This is such a fun idea that kids can do easily. We made them for grandparents as gifts, but now I want them to make me one too so I can have it in my window. All you need for this homemade kids craft is a frame (try thrift stores, they have tons!), some Wacky Glue (or other glue that is strong enough and dries clear) and some of these glass pebbles or whatever they are called.
I picked the colours at the craft store and then just dumped them out on the table after putting glue all over the glass and let the boys work away. This was a great craft for them! Both boys loved it so it works for kids age 3 to 5 for sure Enjoy the process and then gift or keep, but be sure to set it in a sunny window to get the full effect.
If you are a parent, you know that a parent does what a parents gotta do-that is just the way it is. We drive the kids around, we make sure they brush their teeth, we take them to school (or even Homeschool them) we aim to do everything short of coddling them in order to have them turn out into able bodied adults and well rounded individuals. However from so much scheduling and activity the most important aspect of a whole person, which is the spirit and soul is many times neglected, or passed off as “the Sunday school teacher’s job”. We aren’t doing our job as parents who love Jesus if we aren’t intentional in instilling faith into our children.
How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is a book, or even more a type of help manual which goes through each age and stage of the child from preschool through high school and equips parents with the tools necessary to pour a passion for what is right into their children. It is called How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph because no matter what the situation, Joseph (yes as in the Joseph with the coat of many colours) was able to make the right decision even when life really was not seeming to move in his favor. God gave him a dream as a boy and he must have thought many times that it was just a hoax and that God was no where close- however the faith that he kept when it came time to make the right choices is to be admired. He was surrounded by a people who didn’t know God, who worshiped all different sorts of gods and he didn’t even have a local home Bible study to go to, or a youth group and still he stood strong.
That is what every christian parent should aim to nurture in their child, not that everything is up to the parent, but it is nice to know when your kids grow up that you did what you could with the gift that God blessed you with. It isn’t up to a youth leader to train your children spiritually, just as much as it isn’t up to the pastor make you grow. The biggest problem with kids and adults alike is that they think they go to church to be challenged and to grow- and the result is that church has never been so full of saggy and faithless Sunday-only Christians. It is up to the individual to trust God, to place their feet on steadfast ground, no program for adults or kids will ever fashion that on its own. With or without programs and church events, we as parents are called to guide our children into a real relationship with Christ.
How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is not a step by step guide on how to raise all children, it is a guide for creating a personalized and practical plan to best help your children bloom into teenagers who know, love and serve their Lord. I will use this book with my kids. We have started working with it and I love the scripture verses that it has for each different age group. Modern-Day Joseph is an excellent book for parents to keep on hand.
Title: How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph
ISBN: 9781434765314
Subtitle: A Practical Guide for Growing Great Kids (An Awana Resource)
Author: Linda Weddle
Publisher: David C. Cook
Subject: Christian Life – Family
Publication Date: June 2009
Pages: 220
I am an affiliate of TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!
During the holidays we got to visit the Corvallis Society of Model Engineers. These stinkin’ sweet grandpops take their model trains super seriously and we got to reap the benefits! This place has been around since 1959 and it is very neat to watch the men up in the booths with their headsets on communicating to each other and using “railroad slang”. It was almost as neat to watch them play with the trains via commands as watching the actual trains come and go all around us- nearly, but not quite. The boys were fascinated by everything, the smallness of it all and loved looking at all the miniature buildings, cranes, bridges and farm houses. It was the perfect thing to do with the boys. Thank you Grandma Canfield for taking us!
And we did finally spot the highly anticipated Spiderman Train. We looked everywhere and then just broke down and asked.
The holidays are a time when everyone just wants to create. Weather it be crafts, gifts or yummy treats to eat- the time that we get to spend together is so much better spent when we get our hands sticky, right!? Kids (and even adults) of all ages will find some eye-catching pictures in Kids in the Holiday Kitchen, pictures that will reel them right in to want to make the recipes/crafts. From the Stuffed French Toast (on page 14), the Sugarplum Lollies (p. 36) to the crafts of Stellar (felted) Stockings (p. 81) and the Let There Be Light (colourful beeswax candle) (p. 88) there is more than enough so that everyone in the family will find a “must make”.
