But he uses means. He uses God-centered traditions and Bible-saturated family patterns and grace-laden heirlooms. Only God can give our children a taste for the sweetness of God. Only God can awaken them to his worth. But year in and year out there are traditions that show children that God is our Treasure. Noël Piper opens her home to you—more than thirty years of marriage and mothering. She invites you into the happy, imperfect Piper pattern of life (including a few family-occasion poems written by her husband, John). But, even better, she roots things in the Bible. God-treasuring traditions can be ordinary, everyday habits such as telling stories, attending church, and using affectionate nicknames. They may be rare “especially” occasions such as funerals and weddings. And they are the creative ways we reflect Christ in our holidays. Noël Piper believes that by our traditions we can help the next generation treasure God, and at the same time deepen our own love for him. Like a scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven, she brings out of her treasure what is new and what is old—making the old new and rooting the new in the old. In this way, the next generation absorbs the truth that the treasure we have in God is ancient in wisdom and strength, and fresh as the morning dew. Noël loves making children (and adults) bow their heads with reverence and clap their hands with joy.

    Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze teach parents how to raise money-smart kids in a debt-filled world.

    Storytelling portions are coupled with copious illustrations to help describe the basic tenets of 1-2-3 Magic—such as positive reinforcement, charting, and the docking system—while a question-and-answer section outlines common situations, including What if I don’t go to my room? Will I still be counted if I have a friend over? and What kinds of things can we do for one-on-one fun? Crossword puzzles, word searches, and journal suggestions further encourage children to apply what they’ve learned about the methods.

    Privately, though, we admit to ourselves it's not always rosy. Teenaged boys put away a startling amount of groceries. Young boys can be downright destructive. They're noisy, unconcerned with personal hygiene, and the dog has a longer attention span - or so it seems, some days. If this is God's chosen gift to us, then why does it seem so hard? How can we prepare these boys to serve God when we can barely make it through the day. Isn't there a better way? The answer is yes. Raising Real Men looks beyond the untied shoes and dirty jeans to what the Lord means your son to be. Learn how to help him focus on schoolwork, find real heroes, stand alone when he needs to, and become a real man one day. Don t just survive raising boys, succeed at it and learn how to love them as they really are.

    In these pages you'll find a wealth of common sense and godly wisdom, a guide to applying reasonable discipline, and instructions on how to build a close relationship with your child.Raising Godly Tomatoes encourages parents to keep their young children -- their little 'tomatoes' -- lovingly staked to them, in order to train and apprentice them in a godly way of life that will prepare them for Christ's calling in the future, and render them a pleasure to live with today. Elizabeth is a Christian homeschooling mother of ten children, ages 7 to 27. She lives with her children and her husband of 30 years, in the state of Michigan. She enjoys quilting, riding horses and playing her violin. She also spends much of her spare time encouraging parents daily via her website at RaisingGodlyTomatoes.com.

    "Don’t Waste Your Time Homeschooling: 72 Things I Wish I’d Known" features concrete suggestions to help you: • Discover ways to take your family’s pulse and maintain a peaceful household. • Realize how easy it can be to sidestep the isolation trap. • Find creative ways to maintain your own identity amid a sea of others’ needs. • Learn the one easy habit to help avoid conflict with busy teen drivers. • Explain to others how your children are being properly socialized.

    Life in their home is a continuous response to the cycle and rhythm of the Church year. How this is done, how old-world customs continue to flourish in Stowe, Vermont, is related with charm, candor, and verve by the mother of the family.As so much of the Trapp family life is expressed in music, Monsignor Franz Wasner, musical director of the Trapp Family Singers, has contributed his arrangements, for voice, of some fifty songs for various seasons and occasions, secular as well as religious. Drawings help show how to carry out the many projects that mark the progress of the year: the construction of an Advent wreath, of a crib and Christmas decorations; the painting of Easter eggs; the decoration of a home altar. And scores of family recipes are shared.The key word to life with the Trapp family is "celebrating," and this extends even beyond religious feasts. Mrs. Trapp takes us into the intimate circle of her home and shows how the spirit of celebration, first roused and fostered by the Church, spreads to all events, major and minor.

    But sometimes it's hard to communicate the truth of God's Word in a way that engages the hearts, minds, and affections of the little ones we love so much. Assisting parents with this high calling, Jessica Thompson, coauthor of the popular parenting book Give Them Grace, offers an alternative to merely telling kids what they must do to please God and be a "good Christian." The book's 40 short devotionals help parents point their children to the transformative grace of God through engaging stories, key memory verses, simple reflection questions, and suggestions for prayer that can be read together. Designed for families with children ages 6 to 10, this collection helps kids understand and experience the grace of God while bringing together the whole family.

    From Simon & Schuster, Teaching Your Children Joy is the next great work from Linda and Richard Eyre.Filled with invaluable know-how, this easy-to-follow guide from the authors of the #1 national bestseller Teaching Your Children Values presents practical advice for teaching children how to take a joyful, positive, and optimistic approach to life.

