Why I am Planning a Screen Free Month (and you should think about it too)

Why am I planning to do a screen free month?  Sensory issues.  Headaches.  Stomachaches.  Anxiety.  Fearfulness. Easily frustrated.  Trouble sleeping.  Poor sportsmanship.  Defiance.  These are just some of the problem areas that we have with our girls.  On top of that I don't want there to ever be an addiction.  So I want to stop any road going toward screen addiction.  

The 15 Best Board Games for Preschoolers up to Children Ages 7 or 8

Do your kids want to constantly be planted in front of a screen?  Yeah, mine too.  It can be so frustrating and almost defeating.  

I have been filling my home with great activities, toys, and games that make them want to play with them more than watch screens.  It is so wonderful.  One of the best resources for me as a mom are games.  However, finding fun games for young players can be hard.  Also finding games for younger and older kids to play together can be hard.  So I put together a list of the 14 best board games for preschoolers and these games are also great for children between the ages of 7-8.  We have loved these games as a family and my girls play them independently as well.  

Why Playing With Kids is Actually Good for Stress & Anxiety

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PlayWithPlaymobil #CollectiveBias

"Mom!  Will you play with me?"  "Mom!  Will you help me set up a pretend castle so my carriage can drive to it?"  "Mom do you want to be the teacher or the bus driver?"  If you are a mom then you probably have had similar questions asked.  

July 2018 Self Care Challenge

I am so excited to get started on this self care challenge.  In the Summer we can forget to take care of ourselves.  Especially if we have kids out of school for the Summer.  This challenge is going to continue to go through December though.  I think that is PERFECT because we also forget to take care of ourselves during the holiday season.  I feel like October through December is a time of the year that we forget about ourselves.  (For the most current challenge click here!)

Disney on Ice: Follow Your Heart​​‎​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‎‌​​​‎​​‎‌‌​‎‌‎‌​​‌‎‎​​‎‌‎‎‎​​‎‎‎‌​‎​‎​‌​‎​‌​​‌​‌‌‎​​‌ (Plus a giveaway)

How many of you have been to Disney on Ice?  I took Hannelore in November of 2016.  Then we went to Disneyland in April of 2017.  Ever since Hannelore has wanted to go to Disney on Ice again (and Disneyland).  She said it is magical.  

Great Movie for Kids that Teaches Justice/Mercy

Seriously!  Finding a movie FOR KIDS that teaches justice or mercy was next to impossible.  However, I asked some friends and thankfully I found one that is perfect.  An added bonus is that it is a Christmas movie too. Perfect timing for a Christmas movie! 

This movie is a great movie for kids that teaches justice/mercy.  Seriously, I can't wait to share it with you.  It is a great movie to show that although some kids might be hard to get along with it is not always a great idea to seek revenge.  Now that is hard for adults to understand and grasp so for kids to understand it I would say it is quite a task.  

Picture Books About Kindness & Friendliness

This month came at such a great time.  My girls have been at odds lately.  It seems there is always something to fight about.  I read over 40 books in search of the best picture books about kindness and friendliness.  

Movies About Kindness and Friendliness

This is the second to last month of finding movies that relate to the values I am teaching in my home.  It has been hard to find ones that do not overlap.  Although, that is not a terrible issue to have I also wanted to find ones that have not been used for other values.  

Kid Movies that Teach Life Lessons - Unselfishness & Sensitivity

If you are a parent then you understand that finding a movie that your kids like and that isn't a complete waste can be hard.  I love watching kid movies that teach life lessons with my girls.  This month I wanted to focus on unselfishness and sensitivity since those are the values we are focusing on in the month of October.

Picture Books that Teach Love

Do you have a book buying problem?  If you aren't a reader then you might not have the same problem I have.  However, I know lots of people that don't really love reading, but absolutely love children's books.  Well I like all books.  I want a huge library like Beauty and the Beast and I would be in heaven if I had it.

Movies That Teach Kids About Love

Do your kids like to sit down and watch movies?  Here is my problem with movies and my girls.  My oldest gets scared so EASY!  I'm talking about Finding Nemo scares her.  Then my youngest has the attention span of, well a two year old, so she doesn't stick around long unless it is really engaging or the music is good.  

