Free Persevering Download - Persevering Activities #9

Get a sneak peek at my new site, and get this three page Free Download that sums up our perseverance activities. (Just click on free download to go to the test site.)

My site is not quite finished yet, but you can still post your own great ideas with photos on the homepage, so that I can post them to the "Pintentional Parenting" gallery when it is up and running. Just pretend you are adding a comment to the blog on that site.

I am excited about building a community where moms can share their intentional parenting ideas! I welcome any suggestions or ideas you may have.

Let us Not Become Weary - Persevering Activities #8

Encouraging End Notes for Moms - Perseverance

The job of being a mom requires at least 18 years of perseverance! We are training our children in small ways every day, and usually only see small results. Remember Rome was not built in a day. As we persevere, our children will slowly grow in perseverance and many other qualities. The key to success is to work on one or two small improvements at a time, and see that these are done consistently despite difficulties. We cannot rush through, give up, or do this life-changing job halfheartedly. Take baby steps! Keep up the good work!  Do not become weary in doing good!Hopefully the harvest that we reap will be a multitude of the fruit of the Spirit!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

Are you Heavy Laden? - Persevering Activities #7

Short Story - For our last lesson on Perseverance,
enjoy this short story from Creative Correction by Lisa Welchel (Blaire from TV show "Facts of Life")

"One day while I was sitting beneath a tree at the base of a large hill, something caught my eye. A young girl was traveling with a man I assumed was her father. As they hiked the steep path together, the man stooped down, picked up a rock, and put it in her empty backpack. He repeated this every few feet. Despite this, the girl pressed on, but before reaching the top, she fell from the weight of her burden.

That load is too heavy for such a small child! I thought angrily.

Unable to watch any longer, I raced to her defense. When I reached the top, I saw that she was resting in her father's arms. He had picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.

After catching my breath, I grilled the man. "What kind of father are you?" I demanded. "Why would you purposely make your daughter stumble by increasing her burden?"

He pointed to a distant summit. Beyond many larger hills and deep valleys stood a beautiful castle. He explained: "My daughter is a princess and that is her home. There are challenging roads ahead of her that you cannot see from the foot of the hill. She must be strengthened for the journey ahead. There will come a time when I will remove the stones she is carrying one by one. In the meantime, I will walk beside her, and she will learn to lean on me.

What are the "rocks" or burdens in your backpack? If the rocks are getting too heavy, learn to walk beside Christ and lean on Him.  He will give you rest.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:29-30 

You Deserve a Medal! - Persevering Activities #6

Yeah! You deserve a medal for persevering until the end of school! Congratulations!
Take a break from all your hard work with a couple of the fun crafting ideas below.
1. Medal, Trophy, or Crown (simple at home craft) - As a reward for finishing school or one of the persevering games from my past posts, let your child  make a Prize Medal, Trophy, or Crown- There are numerous ways you can make these simple crafts.  Cover cardboard or a paper plate with foil.  Use a medal juice can lid to make a medal. Bedazzle your crown with some plastic jewels or glitter, and hang your medal from a pretty ribbon. Find directions for a super simple paper plate crown by Ginny Lawson at http://www.ehow.com/video_2259621_make-paper-crown-hat.html
            James 1:12 - "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, 

                      because when he has stood the test, he will receive the CROWN of life 
                                   that God has promised to those who love Him."
2.Tedious Craft of Your Choice (worth the time and effort involved) - Teach your child a tedious craft that does not require much skill, but requires lots of perseverance and patience like cross-stitch, model-making, weaving, knitting, legos, peel and stick sticker mosaics, jewelry making, etc.. Let them pick out a craft kit at your local hobby store. You may be pleasantly surprised at how many hours of quiet time this small purchase will buy you.
3.Paper Airplanes - (simple at home)  -Orville and Wilbur Wright are excellent historic examples of perseverance. Make paper airplanes and read a book or online information about the first airplane. "Try, try, try; and soon you'll fly!"
What is your favorite tedious craft? Do you have any craft ideas that teach perseverance?

Songs and CDs - Persevering Activities #5

Kids love to learn through Songs and other Multi-media!

Songs that Teach Perseverance – (As found on YouTube)

1. “I Can do all Things.MPG” by Steve Green – posted by thechild4God
2. "All About Perseverance" - posted by Harry Kindergartener
3. "Onward Christian Soldiers" from Cedarmont Kids - posted by Crosspozzure.

Multi-media that teach Perseverance -
Shop Amazon.com for these resources.

Perseverance Adventures in Odyssey's Life Lessons #6 (stories on CD). These stories make our long car rides speed by and our chore time enjoyable. The whining and complaining mouths close so they can hear these action packed stories that teach character. This "life lessons" series focus on a nine different character qualities including perseverance. (Ages 5 and up) (See picture above)

Sumo of the Opera by Michael Nowroski, DVD from Big Idea Productions. I just love Veggie Tales, and this one is specifically about perseverance. (Ages 4 and up)

Winning the Great Race of Faith : How to Overcome Adversity by Doug and Debbie Kingsriter (CD). My girls truly love these musical stories where the songs are directly from Scripture. This story is about a group of kids in a bike race. (Ages 3 and up)
Has your family found any music or other multi-media that teach perseverance?

Share SMART Goals - Persevering Activities #4

1. One of the best ways to persevere at finishing your goals is to make sure you are making good goals. Have a share time with your kids about goals.  Are you and your kids making S.M.A.R.T. goals? What kind of goals do they or you have? If they don't have any, help them come up with some.

    S- specific - What exactly do you want to achieve?
    M- measurable - How much, how many, or how often?
    A- attainable - Can you do this without relying on anyone else (besides God of course)?
    R-relevant/realistic - You pick the one you want. I like to ask if this goal is relevant to my life goal of glorifying God, enjoying my relationship with Christ, and other goals as a wife, mother, etc.?
    T-time-bound - When am I going to have this completed by?

Here are some other conversation starters that will help your kids persevere:

2. What situations make you feel like giving up in school, relationships, jobs, activities, sports, etc?.
3. How do you feel when you do give up on a goal versus when you finish a job well?
4. What are some things that distract you from reaching your goals or getting a job finished? For example - TV, video games, toys, the phone, internet, snacking, etc.

"We can keep at the task of training when we realize our children's character development is more important than getting a job done quickly." - Nadine M. Brown from How to Have Kid's with Character, even if your kid's are characters

Family Fun - Persevering Activities #3

You can have fun as a family and learn perseverance
at the same time with these games!

1. Long Games - Any long games teach perseverance. When I was young I thought Monopoly was the longest game of all times. Some other ideas would be any type of brain teasers, Battleship,  Scrabble, etc. Whatever they are playing, keep them engaged and help them finish.
2. "How Long can You..." - Make up your own competitions to see who can do things the most or for the longest time like hold your breath, hold your arms up in the air, stand on one leg, jumping jacks, run around the house, etc. 
3. Domino Line-up (Object Lesson) - Each small step is important in completing a big project. Set dominoes up in a long row with a few missing in the middle. Push the first one over. A short row will fall and then they will stop because of the missing ones. Talk to your kids about how this relates to persevering to finish a big task. Then play a short game or set them up in long rows or patterns.

Does your family have any games that you like that teach perseverance?