Source: http://www.sciencealert.com

This week my facebook feed has been flooded with articles regarding the eclipse and they all are extremely confusing.

On one hand, you see articles saying that it’s safe to watch with approved glasses.  On another hand, you see articles from eye doctors saying that you should only watch it on tv.

And then there is the chaos of having so many glasses out there that may not be approved for eclipse viewing!

We were planning to go to the mountains, but now I’m so torn about what to do!  I have one child that no matter what we tell her, she has to learn for herself.  I’m concerned she will try to look at the sun anyway and damage her eyes.  I’ve already decided our toddler will stay inside completely, but now what about the rest of us?  I’m honestly not sure.  We may just watch it on the computer, but I’ve also found a wonderful compilation of teacher approved videos about the eclipse that I plan on utilizing in our homeschool.

What are you planning to do?

It’s never easy to have “The Talk”.  You know, the “Sex Talk”.  And puberty.  Let’s not forget that thing that causes our sweet children to turn grumpy and hormonal.  Talking to kids about sex doesn’t have to be hard or incredibly uncomfortable, especially since there are some great resources available to help parents like me along.

I’m all about having books and resources to help me through these tough topics.  Throughout the years of educating our children, we have found some really great books to read with our kids to teach about sex, personal safety, and puberty.  I’m not talking about tossing a book in our children’s rooms and hoping they read and understand.  I’m more about finding resources that we can work through together that will help facilitate some wonderful conversations.  Below, I’ll outline the ones that have helped us out the most and share which age group they are most appropriate.

Books Recommendations

First off, I really like the 3 books by Luke and Trisha Wilkerson.  They are made for the different stages from child to teen and they easily walk parents through what to do and say.  They are Biblically based and offer scripture readings to go along with the studies.  We have used and/or are currently using them with our children.  You’ll notice that these also have excellent reviews on Amazon.  I strongly recommend getting all 3 and using them as your children age.  My husband has used them in talks with our son and even though they were difficult topics, he found that getting through them was much easier with the books to guide.

The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality is geared toward children ages 6-10.  Although I think some 6 year olds can handle it, we tend to wait until they are on the higher end of the age group for this one as it’s pretty detailed.  I think it depends on your parenting style and your child’s maturity on when you want to start this one.

Changes: 7 Biblical Lessons to Make Sense of Puberty was written for parents to read with children ages 8 to 12 years old.  The book also turns to scripture to help explain how God made everything wonderful, including our bodies.  This one has been very helpful in explaining body changes to our kids.

Relationships: 11 Lessons to Give Kids a Greater Understanding of Biblical Sexuality is geared toward 11-14 year olds and consists of 11 studies.  It covers many things that a teen may be wondering and helps bring them to light and keep the communication lines open.

Another one that I think is a must for any home is Good Pictures, Bad Pictures, which discusses pornography and what to do if you come across it.  We did this as a study with all of our children.  They actually were really interested in hearing about this and hopefully it preps them for when/if they come across anything by accident.  The statistics regarding kids coming across porn by accident are quite shocking!

Other books worth mentioning to check out for the younger ones are these, which we also own and read from time to time:

I Said No! A Kid-to-kid Guide to Keeping Private Parts Private

God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies

I’m sure there are many more great resources as well for talking to kids about sex.  We have found these ones to be particularly helpful for our family and it has turned into a not-so-taboo subject.  Feel free to leave a comment and tell me about some of your favorites or ways that you have found to bring about discussion with your kids about sex.

Many kids may benefit from summer learning.  I know here in Georgia, many summer days are far too hot to hang outside for long, but I don’t want my kids just watching tv.  Oftentimes, I purchase summer workbooks for kids or we go on adventures and explore the areas near where we live.  There are several summer learning activities for kids that are worth sharing.

Adventure:

Take your kids on an adventure to a state park or somewhere that they haven’t been.  Museums, zoos, and nature centers are all great ideas.  You could set up a scavenger hunt for the kids to find certain nature items.  Look up your local state park and mark your calendar for upcoming activities and then go!  Learning by going and doing is a great way to stay active and learn this summer.  Georgia residents, be sure to check your look library for the zoo pass.  That brings me to the next point.

Library:

The Library is always a wonderful place to be during the summer.  The books are endless, many have puzzles and games that can be borrowed, computer games, and of course – AIR CONDITIONING!  During the summer, some will have special reading programs where your child can win prizes as they read and learn.  Many may also have activities and special plays or other programs.  Be sure to stop by and get their latest calendar of events.

Workbooks:

The workbooks that I have had experience with during summer are the Summer Bridge workbooks.  These books are designed to “bridge” the gap between one grade to the next grade.  The activities are typically more fun than you’d find in a normal school book.

A program just released that we have not tried out yet is the new Summer Brain Quest.  As of this post, there aren’t any reviews on Amazon for them, however some should be up soon.  There is a huge preview you can see for examples of what is in this book.  I’m pretty impressed!

If you know your child needs a little help with a specific subject, you can also try the Kumon workbooks or Spectrum workbooks.

Websites:

There are many websites that offer fun activities for kids that are perfect for summertime. Some are free and some are paid.  We will start with the free ones first.

Free:

We love Xtramath.org.  This is a great way to help reinforce math facts during the summer.

My kids really like to play on Multiplication.com.  Don’t let the name fool you.  Addition, subtraction, and division are all covered on this website through fun interactive games.

ABCYa.com is also a favorite.  You can pick grade level and then venture on to math games, reading games, phonics, coloring, and more!

Paid:

ABCMouse.com is a good one that my kids enjoy.  It holds their progress so they don’t have to start over each time they visit the site.  That’s one benefit to this paid website.

ExplodeTheCode.com can help with phonics issues.  It is a little pricey.  We have the workbooks but haven’t tried the website yet.

Starfall.com offers a few free games and activities, but many are part of the subscription.

My kids have greatly benefited from ReadingEggs.com.  Definitely recommend checking out this program.

Do you have other ways that you use to encourage summer learning activities with your kids?  Please leave a comment and share!  

Also check out our other summertime articles below:

• Summer Bucket List Printable
• 50 Fun Things To Do With Your Kids This Summer!
• Summer Camps: Athens, GA
• Fun and Free (Or Almost Free) Things For Hot Or Rainy Summer Days

I know I usually make this post earlier in the year, but with a busy 1 year old destroying the house, it’s been hard to get things written up!  This year we have 5 kiddos – 13, 10, 7, 5, and 1!  That’s quite the difference in ages!  We base our kids gifts around this poem:

It has worked well in the past years so we are using it as a guideline again this year.  Here’s the rundown of what the kids are asking for and receiving.  I have to say that I am so happy that they don’t follow the majority of the trends and are genuinely happy with receiving a few things from mom and dad.

13 year old girl:

• Want: Aloe socks and gloves
• Need: boots
• Wear: Leggings and dress
• Read: Sonrise Stable Book 8

10 year old boy:

• Want: Spy Gear
• Need: Outdoor knife for work with for his troop
• Wear: watch
• Read: I survived

7 year old girl:

• Want: Doll Jeep
• Need: ??
• Wear: dress
• Read: Activity Book

5 year old girl:

• Want: Doll Motorcycle
• Need: ??
• Wear: dress
• Read: Copycat Coloring

1 Year old boy:

• Want: Toy Vacuum Cleaner
• Need: Gerber Sippy cups 
• Wear: Halo Sleepsack
• Read: Dinosaur Dance

I also got a combined gift of Ravensburger Labyrinth for the big kids to play.

For stocking stuffers, they are getting candy and Tsum Tsums.

We are all wrapped and ready!  Have you finished your shopping yet?