The time I get to share with my boys in this season is fleeting. I know it is, but there are still days when I forget. Days I become weary or days I'm less intentional. I want to do everything I can to make those days as few and far between that I can. I've really grown in thoroughly enjoying parenting and teaching my boys.

My boys are at such a pivotal time of exploring, and have fresh desires to learn. I want to create a culture in our home that fosters a joy in learning and create as much opportunity for it as I can.

I love our times of learning, creating, crafting, and exploring together. I have so much to learn about what it looks like to educate my children but I hope to spend as much of our days together as I can teaching them about the most important things.

Since Emet was a baby, I've read sweet stories from the Bible with him as often as possible. I've also created habits of just talking about flashcards, letters, sounds, numbers, and colors since the beginning. It's been a complete joy to watch him begin understanding things as he's grown. I've also loved create opportunities for us to explore outside in nature together (my favorite).

Well, here we are and Emet so wants to be able to read. He has such an interest at this point and I want to kindle that desire. So, I thought it would be helpful for me to create a more structured "school time" in our days together. I want to to help grow the boy's attention span and to create a specific time for Emet to anticipate time of learning. Emet has reached the age where it's helpful to spend more intentional time together reading and learning together. I've loved growing our books and educational activities for our times together.

Above: HexActly Puzzle

I designed a lesson planner that has helped me organize my thoughts and have a specific plan for the things I want to teach Emet. There are a handful of edits I want to make to it, but I'll share those with you as I'm able to get the time to make them. Here's how I have been using the planner.

I begin by writing in the date for each day of the week. Each day has a specific focus - I may pick to center everything around a specific letter or subject.

On the lines underneath, I write out the different books and activities that I will use to help teach Emet about the area of focus I've selected. Of course, since I love seeing progress, I will check off each item as it's complete.

There's also a section to list out the chores that I'm assigning to Emet. I love instilling the sense of accomplishment that comes from contributing with things around the house.

I also added a section for some notes at end of the week. I have used this for things on the weekends or some reward incentives I may have going on that week.

This has helped me stay focused and on track with the things I'm trying to teach my kids. So far, it has been incredibly helpful for us.

Also, here is a list of some of the books and resources I have been using.

01. The Ology
02. God’s Little Lambs
03. Domino Counter
04. Learning My Letters Flashcards
05. I Can Say to God, Please
06. The Three R’s
07. North American Wildlife
08. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs
09. Kinetic Sand
10. Play-Doh Bucket
11. Alphabet Soup Sorters
12. Church History ABC’s
13. The Fascinating World of Butterflies and Moths
14. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
15. What Do You Say When a Monkey Acts This Way?
16. Brain Quest for Threes

17. Crayola Washable Paints
18. Washable Paintbrush Kit
19. Paint with Water - Melissa & Doug
20. Scissors
21. Crayola Water Colors
22. Alphabet Matching Game
23. Meet the Phonics Letter Sounds
24. Magnetic Mini Tile Art
25. Sticker Collection - Melissa & Doug
26. Color Wheel Puzzle
27. Sketching Made Easy
28. Twistable Crayons
29. Crayola Washable Markers

Above: Magic Modeling Clay

What steps do you take to make sure your time teaching your children is as helpful as possible? I'd love to hear your thoughts and tips below.

|  Credits: Author & Photography - Jacintha Payne |