Parenting with Love and Logic

Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay is a favorite of a friend. I am always impressed when I hear stories of her kids, so I was exited to read the book. I was very pleased to see a lot of how my family interacts with each other is the Love and Logic parenting style. There were a few things that didn't really jive with me, but that's every parenting book out there. A lot of it is really great material. 

A huge focus is helping the children learn to think for themselves, which is so important to me. I want my kids to be able to make mistakes in a safe environment and learn from them, as well as have that sense of accomplishment when they make a good decision. 

Another great focus is making sure our kids know we love them as they are. We love them as they are but we can't leave them as they are. Just as God loves us as we are, but He doesn't leave us as we are. We have the comfort of knowing how deeply we are loved and cared for, and because of that we can grow. 

The authors also discuss learning by doing and natural consequences, as well as the second half of the book being specific issues and examples for applying the love and logic technique. This is a fantastic book that I highly recommend. Grab a copy from your bookstore or the link below and let me know what you think!

Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1576839540/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_x.S8wbPRY1R28

Don't Touch This Book

Don't Touch This Book by Bill Cotter features a cute little monster named Larry. Larry is in charge of the book. Don't Touch This Book reads like Don't Push The Button, it tells you not to do something then encourages you to do it anyway. That annoying fact aside, it's an imaginative book for the kids. The pages change colors when you touch them and make shapes when you move a certain way, then show some fun creatures when you make noises. 

Aiden (4) said it was ok, but he wished it was longer. 

Carter (2) was frustrated by it. We received the kindle version free for review from https://www.netgalley.com. To actually "touch the book" makes the pages move on the kindle app, so we decided moving our fingers in the air would be better. He would like it a lot more if it was an actual hard book copy. Our copy of Don't Push The Button is a hard cover, and he loves it. 

The illustrations in the book are also done by the author. His use of colors is appealing to both Aiden and Carter. They love that cute little Larry. 

I was really exited to have the chance to review this book because we like Don't Push The Button so much. Carter loves interactive books, and if we saw this in the bookstore he would be so exited to buy it! 

The title is released March 28! Grab a copy and let me know what you think. 

Don't Touch This Book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492632244/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_y933wbHQY9N5H

Little Boys Activity Bible For Toddlers

Little Boys Activity Bible for Toddlers by Larsen Carolyn was gifted to my sons. (This could be used for both sons and daughters if you have both, however there is a girls option that I've linked at the bottom as well.)

This book is fun and interactive. It starts with the story of creation where the children answer "God did!" to who made the (big yellow sun, twinkling stars, etc.) and the bad choices of Adam and Eve while reinforcing that God still loved them, goes through several bible stories including many that aren't in a lot of children's bible books, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and ends with 7 stories of Peter, Phillip, and Paul. I like that it doesn't end at the story of Jesus, but continues on to give us examples of how to live for Him. 

The age range on the book says 0-3, however Aiden is 4.5 and enjoys it. If he has additional questions, I can answer them. The stories are six pages each, with a bright picture taking up most of each page. Some pages have an angel pulling a toy dinosaur in the corner showing a reaction to the story, which is one of Carter's (2.5) favorite parts. 

The activities range from free (playing mother may I) to inexpensive (I think the most expensive activity is planting a flower in a pot). The boys really enjoyed making little Moses babies in baskets with modeling clay! These are great ways to help the kids remember what we read and to continue conversation about the story. 

This book is a fun addition to our collection. We've really enjoyed reading through it together and will very likely read it again. 

Little Boys Activity Bible for Toddlers by Larsen Carolyn et al. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091USX6S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_udp_awd_pmC1wb4608JSB

LIttle Girls Activity Bible for Toddlers by Larsen Carolyn et al. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00926Q3FO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_udp_awd_2dD1wb1FH0S17

My Story

Elizabeth Smart. 

Read in February. 

The true story of a fourteen year old girl who was taken from her home and held captive for nine months. 

This book is not exiting, but it is interesting. There isn't a lot of emotion, it feels disconnected, but I liked that. I liked that I didn't want to read more because I was compelled by emotions, but because she deserves her story to be read. 

The only issues I had with the book were: The repetitiveness. So many times she makes the point that she was just a little girl, only fourteen. She was raped everyday. That's a tragic thing no one should have to go through, but it was said so many times it lost its meaningful impact after a while. The helplessness toward the end was very aggravating to me, that David was gone for seven days and the women just sat up there and starved. They weren't chained. They were perfectly capable of walking down that damn mountain to get something to eat, then going back so he wouldn't kill her family as she feared. I get that she was so scared he would hurt her family and that's why she stayed, but to just let herself starve to death when she could have gotten food rubbed me the wrong way. 

Those issues aside, her attitude is very uplifting. She thinks on the good memories of her family and the faithfulness of God. My favorite exerpt is when she said, "I don't think what happened to me was something that God intended. He surely would not have wished the anguish and torment that I was about to go through upon anyone, especially upon a child. But since that time, I have learned an important lesson. Yes, God can make some good come from evil. But even He, in all His majesty, won't make evil go away. Men are free. He won't control them. There is wickedness in this world." But she realized God is always near and she could still lean on Him, He would be there for her. A close second, and I think everyone's favorite part is the quote from her mother at the end.  “You be happy, Elizabeth. Just be happy. If you go and feel sorry for yourself, or if you dwell on what has happened, if you hold on to your pain, that is allowing him to steal more of your life away. So don’t you do that. Don’t you let him. There is no way that he deserves that. Not one more second of your life."

I can't recommend or not recommend this book. You're either interested or you're not. You either want to read her story or you don't. I wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for Bon's Book Club. When I read the description I wanted to read it, and I'm glad I did.