[from the archives] Up until three or so years ago, I had all my kids cleaning the kitchen together after meals. I used to have all the kitchen cleaning tasks written out on 3×5 cards. I had neon yellow cards for the easy tasks like taking out the trash, wiping the table, clearing the table,… Continue reading Cleaning the Kitchen in Love
Category: Posts by BARBIE POLING
Predictable Response
[from the archives] Lizzy popped her head into my bedroom door and with a slight offended frown on her face she said, “There’s a dinner pot in the sink.” That might not make sense to you, but it made perfect sense to me because I know my children well, and I can read beneath the… Continue reading Predictable Response
Something Bigger Than Ourselves
[from the archives] As I pondered my parenting today, I thought, “There isn’t much to write about.” I had been in my room working nearly all day on ministry web-sites, blog set-up, phone calls and facebook messages, only stopping long enough to make suggestions to Annie about how to iron an old dress-up dress and… Continue reading Something Bigger Than Ourselves
Grocery Shopping and Right Relating
[from the archives] “What have you been doing?” I asked my two youngest as we started out on our weekly grocery shopping trip. Various meetings, phone calls and errands had kept me unconnected with their specific activities for a couple of days. Lizzy said she’d been writing on one of her stories and re-building the… Continue reading Grocery Shopping and Right Relating
Free to Dance
[from the archives] Today was so much fun! A few days ago the kids watched a movie that had quite a bit of dancing in it. Whenever that happens they end up being inspired to dance and laugh, and dance and laugh some more. Most of the time they’re trying to do something they saw,… Continue reading Free to Dance
How Pleasant It Is
[from the archives] Since I’ve been thinking about writing on this blog, my thoughts turn most often toward what a blessing it is to be Mom to my kids. I keep wanting to write about how my kids function together as a team. I’ve been thinking—Why does it bless me so much? It blessed King… Continue reading How Pleasant It Is
Having His Heart
[from the archives] It’s 7:00am. I know it’s 7:00am because my son Phillip is quietly poking his head through my bedroom door. I look up from my writing or studying to smile at him. He smiles back and comes in. He’s got something on his mind that he wants to tell me about. It’s a… Continue reading Having His Heart
Changing Attitude
[from the archives] The living room was filled with loud music, laughter, and energetic discussions. Lizzy, Annie and their friend were making up a dance, piece by piece with Rachel’s input and advice. Outside it was hot and the boys were having an aggressive water battle with the brothers that had come with our dancing… Continue reading Changing Attitude
Willing Hearts
Taken from the archives… “I could blog about my parenting experiences,” I said to Marilyn as we talked on the phone this morning. We talked on about the ins and outs of the possibility, and as I got off the phone, my mind was swirling with all the things I might write about if I… Continue reading Willing Hearts
Why are Lifestyle of Learning™ Kids So Creative?
Why are Lifestyle of Learning kids so creative? Why are they always making things? When I was young and going to school, “creativity” was something that was saved for Friday afternoons. When all the academic assignments were done for the week, our teacher would give us an “artistic craft” assignment. She would show us a sample… Continue reading Why are Lifestyle of Learning™ Kids So Creative?