Teacher Gift

One of my favorite pastimes, as I shared on yesterday's post, was my love for reading. I have hoped to inspire this passion in my children as well and for some, it has worked. My youngest, however, is very average in not caring to read until she was about 7 years of age. This year in school, she has had two teachers who have helped cultivate her love for reading. We wanted to make them a special gift, from Missy B's heart, that would show her appreciation. We decided upon bookmarks. What nicer gift for a reading teacher that is made with a lot of love. Today, we are going to show you how simple it is to make these items. It literally takes about 5 minutes and most of us have the items already at home. 

Select your paper. You can use the same one for front and back, or choose two different patterns that compliment each other. Missy B chose the green stripes with floral on the right. 

Cut one paper to the size of bookmark you want. Using a glue stick, glue them right sides out. 

With straight edge or "fun" scissors, cut around the edge. Your papers should be sticking together just fine at this point. At this point, write a little message on the bookmark, should you choose to.

Optional: Using contact paper (or clear packaging tape, like we used), cover the bookmark.

Punch a hole in one end. 

Cut a small selection of thin ribbon 4-6" in length. We did a 4" strip. Fold the ribbon in half and pull partway through the hole. 

Pull the loose ends through the loop and pull tight. 

You now have completed bookmarks for teachers, students, or for yourself!

Your teachers will love them for years to come.

Joyfully creating-

Mama Dragon

Habitual Learning

Over the years, I have heard and read (from various sources) that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. How about breaking one? Haha! Usually, I have a week's worth of blog posts written and timed to post automatically. This past week's events have not allowed for me to write, so the past two days I did not post. I almost felt guilty, but then what would be the point about sharing living guilt free if I did that? Life happens and sometimes we just do not have time to blog. Will that be a deal breaker for me sharing posts everyday? No. I choose to keep writing. Sometimes, we miss a day of our habits. It's does not mean we have to quit or start over, It just means we get back on track and continue forward.

From an early age, my husband and I work hard to teach our children the value of caring for their personal items. As early as they can crawl, we teach them how to pick up their toys and put their books away. When they are about 3 years of age, we teach them how to periodically sort through their belongings and to the "keep, toss, sell, donate" method to deep clean their room. By the time they are 7 years of age, getting rid of items is mastered as well as going to the bathroom when needed.

When my daughter was five years of age, she wanted a watch. Wanting to give her the opportunity to earn this desired item, we talked to her about the tidiness of her room, which seemed to have no hope. Upon a friend's suggestion, I placed a calender on her wall and each day that she picked up her room, she would mark the calender. When she had a full month filled, she earned her watch. This proved to be a great method as she not only earned her watch, but learned the value of taking care of her personal belongings. Although it took a few months to finally earn the watch, it only took one solid month of trying to establish this habit. (Sometimes, we need to review those teachings and reinforce them as they get older. Now would be a good time as she is 8 and this morning her room is....not so tidy.)

Developing a habit does not have to take a lot of time from your day. It can be simple as saying a prayer in the morning, to meditating for 5 minutes, hugging your kids each day... the list goes on and on. Choose a habit you want to create. Write it on your calender, program it into your phone... whatever you need to do in order to do it! Try it for 21 days and see what happens. If you skip a day, keep going! Don't give up just because it has not developed yet. You can do this! It is a learning process- a time for growing, stretching, and learning. 

What habit do you want to work on? I am working on personal scripture study. I will let you know how it goes. 

Ever Improving-
Mama Dragon