My Recent Favorite YA Fiction

I read mostly YA fiction because I like to preview stuff for my kids, and this year, I read some great ones!  But there are two trilogies that stand out as my recent favorites.  Maybe because they both inspired me to want to save the world!   Here they are!

The following books are called, "The Queen of Attolia," and "The King of Attolia"

AND......

The following books in this trilogy are "The Runaway King," and "The Shadow Throne"


I just LOVED the hero characters in these books.  They were funny, yet noble in a way that drove everybody crazy.  For that same reason one of my all time favorites is the "Bartimaeus" series.  I really enjoyed the humorous main character of the genie who tried to be ferocious but was really just a softie.

What's your favorite fiction lately?

Replace T.V. with Books on Tape

(trueaimeducation.com)

It's our new summer idea!  It's working wonderfully!  When my kids try to watch T.V., I just re-direct them to the books on tape and they are very happy with it!  If they are not excited about the books we have, I buy them another one on kindle that they'll be excited about.  I figure it's about the same price as Netflix, since they share all the books.  It's the greatest coup ever!  Try it and see!

Here are some of our favorites:

Percy Jackson

The Ranger's apprentice

Harry Potter

Inkheart

Gregor the Overlander

Chickens in the Headlights

The Birds and the Bees

(source: sheknows.com)

Talking with your kids about sex is happening earlier than it did when I was a child, because life is a lot different and kids are growing up faster these days.  We like to start when they are eight years old because that is when they are old enough to understand, yet not so old as to get too embarrassed by the subject. And it means we, hopefully, beat their peers and the schools in educating them, so we can give it the treatment we want our kids to hear.   It is important to educate your kids about this subject so they are protected from wrong information and from peer pressure to do things they are not ready for....and to protect them from teen pregnancy.

Another thing to note, is that I have a friend who works at Washington State University doing a study on what works when talking to kids about sex and prevention of teen pregnancy.  She said that they found that if the kids were made to feel guilty or bad about it, then it was LESS successful at preventing problems, than if they were taught the subject in a matter of fact way that didn't make them feel bad, or in a way that helped them feel good about self control.

There are two books we use when broaching this subject with our kids.  And we chose them for the fact that they make the kids feel good about the whole subject and self-control.

The first is called, "How to talk to your Child about Sex" by Linda and Richard Eyre.  They also have a great parenting website.

And the second book is called, "Where did I come From?" by Peter Mayle.

And later when kids are going into puberty, we like to use this book, called "What is happening to me?" by Peter Mayle. (although we do like to edit a couple of these pages with our own slant on things)

We usually take our kids on a parent/child date and eat a nice dinner and then talk about things afterward.  My kids love it and look forward to their "Great to be Eight" date!  Hope it works for you as well as it did for us!

My Favorite Book to help children Sleep

Today I thought I'd share my favorite book on solving child sleep problems.  It really works.  It worked very well with all five of my kids.  I tried other things, but this was the only system that actually helped.  It was recommended by my doctor with my first child.  The book is called, Solve your Child's Sleep Problems, by Dr. Ferber.  Try it!  It really works.

It does recommend crying it out, which is hard on the mom at first, but trust me, it is the only way, and your child is so much happier when he learns to soothe himself instead of relying on you to soothe him to sleep.  I promise it will help.  And your child and you will feel much better!  You can do it!  Please leave a comment if you need support or have questions!  Try it first during naps, and that will be a lot easier, because once your child can do it at naptime, then the skill can be transferred to bedtime.  That worked well for me.  Some kids were easier than others...but the younger you start the easier it is.  I know from experience.  Good luck!!  And I promise this stage won't last forever!

A Stable Marriage: The best gift to your Children

picture source (www.a2zlivestyle.com)

I just wanted to share with you today what I think is one of the most important principles in raising a family:  A stable marriage.  This is not easy.  It takes work.  And there are many times when although ideal, it just isn't going to happen because of death, divorce, abuse, or apathy of one partner.  These are things that exist and I do not mean to make anyone feel bad, because we are all doing the best that we can, and there are things that cannot be helped or fixed.  But if it is a possibility for you, it is worth the time to put a lot of work into making your marriage stable.  Nurturing this relationship should be a priority even over nurturing the children (although both are extremely important).  This will give your children the most happiness and the best chance at success.  You can do every other thing for your child, but if your marriage is not stable then things may be harder for the children, they may act out more, and whatever you do may be undermined by the insecurities they feel.

So I wanted to share with you today my favorite marriage books.  They have helped me so much to understand my partner and to get my marriage stable so that my children can thrive.  The first is called,

Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, by Dr. John Gottman.  This book is life changing!!!  It even helped one of my friends improve her relationship with her mother-in-law!

And you can probably guess the 2nd book I am going to recommend: because it works!

"Five Love Languages: The secret to a love that Lasts" by Gary Chapman

I promise you these books will change your life!  They changed mine, and my husband's and my relationship is still going strong and happy after 20 years!

My favorite parenting books

I've read a lot of parenting books over the years, and I mean A LOT!  I feel like it's important to study methods and ideas in order to be successful in parenting.  You need to find out information and then try it out on your own family.  And so over the years I've gleaned a list of three parenting books that have worked amazingly well with not only my family, but in the classrooms where I have taught other people's children as well.  I've taught children for about 15 years in church classrooms and so have developed lots of ideas about what works with children and what doesn't.  So as you read this blog, many ideas probably originated in some ways from these three books I am about to share with you.

The first book is very popular, and all I can say is that it's probably because the principles in the book really work!  When I read this book and tried it out on my family, the kids went from doing pretty good to doing outstandingly well.  This book transformed my family.  The title is "The 5 Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman,Ph.D.  (The book on teens and the one on marriage are also really great).

My next favorite book is written by the co-author of the above book.  I'ts called, "How to Really Love your Child," by Ross Campbell, MD.

It was life changing for me.  I really learned a lot from it.

And last but not least:  My favorite book for helping small children learn to obey.  It really does work like magic, and without you having to get angry or yell or whatever you hate about getting kids to obey.  I still use it on my teens when I really need to.  Although, truthfully, because of the above two books, I rarely have to do more than ask nicely.  I'm telling you...the above two books REALLY WORK!  The book that I use with my young children to help them learn to obey when they need help though, is called, "1-2-3 Magic," by Thomas Phelan, PhD.

And that's it.  These are my parenting bibles.  And they work.  Try them out!  You'll see amazing changes in your family!