Teaching Toddlers: Joseph's Coat

**We are still having computer issues, so I apologize for the look of this post.**

Joseph’s Coat

18+ Months

Subject	Focus	Time	Activity
Bible	The childhood story of Joseph (Genesis 37)	During breakfast	Read the story of Joseph’s childhood in a toddler’s Bible.   (One of our favorite children's Bibles.  It also comes in a toddler version which I'm sure is great too!)  If your child is a bit older, we highly recommend   The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Music	Reinforce Bible story through music.	Soon after breakfast	I could not find a song focusing on Joseph that I liked for toddlers.  I did find a link to many songs related to colors, so I hope you can find a song or two your child would enjoy on this site.
Letter Awareness	To recognize the capital letters	Morning, before nap	ABC Sponge Painting Gather washable paint (you can make edible finger paint if you wish), construction or cardstock paper, and sponges shaped as the letters.  Show your child how to dip the sponge in the paint and then gently press it onto the paper.  Talk about each letter and continue until your child shows signs of disinterest.  Hang the artwork in a place where your child can see it and review the letters often (I am going to cut out each letter individually.) **You  may want to focus on one letter each day.  We are working on A, B, C, D, E, I, O, U, and W (she likes W and I love the way she says it!). If your child is older, here is a great letter dominoes activity or a tutorial on how to make wooden alphabet disks that could be used with numerous activities!
Math	Continue practicing counting	Any time of the day	Colors and Counting Sorting Activity Gather 4 jars.  On each jar tape a colored piece of paper (see pictures below).  Have your child gather single-colored objects and place each object in the correctly colored container.  As your child puts the objects into the containers, count each object and say the color.  Once the jar is full, dump out the objects and count them one by one as your child puts them back into the correctly colored container.  Continue this game until your toddler shows signs of becoming uninterested.
Play time with a  purpose	To learn through play	Afternoon	Addison is LOVING puzzles right now.  Check out these awesome homemade puzzle ideas (some of which would be best for older children)!! -fabric puzzle blocks -painted block puzzle -pizza puzzle -cereal box puzzle -popsicle stick puzzle -popsicle stick photo puzzle -foam shape puzzle
Following Directions/ Obeying	To learn to recognize Mommy’s voice and obey what she says	Any time of the day	Listen to Mommy and Obey Say, “Look at Mommy. Listen to Mommy and obey. RUN!!” Then both of you run. Say, “Listen to Mommy and obey. STOP!” Continue this game by having your child do various tasks such as, crawl, walk backwards, get a certain toy, etc.
Art	To express oneself creatively	Afternoon	Coat of Many Colors Cut out an outline of a coat on heavy cardstock paper.  Tear strips of multi-colored tissue paper.  Show your child how to crumple the tissue paper.  Allow your toddler to put glue onto the coat and then put the tissue paper on the coat (we used a glue stick).  Talk about the different colors and the story of Joseph as you make the colorful coat.
Story time	To snuggle and read together in preparation for going to sleep	Before bed	Re-read the story of Joseph’s childhood (maybe from a different toddler Bible)

Additional resources:
http://daniellesplace.com/html/rrpreschoolsamplejoseph.html

A few pictures from our week...

Grace Delivered

Why, so often, do difficult times surround us before we appreciate and tenderly caress the immense blessings we have at our fingertips? 

Sometimes life knocks us off of our feet when death and unexpected events capture us without warning.  Sometimes the hurt is so deep and painful that we feel nothing other than numbness.  And when we are in our weakest moment, we melt into the waiting arms of Christ, immediately overwhelemed with His strength, love, compassion, peace, and presence.  He is great when we are weak.  He is the Prince of Peace.  He is mighty to save.  He has overcome the world. 

Through eucharisteo, I have learned to draw near to God by responding with praise and a grateful heart when things are going along smoothly.  In doing so, I have discovered how important gratitude is to entering into His Presence. When hard times come, I also recognize my need and dependence on Christ.  How can anyone get through life, the blissfully wonderful everything-is-perfect-days, and the days when sorrow crushes you to the bone, without the peace and hope offered freely to us by our Heavenly Father?  I am so thankful to have fallen in love with a God who I realize I cannot get through one day without.  The good, the bad, the in-between.  I desperately need  Him.  He intensely longs for me.  What a perfect relationship.