3 Fantastic Children's Movies about Respect

Just before I sat down to write this blog post my daughter was ignoring me and saying, "No.  I don't want to."  It is VERY recent that this attitude has started happening.  It breaks my heart because she has always been very respectful.  

She could be way worse.  I know that and I am grateful for that, but it is still very hard for me.  Since this is recent I am also grateful that this month we are talking about the value respect.  It came at such a perfect time for me.  

Respect is one of those things that needs to constantly be talked about.  I love teaching through movies and so I found 3 fantastic children's movies about respect.  These are great for younger kids and can be great movies to start wonderful discussions as a family.

This post contains some affiliate links.  This means if you purchase something after you click on the link I will receive a small commission, but I love and believe in these products regardless of the commission. 

Mary Poppins

Who doesn't love this popular nanny?  She is so fun to be around, BUT she also teaches the Banks kids some very important life lessons.  She is so good at teaching them respect.  Their rooms were clean after Mary Poppins came around and they were all around more respectful to others as well. 

Babe

We recently went to the county fair and saw baby pigs.  Is there anything more cute?!  I don't think so.  Maybe the baby goats can compare, but oh my word!  Too cute!  Anyways, back to the topic at hand.  This movie is so cute.  Babe learns how to gain respect by showing respect.  He was respectful to his fellow farm animal friends.  He used the words "Please" and "Thank you" often.  

Ice Age

This movie is so fun to watch, but at the same time you can turn it into a learning experience as well.  Sid gets teased often, but he still is respectful to his friends.  That is so important to teach kids.  That even though others aren't being respectful that you should still be respectful.

More posts about the value respect:

-Respect Quotes

-Picture Books on Respect

-Family Home Evening Ideas on Respect

Other posts about movies that teach different values:

-Honesty movies
-Courage movies
-Peace Movies
-Self-Reliance & Potential movies
-Self-Discipline & Moderation movies
-Loyalty Movies

Once again, my basis for choosing values each month comes from the book, Teaching Your Children Values.  

The Best Movie About Loyalty

Loyalty and dependability are fun values to teach kids.  I think I really liked this because kids are quite loyal.  So these values come pretty easily to them.  It was fun to talk to my girls about it because it just seems like second nature to them. 

Picture Books About Loyalty & Dependability

Loyalty and dependability are huge values that are needed today.  My husband I have have both worked either for small businesses or been running small businesses almost our whole married life.  It has been an eye opening experience to see so many employees be completely irresponsible.  

The Secrets of a Successful Family Summer Vacation

It's Summer break for the kids so that means SUMMER VACATION!  When I think about Summer vacation I think about a million questions that come to my mind.  Where should we go?  How long do we want the vacation to be?  When should we go?  How many activities should I plan?  Do we have the funds for a full blown trip or should we do a staycation? 

Movies That Teach Kids About Self-Discipline & Moderation

Finding books that teach my kids about self-discipline and moderation was hard, but seriously finding movies that teach kids about self-discipline and moderation was VERY hard.  These are some values that I am learning are not really taught to kids.  It is sad, but true.  That might be part of the reason the world is in the state it is in.  

Picture Books That Teach Self Discipline & Moderation

I have said this before, but finding good resources to teach both self-discipline AND/OR moderation has been hard.  There are some pretty good ones about self-discipline, but moderation has been the toughest one.  It is sad, because the truth is that our society in general doesn’t believe in moderation.

Books on Self Reliance & Potential

Finding books on self reliance and potential was much harder than I thought it would be.  I kept reading book after book and none of them seemed to fit quite right.  So I kept reading in search for at least a few.  

Movies that Teach Lessons: 4 Movies that teach kids about potential and self reliance

Kids can learn some terrible things from TV and movies.  It is scary the things they learn from them and some times I don't even realize that a movie is as bad as it is.  Is that bad to admit?  Please don't judge me.

Family Home Evening Ideas on Self Reliance & Potential

If I had to choose one fault that I have as a mom it would be that I do too much for my girls.  I do this for many reasons, but one of those reasons is that it is just plain easier to do it for them.