Raising Asher

worth 1000 words

An Interesting Discovery

Elmo... with a twist

First Bible Study

One thing that is important to us around here is our relationship with God.  Not only is it important... it's the most important aspect of our lives.  As Christian parents, one of our prime responsibilities to Asher is to nurture his own spiritual life.  I realize that it's not quite PC in the age of moral relativism and universal spirituality to take that approach, but it's our view nonetheless.  Asher will, of course, ultimately have to come into that relationship on his own, but we can help to lay the foundation.

I found this devotional Bible the other day and ordered it off of Amazon using some of our Coinstar gift card (did you know that a jar of spare change can add up to $130?  I didn't either!).

I really liked it because there are questions in the margin of each page to encourage active reading, which is so fundamental.  We live in the South - we know all about going to church and believing in God because... well... that's what you do.  We don't want that for Asher.  We want him to develop a genuine desire to learn about God and to grow in a relationship with Christ.  At the end of each story there's a section called Think Pray Live - the applicational part that asks kids to think about what they've read, pray about the topic/issue at hand, and practical ways to live out that principle in their lives.

Needless to say, I really fell in love with it, and I think it's a great choice for Asher's first "big boy" Bible.

Today when we were at Books-a-Million, I came across a companion book called The My First Message Bible Search: Discovering Answers in God's Word.

I almost didn't pick it up because I saw "Bible Search" and pictured a word search book with a Bible theme.  I'm glad I took a glance!  It's actually a Bible study that goes along with Asher's new Bible.  It addresses real life issues for young kids ("When I Don't Want to Go to Bed," "When I Always Want to Get My Way," etc) in a biblical context and breaks it down into little pieces.  It's a perfect resource for early Bible lessons.  Asher is still too young for it right now, but that's okay.  I'm happy to have it waiting in the wings.  To be honest, there are probably plenty of nuggets of truth that I could use for my own life!

Here's a sample of one of the studies if you're interested:

not really a hiatus

Just enjoying the summer... in the meantime, happy 4th of July!

Used=Awesome

We have a store here in town called Once Upon A Child that sells used children's clothing and toys.  Awhile back I won a $25 gift card in a drawing (that NEVER happens to me!), so I went today to spend what was left on the card.  I got this epically awesome wooden toy for just $15!  The trolley on the top (zoo theme) is detachable and can be played with separately, and the four sides have an abacus, a peg maze, a xylophone, and a whiteboard.  It's so cool!  I imagine it was rather expensive new.  Asher started playing with the abacus beads right away, as well as flicking the little blocks on the trolley on top.

The other toy I got for Asher was this alligator xylophone.  One of the skills he is working on in OT is holding a drumstick in his hand and banging on something.  He has drum toys at home, but they're all hand drums.  The xylophone on the wooden toy didn't come with a stick, so it didn't really help in working on that goal.  The alligator fits the bill.  He was only $5.50, too.

All in all, it was a good shopping day!

If there was ever any doubt that Asher's an Elmo guy

It can now be removed.  ;)

(this is his early interventionist, Susie - lots more fun pics of this session to come!)

More finds!

Lotsa pics - you've been warned!

Target had these Elmo plates and bowls in their bargain aisles up front for $1 each.  Too cute!  The tray came from Hobby Lobby and was $6.99, I think.

This DVD isn't a deal, per se, but it has tons of awesome Elmo segments that are fun for both Asher and mommy - folks like Jason Mraz and Feist make guest appearances!  It also has the Elmo's Ducks segment, which is my favorite Elmo skit of all time.

WARNING: gallery of boring homeschool finds below!
(click a thumbnail to enlarge)

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 List of items

Dr. Seuss flip chart ($11.88)
Giant flip chart ($9.99)
The Complete Book of Arts and Crafts ($6.88)
Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills (preschool edition) ($7.86)
Scholastic Alphabet Mats ($10.04)
Write, Slide, and Learn Phonics ($9.99)
Basic Skills box set (1st) ($5.99)
Getting Your Preschooler Ready to Read ($3.99)
Getting Your Preschooler Ready for Math ($3.99)

I hate to break your heart, Tennessee...

...but I think we have a UK fan on our hands.

reading is fun

Just ask Asher.