    They still arrive warm, cuddly, soft, and smelling impossibly sweet. But how moms and dads care for their brand-new bundles of baby joy has changed—and now, so has the new-baby bible. Announcing the completely revised third edition of What to Expect the First Year. With over 10.5 million copies in print, First Year is the world’s best-selling, best-loved guide to the instructions that babies don’t come with, but should. And now, it’s better than ever. Every parent’s must-have/go-to is completely updated. Keeping the trademark month-by-month format that allows parents to take the potentially overwhelming first year one step at a time, First Year is easier-to-read, faster-to-flip-through, and new-family-friendlier than ever—packed with even more practical tips, realistic advice, and relatable, accessible information than before. Illustrations are new, too. Among the changes: Baby care fundamentals—crib and sleep safety, feeding, vitamin supplements—are revised to reflect the most recent guidelines. Breastfeeding gets more coverage, too, from getting started to keeping it going. Hot-button topics and trends are tackled: attachment parenting, sleep training, early potty learning (elimination communication), baby-led weaning, and green parenting (from cloth diapers to non-toxic furniture). An all-new chapter on buying for baby helps parents navigate through today’s dizzying gamut of baby products, nursery items, and gear. Also new: tips on preparing homemade baby food, the latest recommendations on starting solids, research on the impact of screen time (TVs, tablets, apps, computers), and “For Parents” boxes that focus on mom’s and dad’s needs. Throughout, topics are organized more intuitively than ever, for the best user experience possible.

    There were class clowns, ruthless bullies, teacher’s pets, popular kids, and students no one wanted to be around. What if we admitted to ourselves that the public school system is tragically flawed, instead of blindly relying on the same misguided, decrepit bureaucracy for our precious children? “Because that’s how I grew up,” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Our children deserve better than to be institutionalized in an education system developed during the Industrial Age. School shootings, homework, and failing grades are all on the rise. Even school administrators admit that their students are falling farther behind. Politicians throw money at the problem and implement unproven and illogical new “standards,” while the teachers' unions contribute to their campaigns and protect their own. Sam Sorbo knows there is a better way… As a mom of three and the wife of Kevin Sorbo, an actor who travels frequently, Sam struggled with simply relying on the status quo for their young children’s public school education. On an extended trip for one of Kevin’s film shoots, Sam discovered she was playing a role herself, as the “substitute teacher.” Nobody likes the sub! Public school was forming a wedge between her and her young ones. It was this sobering recognition that launched her remarkable journey into home education. Home schooling provides a safer, sounder, and more spirit-centered didactic alternative, even for busy parents, and it's not as difficult as our bloated, entrenched education establishment wants you to believe. With extensive data and many shudder-worthy examples, Sam explores the systemic inadequacies plaguing the public education system. They may leave you wondering why any discerning parent still puts her faith in public school. Once you understand the disintegration behind the classroom door, the solution becomes clear. This book then guides you through implementing a better educational approach for your family, one that is tried and true. Sam’s extraordinary story, her discoveries, challenges, and triumphs, will encourage you to embrace the wonderful benefits and incredible possibilities of home education for your beloved children. * Concerned for the future of your children? * Think you can’t home school because you work full-time? * Frustrated with your child’s so-called teachers? * Anxious about schoolyard bullies? * Too scared to even consider home schooling your children? Be a hero to your children, skip the school drop-off lines and fund-raisers, and enjoy a better kind of parent-teacher meeting – the one in the mirror! This book can show you how.

    Moore does not shy away from this call in Adopted for Life, a popular-level, practical manifesto for Christians to adopt children and to help equip other Christian families to do the same. He shows that adoption is not just about couples who want children-or who want more children. It is about an entire culture within evangelicalism, a culture that sees adoption as part of the Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself.Moore, who adopted two boys from Russia and has spoken widely on the subject, writes for couples considering adoption, families who have adopted children, and pastors who wish to encourage adoption.

    Bestselling author and artist Ruth Chou Simons, along with her husband, Troy, are gratefully raising six boys on a firm foundation of God’s Word by preaching that truth to themselves and their family daily. In this book, they invite you to join them in the holy work of training children to know and love God for a lifetime.Foundations will help you direct your family one day at a time, as you explore 12 key truths that will help connect your children’s hearts—and yours—to the heart of God. With a simple, chapter-a-day format that includes Scripture, devotional thoughts, meditations, and discussion questions, this book will guide you in leading your family.

    From the time they are born they seek out information about the world around them in an effort to construct meaning and further their development. While children have an inherent drive to make sense of their reality, parents have a unique opportunity to harness their children’s curiosity and channel it into a love of learning. Playful learning is the magic that takes place when we meld a child’s sense of joy and wonder with thoughtfully planned learning experiences. Through easy-to-implement, hands-on projects you can engage your child in fun and creative ways that encourage learning and impart the joy of discovery. With a little bit of information and forethought, you can play a pivotal role in the cognitive and creative development of your child Mariah Bruehl has worked in the field of education for over a decade. She has taught in the classroom, developed curriculum in many different subject areas, trained teachers, and implemented programs across many grade levels. She is the mother of two girls and the owner of Playful Learning—a retail space and education center in Sag Harbor. Learn more at www.playfulearning.com.

    "Did I make the right decision?" "Could someone else do this better?" "Am I robbing my kids of something by not sending them to ‘regular school’?"What if there’s a better way?Not a 3-step technique or a shiny, new curriculum, but a change in perspective that transforms the way you plan, teach, and homeschool?Homeschool Bravely teaches you to see homeschooling as a calling, helps you overthrow the tyranny of impossible expectations, and guides you through the common bumps in the road, including how to:juggle school and parenting with toddlers at hometeach a struggling learnerplan with the end in mindaccept your own limitations without feeling guiltystay the course even in the face of criticismReclaim your hope, renew your purpose, and transform your homeschool. Because the truth is: God will use every part of your homeschool, even your fears, faults, and failures, to weave good plans for your kids.