Category Archives: Thoughtful Thursday

Because child rearing takes so much thought, especially when home educating.

Thursday Tidbit: Make Your Children Feel Loved

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

Valentine’s Day is coming on Sunday. So many times it is simply focused on “lovers” rather than simply love. I have written my children (as long as they still live in my home) a letter most every year, telling them of my love for them, God’s love for them, and some of their good qualities.

I also make sure we have a special dessert and a dinner we enjoy (which is usually red ;) ). Also, Michael typically purchases something little for each of them.

I hope you’ll take time to tell your children how much you love them this Sunday and of course, remind them of God’s love for them too.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Child Rearing Tidbit: Consistency is Key

While I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

It is important to be consistent. If you tell them you’re going to do something, you need to do it. For example, if you say that if they don’t clean their room they don’t get dessert, then you better follow through and not give them dessert, no matter how much they cry, scream, or pout. As soon as you forget what you said, you’ve made it that much harder the next time because they’ll remember that you didn’t follow through before, so maybe you won’t this time either.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Child Rearing Tidbit: Talk and Listen

Beginning Jan.4th, while I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

Times are really trying and can be stressful, even for children. It is important to talk to them but it is also really important to listen to them too.

Ask them what is on their minds, what they are thinking about, and stop and listen to them. Don’t dismiss what they are thinking or belittle it. But help them work through it and come to a peace, trusting God to take care of them and the things that are important to them.

Seriously, really listen to them. Don’t sit there trying to figure out what you are going to say. Hear them out. Then follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and respond to them and what is on their mind.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Homeschooling Tidbit: Great Resource!

Beginning Jan.4th, while I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

I always love to see what Homeschool Freebie has to share each week. This week I see that there are two interesting links. One for synthetic phonics and another for art. I cannot recommend it enough.

I hope you’ll check it out and it’ll be a blessing to you.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Children Tidbit: Math Practice Fun

Beginning Jan.4th, while I am working on updating this website, I’ll only be posting tidbits each day (with maybe a bit more on Fridays) until the update is completed.

Interesting and fun website: Dad’s Worksheets I really like the color by number. The sections to color have a math problem and the answer designates the color. There are even seasonal ones.

There are also “calculators” for a variety of operations, as well as printables galore. :) There are so many kinds of worksheets and covering so many areas: fractions, percentages, word problems, puzzles, too many to list.

There is a games section but I didn’t actually see the games. If you are interested, I imagine you could contact him and ask about the games.

I hope it is a blessing to you and your family.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

It’s New Year’s Eve! 2020/2021

The links I shared last year for New Year’s planning and review are still good (or updated). So I’m re-sharing that post here today. :) I hope it will bless you and your family.


I believe that we should always trying to better ourselves. The beginning of a new year is a good time to decide what area I want to focus on this year. Children can (and should) do this too. I found some good printables to help.

This first one is from 2014 but it is a good one. So, I recommend printing it out and putting a number sticker over the wrong year or using some correction fluid or correction tape, to erase it, unless you are one of those that can easily edit it before printing. ;) Here is the page describing this printable. The original link went 404 on me but I persevered! :D Click on the picture of the printable on that page and it will open the pdf.
This one is a little different but it goes along with what a lot of people do, creating a word for the year. It also has the individual write down a want, a need, something to share, and something in which to succeed. It’s a nice contemporary printable. At the same link is a New Year’s Eve bingo printable as well.

The same site also has a really cute Year in Review. I have shared this one before, I think but she updates it every year. It is really a nice printable and colorful, although you could definitely print it out in greyscale to conserve on colored ink, if you so desire.

This one is similar to the last. It too is a year in review printable. The author shares her family history with this and it sounds like a very sweet tradition that is a great memory maker. :) Like the previous one, it has you list some of your favorite things, which could be really interesting to look back on after several years and see what changed and what stayed the same.

Then there were a few game ideas that looked interesting as well. This memory game looked really cute! And here is a page with a lot of New Year’s Eve ideas to include children. The idea on the last link for glow stick games was so cute that I’m including a link to that one as well. With the days shorter, winter is a good time to try some of these games, if you happen to live in an area that gets some warmer weather this time of year. ;)

Finally there was a really cute idea for a decoration for a New Year’s party. If you happen to be one that takes their Christmas decorations down by the first, this could work for you. I, however, am not only not home as we go to my sister’s home, but keep my decorations up until Epiphany on January 6th. But it really is a cute idea. You could get a jump on some of the decoration clean-up by taking the ornaments off the tree and changing it over to a New Year celebration tree. Check it out here. :)

Well, I believe I have rambled on quite long enough for today. I hope you have a great New Year’s celebration with your family, whether it be at noon on December 31st, midnight of the first, or some other time. (I knew a lady that changed her clocks and celebrated the new year with her young children at 8pm, so they still got into bed on time. But you could just make it a thing, there are lots of ideas out there and listed above as well.)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

 

Christmas Eve

It’s Christmas Eve! And for us that means it is Christmas #1. :) When Michael and I were first married, we spent the night at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve and opened our gifts to each other there. When we had Brian, the first year we did as we always did. But around the 3rd or 4th year we got Brian and Sean some larger toys that we could not lug to my parents’. So I got the brilliant idea to get up Christmas Eve morning and act as though it were Christmas. Since Michael was already self-employed at that time, work was no problem. :)

It was great! We got up and did Christmas that morning and the kids were able to play with their new toys all day long! At my parents’ home they weren’t able to play with all their toys because there were too may people there and we needed to keep the mess to a minimum. So this was a huge win because if they got something they didn’t want to part with, like a stuffed animal or something else small, they could take that item with them.

Now twenty-five years later, we still wake up Christmas Eve morning and have Christmas here. Then on Christmas day we wake up and go to my sister’s home and have second Christmas. :) This makes our Christmas nice and full! :)

It is probable as time goes on that things will change. This year will be really different without my dad. :D But we will go with the flow as each change comes and let God help us through each one.

I feel sorry for those who have lost loved ones earlier this year. I imagine they have worked through their grief but now the holidays are here and they are having to work through it all again. I have prayed for them. I so appreciate the prayers that our family is receiving that I want to be sure to cover those other friends in prayer too. So Hardings  (Moores) and Roses, know that I am praying for you this holiday season.

I encourage you today to make this holiday memorable. Teach your children the blessing in giving and the blessing of family.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Links ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Picky Eaters, Christmas Audio, and Sciency Links

I have had picky eaters in my house at different times. For years I cooked with onion powder instead of diced onions because if my kids saw an onion piece they declared that they did not like the dish. And let’s face it, onion powder is easier to use than dicing up an onion. ;)

I saw this article about picky eaters and how what you do may be encouraging their pickiness. One thing that was mentioned was that you cannot expect your children to eat differently from what you eat.


I hopped over to HomeschoolFreebie.com to see what they were sharing and thought they were worth sharing.

I hope these will be a help to you and help you keep the kids busy and have some fun.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº