Fun and Games With a Playground Ball

Sometimes I let my kids run and play freely during "recess" times in the mornings. Today, however, I wanted to teach them some fun ball rhymes which I had found in the Great Big Book of Children's Games. Someone recommended the book to me this past summer. We were sitting at swim lessons and one of the dads was leafing through the book looking for activities for that night's scout meeting. He (knowing that I homeschooled) asked me if I had ever seen the book and told me how great it was. I loved what I saw and immediately ordered it from Amazon (I have the app on my iPhone, which is a blessing and a curse!).

Today we tried a couple of playground rhymes with our trusty playground ball. It was INSTANT success for both of my kids and we had a lot of fun. This is the rhyme we did:

Charlie Chaplin went to France
To teach the ladies how to dance.
This is what he taught them:
Heel, toe, and over you go!
Heel, toe and over you go!
Heel, toe and over you go!

You bounce the ball up and down with the beat of the rhyme for the first three lines. When you get to "Heel, toe and over you go!" you tap the ground with your heel, then your toe. On "over you go" you pass the ball under your leg. That was an easy skill for my nine year old, but for my five year old it took some coordinating. We had fun with this one, and then I taught them two other rhymes from the book.

I love rhymes like this because you are getting in a little poetry, a little music (steady beat), and some physical education - not to mention a big dose of fun!

The book also includes card games, mind games, word games, pencil and paper games, tabletop games, sidewalk games, etc... I think I'm going to get my money's worth out of this one!

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On Sunday we rest

I've been giving the topic of resting on the Sabbath a lot of thought lately. Last week at church the sermon was about resting on Sunday, and this morning when I was reading through blogs, I came across a blog post about it by my blogging friend, Melissa. Why is it that we have such a hard time with rest?

With everything that goes on during our week, it would stand to reason that I would welcome rest on Sunday and encourage my family to do the same. I see it, however, as another day to get organized, grocery shop, plan for lessons, and finish laundry. I want to be intentional about leaving Sundays for rest from now on. I think God wants us to spend a quiet day in worship with him, then spending time with our families or quiet time alone to recharge for the week.

Yesterday my sweet husband took the children to his father's house for dinner and I had the whole evening to myself - during the day and after they left I managed to really give the master bedroom and bathroom a good cleaning/reorganizing. I want this to be my quiet space. I have a comfy chair with all of my favorite books close by, a television, and a sunny window. Normally this chair has clothes on it that need to be put away - I can't tell you the last time I SAT in it. Quiet time for me will be an investment in my own sanity, as well as the sanity of my family! You know what I'm talking about.

Homeschooling really takes a lot out of a mom - and I don't mind giving, but sometimes I forget to take care of myself. I'm going to try to be more intentional about that, and I think starting on today, the Sabbath, is appropriate. Oh, and I think a break from technology would be appropriate, too - sometimes I can get driven by having to make a blog post, check my email, Facebook, etc...

We will be going to see The Atlanta Braves play today - that is restful for me because I will just enjoy my family and a good (hopefully) ballgame.

I'll leave you with a song that is so peaceful to me. I love Charlotte Church; I think this song gets played the most on my iPod! It is "Pie Jesu"; notice how young Charlotte Church is in the video. To me, this song is the height of what is beautiful in our world.

I hope you have a restful Sunday.
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Wednesday - What's NOT for dinner?

I can't believe it's already Wednesday. This week has been flying by. I don't have a recipe for you today because we won't be home for dinner. My daughter and I and two of my very dear friends are headed to see "The Sound of Music" at The Fabulous Fox Theater. We will be going out to eat dinner at a restaurant I really like, Gordon Biersch, before the show. I have no clue what the boys will be eating tonight, but I'm sure it may be something amazing like Lucky Charms or Peanut Butter and Jelly!

I have loved the movie for a long time, and I'm excited to see the stage production. I'll give you a review tomorrow.

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