in church with us rather than sending them off to age graded groups. It’s a decision we can say we’ve been glad we made and stuck by even though others often misunderstood our intentions.

We felt it was important for our children to be together as a family while we worshiped the Lord. We found that they absorbed a lot more from being in the adult service than we ever expected even as very young children. We always saw the family as the primary place for spiritual training and as such was the place we chose to teach our children Scripture memory, doctrine and character building. We would gear their memory verses to character needs we saw in their own lives as individuals. Although not opposed to such programs as Awana for others, we felt it was not the best choice for our children. Our oldest son was an excellent ‘memorizer’ and we felt sure he would win lots of awards competing with others, but strongly felt it would become a stumbling block for him, as it would be a temptation to build pride in his life. For others, not so quick to learn, we didn’t want them to feel they didn’t measure up. The goal of learning Scripture is to change our lives to be more like Jesus, not to compete for prizes.

So, the question has been asked of us, “How did you train your kids to sit still in church? Are they just naturally cooperative?” Training is the key and no, they weren’t naturally cooperative. They were all different, just like your kids are. Funny, but often the most squirmy, active children would actually fall asleep if you could get them to be still for 5 minutes.

We began “playing church” at home. We had training sessions where we sat the kids on the sofa and pretended to be in church. Sometimes one of the kids would be the song leader or the pastor, but our goal was to prepare them in advance for how to act properly in that situation. Little ones need to learn that they can sit still for an extended period of time. We would begin by having them sit perfectly still for short amounts of time, 1-2 minutes and reward them, gradually working up to longer periods of stillness. For some kids, you have to show them they can actually do it!!

We provided “quiet time” activities for them to use during church time. The Busy Bible (See above post)) was, and is, one of our very favorites, as they were learning Bible stories as well as staying busy, quietly. If one of pieces dropped, it made no noise!! We gave each a special “church bag” filled with these activities and a quiet snack although we tried to have them to simply sit still some of the time for each service and listen to the pastor. It was great when, as would often happen, one of them would whisper, “Mommy, he just said one of my verses!”

Our daughter-in-law Dusty has Luke ask the pastor each week what his text will be for the following week .She then reads it to Luke during the week and sometimes makes visuals such as the talents told of in Scripture. Luke used to not enjoy being in church, but this made him look forward to hearing the pastor read verses he was familiar with.

As our children grew older, we sometimes had them take notes from the sermon. Kelley (now age 12)now has her own journal that she brings to church to take notes in. We don’t regret our decision to train our children in this manner. I think it has given them a more serious regard for things of the Lord to be in church with the adults.

~ Marilyn