Customer Reviews

Creative Family Times: Practical Activities for Building Character

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great little book packed full of ideas for family devotions, activities, games, talk times, prayer times, memorizing Bible verses, etc. While primarily geared toward parents of toddlers and preschoolers, the suggestions can easily be modified for use with older kids too.

I loved this book! Certainly, I won't use every page...but the creative ideas on scripture memory and mommy tape, will FOREVER affect my children's lives. All of the "times"...my children naturally do. I set a timer in the morning when one gets up too early to have their own "quiet time", but they naturally read books and have private play times during the day. I loved this book, very practical, very short, with the emphasis on the Word of God and HOW to get it into your child's heart starting young. Thanks Allen and Connie!

I found this little gem when our sixth child, also our last, was born. How I wished I had had it for all the others. Many of the ideas were so practical. I didn't try all of them but some of my favorites were sit time and play time. Sit time was the best way I've found for training children to sit still in church, or anywhere else you need them to. Play time in their room was invaluable to me as a homeschooler so I could have some uninterrupted teaching time with one of my children who had ADD. I absolutely love this book and have shared it with many new Moms over the years.

My wife and I received this book as a gift and have begun implementing the great ideas in it. Our 3 year old son is now demanding that we leave his room so that he can have his bible time before bed! We highly recommend it.

This book is one that I look to for ideas and encouragement when needing to reevaluate the structure of my days with my little ones. I reccomend this book to all my friends and other moms.

We LOVE this book. We originally bought it when our second child was one and were expecting our third. What a treasure chest of ideas! We have especially enjoyed implementing these - and have found that our children actually do like having order to their day and can do the things suggested in the book. They enjoy their times in their room listening to their tapes or having creative play time alone. We are pleasantly surprised and blessed as we walk by when they are playing to see what a joyful time they are having. This book is a must-read for families with toddlers and would even be a great tool (for activity ideas) for small group child care providers.

This small book is full of practical advice for making times with your toddler and preschooler a joy. I loved the idea of a "mommy and daddy tape." Though written from a decidedly Christian perspective, all can benefit from the authors' insightful advice. If your children aren't proving a delight to you, then books like this one will help. (Also check out Michael Pearl's book To Train Up a Child for more excellent ideas, especially on child discipline.)

This small book is full of practical advice for making times with your toddler and preschooler a joy. I loved the idea of a "mommy and daddy tape." Though written from a decidedly Christian perspective, all can benefit from the authors' insightful advice. If your children aren't proving a delight to you, then books like this one will help. (Also check out Michael Pearl's book To Train Up a Child for more excellent ideas, especially on child discipline.)

This booklet's ideas for family times are quite uncreative-- things like playdoh time, drawing time, etc. are nothing parents couldn't have figured out on their own. Furthermore the ideas for making audio-tapes are only good if you are one of the few who still owns an audio-tape player. What most turned me off by the book, however, was the suggestions for teaching your kids to sit perfectly still and silently for long periods of time to prepare them for "church." As a Lutheran, I don't believe in teaching my kids to quietly observe worship, but to actively participate in the liturgy, hymns, prayer, the Lord's Supper, etc. Whether or not they can sit still for preaching isn't the heart of the worship experience for adults or children.

There were a few neat ideas in this book. My favorite idea was the mommy and daddy tapes. I like the idea of making a tape for my 17 month old that includes songs, scripture, the alphabet, and so on. She loves hearing our voices and I am sure she will really enjoy them.

What I didn't like was the fact that alot of the ideas sounded a bit unrealistic to me. Sit time, talk time?? Give me a break! Play alone time?? This book sounded a bit too much like Gary Ezzo's ideas and the things he presents in his curriculum - Babywise and Preparation For Parenting/The Toddler Years.

Oddly enough, the authors dedicated this book to the Ezzo's. There influence is very obvious thru out this book. I felt that the authors had unrealistic expectations of what a toddler could do i.e. sit time. They don't seem to have a basic understanding of child development and what a child is capable of at each age.

My advice is to read this book with a discerning eye. Take the good stuff and leave the rest!