Thanks to all the parents who participated in the Mainly Music parenting seminar! Here are some of the resources mentioned there . . . and a few more:
Books
- Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
This is the single best introduction to the world of children’s literature! - You Are Special by Max Lucado
You’ll want to read this to your children again and again. - How Full is Your Bucket? (for kids) by Tom Rath
For your visual learners, this book is a perfect way for them to see how they affect others.
Web Resources
- Aslan’s Library is a great blog devoted to ‘beautifulĂ‚Â and true theological books for kids’ – and is co-authored by my sister-in-law and another dear friend.
- Tumblon is the web app my good friend Jonathan and I built to enable parents to track their kids developmental milestones – and it is free! This rough video shows how it works.
- Why Early Childhood Parenting is a Gospel Priority is a piece that I wrote for Christianity Today on why what you do matters so much.
- Liturgies of Life is an essay that I wrote for Cardus on the role of habits in forming children, and The Essential Story explores the role of stories in virtue formation.
- And you can download The Apprenticeship of Being Human here.
Printable
Here is a printable version of The Practice of Parenting (an appendix from my book). It is designed for you to complete to help you:
- Assess your family habits of Love, Language and Literature.
- Evaluate how these practices establish Normal and Normative expectations.
- Consider how your habits influence your children’s Character, Competence, Creativity and the ability to Collaborate.
- Decide on a specific practice that you want to nurture (like reading together) or eliminate (like yelling in conflict).
Feel free ask questions, share suggestions and leave comments below. And feel free to use the share buttons to share these resources with folks who weren’t able to participate in the seminar!