I am comforted by Ann Voskamp's insight that new life always comes from dark places.  She explains, "That fullest life itself dawns from nothing but Calvary darkness and tomb-cave black into the radiance of Easter morning.  Out of darkness of the cross, the world transfigures into new life."  And later, "It is suffering that has the realest possibility to bear down and deliver grace.  And grace that chooses to bear the cross of suffering overcomes that suffering."  "...And emptiness itself can birth the fullness of grace because in the emptiness we have the opportunity to turn to God, the only begetter of grace, and there find all the fullness of joy."

She continues, "Darkness transfigures into light, bad transfigures into good, grief transfigures into grace, empty transfigures into full.  God wastes nothing - 'makes everything work out according to his plan.' (Ephesians 1:11)."

I see it now.  Despite the throb, the sting deep within, I am witnessing a miracle of grace.  Grace that started with the cross and continues because of the cross.  All because of Jesus.  Emptiness into fullness.  Darkness into light.  Bad into good.

How I love Ann's words.  This truth is not easy, but it is just that - truth.  "Because eucharisteo is how Jesus, at the Last Supper, showed us to transfigure all things - take the pain that is given, give thanks for it, and transform it into a joy that fulfills all emptiness.  I have glimpsed it: This, the hard eucharisteo.  The hard discipline to lean into the ugly and whisper thanks to transfigure it into beauty.  The hard discipline to give thanks for all things at all times because He is all good.  The hard discipline to number the griefs as grace.  ...All is grace only because all can transfigure."

Counting gifts continued...
486. Witnessing sorrow transfigure into grace

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Zephaniah 3:17 - "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Isaiah 46:4b - "I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

Covered in Peace

What joy it is to believe and experience first-hand God's power to change a heart feeling like this...

...into a heart at peace, despite present circumstances.

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470. Finding peace and comfort from the Prince of Peace.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." -Isaiah 26:3

"The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."  -Psalm 29:11

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  -John 14:27

Teaching Toddlers: Baby Moses

(Note: You will probably notice that we really aren't going in any order other than sticking to the Old Testament at this point.  Addison loves the story of Adam and Eve so much because she can loudly proclaim "No, no, Eve!  No, no Adam!" as they eat the fruit.  She can pretty much finish each sentence in the rhyming Bible we've read it so many times.  I was afraid that she wouldn't want to move onto another story, so I chose the story of baby Moses because she adores babies.  She has really enjoyed learning about baby Moses, but we still have to re-read the story of Adam and Eve at each meal!)

Baby Moses

18+ Months

(Note: The following activities are intended to be repeated each day for an entire week.)

Subject	Focus	Time	Activity
Bible	The story of baby Moses (Exodus 2)	During breakfast	Read the story of baby Moses in a toddler’s Bible.   (One of our favorite children's Bibles.  It also comes in a toddler version which I'm sure is great too!)  If your child is a bit older, we highly recommend   The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Music	Reinforce Bible story through music.	Soon after breakfast	"Itty Bitty Moses"
Letter Awareness	To recognize the capital letters	Morning, before nap	If your child enjoys coloring, here are some great alphabet coloring pages. LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD - We do not have cable and we rarely watch movies.  But as I was doing some research on teaching children letter recognition, this DVD came up time and time again.  Moms and teachers were raving about it.  Does anyone have it?  Do you agree that it is a great way for children to learn the letters??  I'm curious.
Math	To review a circle, square, and triangle and continue counting	Any time of the day	Collecting Objects Outside While you are outside one day, draw a square, triangle, and a circle on the driveway with chalk.  Write “1” above one shape, “2” above another shape, and “3” above the final shape.  Collect 1 object (maybe a rock) and place it in the shape labeled “1”.  Find two objects and place inside the shape labeled “2”.  Continue this process until each shape is filled with the correct number of objects.  You can add more numbers if your toddler is ready.  **See the pictures below.
Play time with a  purpose	To learn through play	Afternoon	Baby Moses Allow your toddler to act out the story of baby Moses by getting a baby doll, wrapping it in a blanket, placing it in a basket, and pretending to float it down a river (a blue sheet).  Talk about how God was with Moses even when he was a baby and connect that truth to your child’s life. Sorting Objects Gather solid colored blocks or objects and 4-5 glass containers.  Place one colored object in each container so all the containers hold one color (different from the others).  Mix up the remaining objects.  Show your child how to place the yellow block in the container with the other yellow block.  Focus on the colors as your child sorts the object.  As you are going along, count the objects in each container.  Once all the objects are sorted, you can dump each container and count the objects.  **See the pictures below. If your child is older, you could encourage him or her to make groups of objects based on their categories – farm animals, jungle animals, letters, numbers, rough objects, smooth objects, heavy objects, light objects, etc.
Following Directions/ Obeying	To learn to recognize Mommy’s voice and obey what she says	Any time of the day	Watch and Repeat This game encourages your toddler to actively watch, listen, and repeat what he or she saw.  Tell your child to watch Mommy.  Clap once.  Encourage your toddler to repeat what you just did and clap once.  Clap twice.  Have your child clap twice.  Scream.  Your child should then scream.  Continue this “copy cat” game until your toddler shows signs that he or she is ready to move on to a new activity.
Art	To express oneself creatively	Afternoon	Baby Moses Handprint Craft (coloring page found here)  Baby Moses in a Basket Craft
Story time	To snuggle and read together in preparation for going to sleep	Before bed	Re-read the story of Baby Moses (maybe from a different toddler Bible)