These projects are made to be kid friendly and most kids preschool age and older could do a portion of the work with a parent helper. Older kids could do them completely by themselves. It is a way that children can take ownership of making their gifts for their teachers, aunts or that special friend that needs a little encouragement. It is never to early to encourage giving and Kids in the Holiday Kitchen encourages a season of giving all year round, even from the littlest hands. This books gets two thumbs way up from me. I am leaving you with a recipe from the book that would be perfect for your New Year’s celebrations!! Yum.
New Year’s Nuggets
Chocolate-Caramel Popcorn, from Kids in the Holiday Kitchen (p. 45)
You’ll Need:
1/2 Cup Dried Yellow Popcorn
Scant 1/4 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil (optional)
1/4 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
1 Cup Sugar
8 Ounces Milk Chocolate
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup
What to do:
1. Pop the popcorn.
2. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat over medium-high heat until golden brown, and 5 minutes. Stir gently, add the orange extract, if using, stir again. Add some of the popcorn and coat it with the caramel. use a wooden utensil to help coat the corn. Place the coated kernels on the parchment paper to cool. Repeat.
4. When cool, break up the clumps of caramel corn, keeping the corn clumps on the parchment.
5. Heat the chocolate over low heat in the top of a double boiler, or in a metal bowl over a saucepan filled with 1 inch of hot water (creating your own double boiler). Heat the chocolate until it’s smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.
6. Fill a ladle with the melted chocolate and lightly drizzle over the caramel corn. Let the chocolate caramel corn cool for 30 to 45 minutes. To make gifts, put small batches in cellophane bags; otherwise, wrap in parchment paper and keep in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Makes 4 Cups
Watch Chronicle Book’s Kids in the Holiday Kitchen book trailer:
Title: Kids in the Holiday Kitchen
ISBN: 9780811861397
Subtitle: Making, Baking, Giving
Author: Jessica Strand & Tammy Massman-Johnson
Photographer: James Baigrie
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Subject:Holiday – Christmas, Crafts for Children, Handicraft, Recipes
Publication Date: November 2008
Pages: 95
I am an affiliate of TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!
There are some things that are made to make you happy. Hammocks and Palolu (Licorice root in English) are two of those things. To just be able to hang there and suck on a sweet stick with the boys, is the perfect summer siesta time for me. Cuddled up and cozy, the hammock supporting every bit of our weight, and with the added joy of sweetness to satisfy my sweet tooth.
My mom sent the Palolu from Spain, I haven’t been able to find it here. It tastes like very good and fresh black licorice, and no not the grocery store candy kind, way better. The boys share my delight in this tradition. I learned of Palolu and became enamored while growing up in Spain. It is also known there as Palodu or Palodulce, and grows by the river. We used to buy it along with other sugary delights at the local candy store. It was so fun to walk around with classmates in school all chewing on these yummy sticks.
What do you like to do on hot summer days? What about summer memories from your youth that you wish you could have back now?
For more pictures like this check out my Flickr album: Summertime Bliss
The perfect combo as far as a toy for brothers is this, cars controlled by remotes, filled with crash test dummies that pop out whenever you crash! Sometimes the toy experts really do figure out what little boys want, and this toy is it, a marriage made in heaven. Thank you Ellyn and Andrew for such a perfect gift for your ring bearers, they love these little cars.
What is so great about the Farmer’s Market each Saturday here in Corvallis, Oregon?
We have the street performers
Gumbo (above) is a local ( completely stunning ) band, we have seen them play at tons of different locations, and they never fail to impress and even bring the most reluctant toes to a tap. To hear Gumbo, go to the Wild Rose Artists website and click on the link to Gumbo on the bottom left, so fun for the whole family to listen to. Listen up! Enjoy.
Produce like you could never get at the grocery store
Hundreds of happy buyers
And just as many hungry eaters
The boys’ favourite part when it is warm is the fountain
The perfect Saturday local adventure!
What do you like to do on weekends were you live?
For more market photos go to my flickr album: Saturday Market
Comments (10) 
Enjoy the process and then gift or keep, but be sure to set it in a sunny window to get the full effect.
How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph: A Practical Guide for Growing Great Kids
Kids in the Holiday Kitchen: Making, Baking, Giving
Themocracy