heartofdakota.com

No, I am not asking if I could read 'Beautiful Girlhood' to my 8yo. I know that comes in one of the later guides. I want to ask if anyone can recommend or refer me to something I could use for my 8yo, on her scale, that would teach values for 'growing up'. I feel I need to address some things with her now. Although her attitudes are more out of immaturity and modeling her adult sister, I would like to teach her some things now, to 'nip it in the bud'. What I'm looking for is something that would teach her about focusing on the beauty of the heart rather than outward beauty. I know she enjoys getting compliments from other people, so she worries about whether people will like what she is wearing. Also, in a childish way, she wants make-up (which she is NOT getting), because she wants to be like her older sister. I want her to be like an 8yo should be, not an 18yo! I know I can use the Bible verses about not letting our adorning be outward, but in the heart. I just thought it would be neat if we actually had a book that would give lessons to help in this area. Does anyone know of something along this line? Any suggestions?

Along this line, I know there is a Christian book out there that teaches girls the art of keeping house, like sewing, cooking, etc., but I don't remember the title. DD asks to do chores sometimes. I don't always have things for her to do at the moment, but if I had activities like this to let her do while I am busy with the baby, etc., she may be more content. I can't ask her to do more reading because of the situation with her eyes. I want to get books on tape for her to listen to, but if she wants to feel more grown up, having chores or projects for her to do would be the way to go.

I remembered! It is 'Keepers At Home'. It may have been mentioned here before. Does anyone use this? If anyone has any suggestions concerning my original post, please feel free to share. I plan to get 'Keepers At Home' to start somewhere. I think dd will enjoy that. She wants to be doing what others in the household are doing, so this should help.

I have not used Keepers at Home, so I can't comment on that one. I have a book from Doorposts, though, called Polished Cornerstones (I think that is the girl version - I have the boys one too) that is meant to be an aid to discipling your kids. It is a big book of activities about growing up, Christian living, home skills, all kinds of things like that. Plus, each category has activities for age groups from 4-18. (So a simple activity for a 4-7 year old, a harder one for 8-12, or maybe even a self study project for a teen, for example.) It is divided up into categories like growing into a .... Reliable or Skillful or Thrifty or Wise or Patient Woman etc. As an example, they have a chapter on being a modest woman. There are Bible verse to discuss or memorize. With a beginning child you can read a verse and draw a picture and learn to sit like a lady. For older girls you might discuss a "dress code", talk with her dad about what a girl's clothing suggests to boys, go through a clothes catalog to discuss modest or immodest selections, and learn to be in a social situation without drawing excessive attention to herself. For older girls there are various reading suggestions and discussion with parents starters, plus a Bible study suggestion on women in the Bible who actions are immodest and the results. Some of the categories are more geared towards attitudes and such, but others are more practical.

My eldest is a little young for most of the activities, so I haven't used it that much, but it looks like it will be a big help to me, since I didn't grow up in a particularly Christian home and don't think of these sorts of things on my own.

Lena

dd3 LHTH
ds1

Lena,
Thanks for letting me know. I am surely going to look into Polished Cornerstones. I am getting Keepers At Home, but they may complement each other, and I don't think dd will be ready for a lot of the hands-on skills in Keepers. The Keepers book is for ages 7-16, so many of the skills will be taught when she is older. It sounds like Cornerstones covers a lot of good topics. That's exactly what I am looking for.

Hi Pam,
I lead a Keepers at Home club and it is a wonderful resource. You may want to start with the "Little Keepers At Home" guide. The skills are similar but geared for 4-7 year olds.
I also use the resources that the other poster mentioned and they are geared more for a little bit older children.

It's fantastic that Heart of Dakota is such a great program that it leaves time in my day for pursuing other areas of interest in our family.

Prayers that God will give you guidance.
Andrea

you might check out Dannah Gresh's website...her books " 6 ways to keep a little girl little " and "8 great dates for moms and daughters" and "mom daughter devo" are good....much more too..


also check out vicki courtney's site..

Thanks for the suggestions. We are going with Little Keepers and Keepers At Home. I know there are a lot of things I could do without a book, but I like having something to follow so it will help me be more consistent in giving dd things to do. Little Keepers is for youngers, but a review stated that many of the skill areas could be for older girls. I am anxious to get the books. Then when Beyond work is complete, she will have these extra things to do and maybe we will eliminate some TV and idle time while I am caring for the baby. She will be so thrilled to start learning 'grown-up' skills.

We'll be using Little Keepers of the Home this year as well! I also have Polished Cornerstones on the shelf for when she is a little older.