A few pictures from our week:

A Fresh Outlook

Thank me for the difficulties in your life, since they provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance.  

-Sarah Young in Jesus Calling

A few days ago, I reflected on my day and realized that I needed to change my attitude.  The negative aspects of my day began to overwhelm me and became my focus point.  I couldn't see past them.  So I asked Jesus to intervene and create in me a new, clean heart and outlook on life.

The next morning I woke up with the desire to set my mind on the blessings and to see the trials as something to be thankful for, gifts.  I decided to write down as many gifts as I could, beginning by focusing on the small things.  The things I had been overlooking...

449. Waking up to find that a good night's rest was exactly what my migraine needed to disappear.  I feel like a new person!

450. A freshly vacuumed house at the start of a new day

451. Her occasional whining and disobedience which spur me on to discover her heart on a deeper level so I am able to appropriately guide her and teach her how to make the right decisions.  A reminder of sin and our desperate need for a Savior.

452. A bright blue bird landing on top of the Dogwood tree we planted the spring after Addison was born

453. Updating picture frames

454. Going to pick blueberries for the third time this summer, but discovering they are now closed for the season.  To ease Addison's disappointment she got to ride on a tractor for the first time.

455.  Her smile and giggle while swinging at the playground

456.  Her undeniable pride as she climbed all the way up the steps to the slide, sat down, and went down the slide all by her big girl self!

457. I told her Mommy needed a hug.  She responded with a hug and a kiss.

460. Clouds - making a hot day a little more bearable.

463. A perfectly ripe Georgia peach

465. When we are in a grocery store she will look up at me with sad eyes and say "hold me" in her pouty voice.  I give her my arm and she quickly wraps both of her little arms tightly around mine while leaning her head against my arm.  I love being all that she needs.

466. She often times says "welcome" before I even get a chance to say "thank you!"

467. A quiet evening

468. Reassurance that My Hero is safe every time he calls while he is working.

469. Missing him so much

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God showed up in a way that day that I hadn't allowed Him to in days past.  My mind felt clear and full of joy.  I am sure I was much more pleasant to be around, and I was not the only one who benefitted.  I am so thankful we serve a God who desires us and answers us when we call.

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And then I read this the following morning in Sarah Young's devotional book, Jesus Calling, (from Jesus' perspective):

Thank Me for your problems.  As soon as your mind get snagged on a difficulty, bring it to Me with thanksgiving.  Then ask Me to show you My way to handle the situation, either facing it head-on or putting it aside for later consideration.

Most of the situations that entangle your mind are not today's concerns; you have borrowed them from tomorrow.  In this case, I lift the problem out of today and deposit it in the future, where it is veiled from your eyes.  In its place I give you My Peace, which flows freely from My Presence. 

Ephesians 5:20 - "...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."