April 2012 – Nurture Mama

Receiving Children

April 30, 2012April 15, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“It is a crowning privilege of a husband and wife who are able to bear children to provide mortal bodies for these spirit children of God. We believe in families, and we believe in children.”

“We express deep gratitude for the enormous faith shown by husbands and wives (especially our wives) in their willingness to have children. When to have a child and how many children to have are private decisions to be made between a husband and wife and the Lord. These are sacred decisions—decisions that should be made with sincere prayer and acted on with great faith.”

“Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: “[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.” She then adds: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”

“In “the best of times [and] … the worst of times,”the true Saints of God, acting in faith, have never forgotten, dismissed, or neglected “God’s commandment … to multiply and replenish the earth.” We go forward in faith—realizing the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is between a husband and wife and the Lord. We should not judge one another on this matter.”

“And [Jesus] took a child … in his arms [and] said …“Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth … him that sent me.” What a wonderful blessing we have to receive sons and daughters of God into our home.”

Neil L. Anderson, “Children”. October 2011 General Conference.

Have a Positive Attitude

April 23, 2012April 15, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”

“So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment.

“Charles Swindoll—author, educator, and Christian pastor—said: “Attitude, to me, is more important than … the past, … than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”

“We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude.”

Thomas S. Monson, “Living the Abundant Life”, Ensign, January 2012.

Preschool Lesson Plan: Life Cycle of a Butterfly

April 18, 2012April 18, 2012 Nurture Mama 1 Comment

The Sweet Bee is a budding entomologist. She loves to catch bugs (usually roly polies) and keep them in containers (the poor bugs don’t last very long). She has been begging to talk about butterflies at school, so that’s we did today.

Play Time/Free Time Downstairs

Circle Time
Welcome Song—Here We Are Together
Pledge of Allegiance
Calendar—Talk about the day, the month, and the date.
Weather –look out the window and discuss the weather

Metamorphosis and Life Cycle

Introduce metamorphosis: changing from one thing to another

Read: Are you a butterfly?

Follow the lesson plan from Not Just Cute to teach the butterfly life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly, egg, caterpillar, etc. I used flashcards found here.

Make bead caterpillars (from Make and Takes)

Make clothespin butterflies (inspired by Teach Mama and Make and Takes)Free Play Time

Snack Time: Froot Loop Butterflies (inspired by Teach Mama)

Nature Explorations

We took a walk to discover butterflies in nature. Along the way we found a ladybug.

We were thrilled to find an orange butterfly. It didn’t stay around too long, with 4 eager preschoolers chasing after it. I was only able to snag one quick picture.After our little nature walk we returned home and each child colored their own butterfly life cycle book.

The Butterfly Reading List

Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin

Are you a Butterfly? by Judy Allen

Monarch Butterflies by Helen Frost

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

More Butterfly Explorations

Looking for more explorations? I haven’t tried it, but this Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden looks pretty awesome!

Bow Tie Pasta= Butterflies. Try making a sensory tub, or paint them and make a pretty picture.

The first calling for husbands and wives

April 16, 2012April 15, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“The creation of life is a great responsibility for a married couple. It is the challenge of mortality to be a worthy and responsible parent. Neither man nor woman can bear children alone. It was meant that children have two parents—both a father and a mother. No other pattern or process can replace this one.”

“The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is to see a husband and his wife and their children happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood. Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children.

“One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents. We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah’s prophecy that “a little child shall lead them.”

“Family time is sacred time and should be protected and respected. We urge our members to show devotion to their families.”

Boyd K. Packer, “And a Little Child Shall Lead Them”. April 2012 General Conference.

Plastic Egg Creative Creatures

April 10, 2012April 10, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“Can we do an Easter craft?” asked the Ant Bug.

“Uhhh…sure. Let’s see…” And I hopped onto makeandtakes.com, hoping for some quick inspiration.

I was thrilled when I found Marie’s Plastic Easter Egg Bunny Craft post. We had plenty of plastic eggs lying around (literally, they were all over the living room floor after the weekend egg hunts!), and so here are the creatures my children came up with. The activity took zero preparation, and kept my children entertained for about 25 minutes. That’s my kind of activity!I love how the first egg they decorated resembled a more typical Easter bunny, but each creature got more creative with multiple googly eyes and colorful pom pom noses and wacky antlers/antennae.