Fun Ideas to Focus on Gratitude

I bet you’ve been working quite diligently the past couple months to get your new school year off to a solid start. Good for you! Now, perhaps it’s time for you and your children to pause just a bit and enjoy the changing season and the celebration of being “Thankful”. Of course you can weave the following ideas into your school day because each item on this list has a learning component. But don’t overthink it; just enjoy the opportunity to change things up a bit throughout this month. When you provide a few suggestions and a little direction, your children will be off and running – perhaps quite literally – with ideas galore, and energy to boot. You may choose to join them, or you may choose to “catch up” on some tasks that requires your attention . . . like making dinner. This is a list to get your creative juices flowing. Add some of your own ideas and share them with us on our FB group.

1. Using Google, find and purchase some new picture books on “Thanksgiving” to add to your family library.

2. Create your own “Gratitude” book for your family.

3. Decorate: cookies, a table, a card, a porch – bring the word “Thankful” into your fall decorating.

4. Share: a card, baked goods, a walk, a craft – choose something to share with someone who may be experiencing some hardship.

5. Create some table decor for your Thanksgiving meal.

6. Bring something like flowers from outside, inside.

7. Get some yummy fall smells wafting through the house: candles, essential oils, spiced cider, spiced baked goods.

8. Paint or color a picture of a fall scene from your yard or a nearby park.

9. Create cards with a “Thanksgiving” theme and send them to friends, pastors, teachers, and loved ones. Include a Thanksgiving poem.

10. Using one of the above suggestions, find a way to communicate your gratitude to community service workers, such as police officers and firefighters or to nursing home residents.

This list is designed to get ideas flowing, and to encourage you – or give you permission – to adjust your routine just a bit so you can focus some thoughts, time, and attention on embracing this special season of “Thanksgiving”. And by the way, did you know, we’re thankful for YOU!

Who Needs Original?

While “Thankfulness” certainly counts as an unoriginal theme for the month of November, I am choosing to accept “unoriginal” because it’s simply impossible to be overly grateful.

I don’t know what life is hurling your direction, but I bet it’s not all great. Some parts of your life – like mine – likely include some really tough and sobering realities alongside the joys. But the hard parts are real, so what do we do during this season of “Thanksgiving”? Do we pretend like the hard stuff isn’t real – like it doesn’t exist for a few days? Probably not. But we can remember that we do have choices: choices about how we will respond with gratitude in our circumstances, whether good or bad/happy or sad.

Several years ago, I read a book by Ann Voskamp: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. Inside the front cover of the book, we read, “How do we find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties? What does a life of gratitude look like when your days are gritty, long, and sometimes dark?” I don’t know about you, but on a small scale, this is where I find myself today . . . as I enter into the month of “Thanksgiving”.

So I’m getting ready. Choosing my focus. Looking past circumstances. Remembering God continues to send blessings to me every day . . . even if in little, often overlooked ways, like the dish soap bubbles Anne writes about. I tell myself the truth: “You are not alone.” And I begin to imagine how to put my gratitude into action:

• Sharing some baked goods with my neighbors

• Sending a “Thinking of you” note to a loved one

• Facetiming my grandchildren and hearing their little voices as they share their day with me

• Taking time to journal my blessings

• Coloring a page in my “grown up coloring book” – just to enjoy a quiet, creative moment

• Taking a walk in nature to enjoy the sights and sounds of a new season

• Sending a child a book on “Thankfulness” for their home library

So whether life feels very hard right now or very calm and peaceful, choosing gratitude is one way to speak life over your circumstances and your heart. I hope you choose to lead your family on a “Thankfulness Journey” again this year.

Blessings,

Kris

Getting into a Rhythm

Summertime is a wonderful break from the routine, and September is a wonderful step into rhythm. What do I mean by “step into rhythm”? Think of music. There is a wonderful consistency with music – at least with most music – that allows us to clap along, anticipating the beat . . . even dancing to the beat. While the note values vary, the rhythm is locked in: sometimes faster, sometimes slower, yet predictable. It keeps us moving. This is what September is all about: moving consistently.

Moving where?

• Up out of bed to get the rhythm going

• From room to room caring for our little treasures

• Down on the sofa, taking much needed time to read (and rest) together

• In and out of the car – to and from carefully selected activities

• Stopping long enough to enjoy a meal all together at the end of the day

• Dropping back into bed after a day full of dancing to the rhythms of family life

When we see ourselves busily “dancing” to a rhythm as we hurry about our dutiful lives, we feel encouraged. Exhaustion meets us at the end of the day, but the rhythm of the music gets us going again.

Lifestyle Habits that Develop a Love of Literature

Whether your children are in our classes or not, it’s September, and school has officially begun. Few would disagree that reading is a cornerstone of education, so let’s consider how to get off to a strong start with the reading habits we embrace. Here are some ideas to consider. This list is not designed to be a checklist – completing each item every day. This is simply a list of ideas about how you can ‘creatively’ ENJOY getting the most out of reading as a family.

1. Start your day with enough time to eat breakfast together and have one of your older children read a Bible verse, poem, or fable of the day. The choice and the discipline to start the day sitting together might be quite daunting, but if you add some fun rewards, your children will be more inclined to join the fun. Positive verses, poems, or fables will also make for great conversation around the table.

2. Let your very little ones read to you. Listen to them tell the story and change the inflection of their voices as they read. This is helping your toddlers develop a love of reading. They value the time together as well as the joy of the story.

3. Ask your older children questions about what they are reading. This conversation can happen while driving in the car together, working in the kitchen or outside, sitting around the dinner table. No place is off-limits when it comes to asking your children questions about the books they are reading. (See our Blending Literature with Writing Guide for sample questions to ask about literature.)

4. Reverse the roles. Every now and then have your children ask Mom and Dad questions about the books they are reading. Hmmm . . . what are YOU reading? Asking quality questions is a skill we must practice to learn it well. Model this; then watch your children practice following in your footsteps.

I’m guessing you also have some great ideas about weaving literature into your daily routine. We’d love to hear your ideas, so we invite you to join our Facebook group . A little bit of reading, followed by some great questions and conversations bring books to life. This is learning through lifestyle – the best kind of education.

Working Together to Find Success

One aspect of getting into a good rhythm is connecting with your children’s instructors – those to whom you have chosen to outsource a certain amount of instruction. We desire to walk alongside you and support you as you oversee your children’s education. That means we – The Write Journey instructors and administrators in partnership with you – will need to communicate regularly and understand our roles. The following suggestions often bring great results:

1. Request a recording of our Orientation webinar (if you were not already able to attend) to learn how to work together with The Write Journey to create a calm and successful semester for your students. Kris discusses each person’s role in creating a successful class experience for you and your children.

2. Your students’ instructors are going to be your first point of contact with us, so get comfortable connecting with them via texts, emails, phone calls, etc. You are likely already receiving emails from them. Look for weekly emails, and always reach out to them if you have questions or concerns about anything related to the class or to your students’ work.

3. Assist your child with time management. Some children need more assistance and oversight than others, but this is an important part of your role at home. Students will perform best if they are working on their assignments a little bit each day of the school week.

4. Carefully study any homework that is returned to your child with feedback from the instructor. It’s not enough for students to look at a grade. They must read the feedback carefully and make sure they understand the corrections and suggestions. You can help them with this.

When you are intentionally working on each of these aspects of connection, you and your child will have a wonderful experience learning. We are grateful to be a part of your educational journey.