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When Should Your Kids Do Their Own Laundry?

September 26, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

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If you’re asking yourself when you should start having your kids do their own laundry, I’m here to give you some suggestions based on what’s worked well for our family.

First, let’s answer the question of IF your kids should do their own laundry. (Spoiler: YES.)

Why kids should do their own laundry

Because your kid wears clothes and use towels
Because all household work should not all fall on just one or two household members
Because after your kid grows up and moves away, he/she will need to know how to do laundry
Because it’s an easy and natural way to teach your kid how to be responsible

When kids can start doing their own laundry

At our house, even the littlest ones get involved with helping me with laundry. Toddlers on up can put their dirty clothes in the hamper and help me fill the washer. Pre-schoolers on up can help fold and put away washrags and kitchen towels. They can also put away their clothes after they’ve been folded. (Try not to cringe when the clothes you just folded get dropped and unfolded on their way to the drawers. This is life. This teaches our kids skills. Crumpled clothing is fine. It’s fine. We don’t even care…)

But then, as your kid gets a little older, he/she can start to do all of their own laundry from start to finish:

When they are able to reach the buttons and work them properly
When they are old enough to understand how to properly measure and put in detergent
When they are old enough and able to ask, “Hey, where is my favorite shirt?? Is my uniform clean?”
When they are old enough to learn to be responsible for keeping up with their own clothes

At our house, this usually happens around fourth grade.

As soon as my kids have become capable, I turn their laundry pile over to them. They wash a load or two for themselves each week, from start to finish – washing, drying, folding (maybe?!) and putting away (sometimes in a pile on their floor in front of their dresser. I JUST CLOSE THE DOOR AND WALK AWAY).

Every family is different. Every kid is different. Some kids have very busy schedules, which makes it difficult for them to find time for laundry. So…

We also work together

I’m currently doing laundry for Matt and me, plus six littles. Often I’ll throw a load in and an hour later, I’ll holler at Malachi (our high schooler) to please transfer it to the dryer for me. In turn, sometimes Malachi may have a load of his clothes in the washer. As he’s running out the door for a college class, he may ask me, “Mom, if you have a chance, can you put my clothes in the dryer when it’s done?” This is all part of teamwork in a family.

The main thing, though, is that I let my big kids be in charge of taking care of their own laundry. I have plenty of chores and diapers to take care of all day long. Laundry is an easy thing to offload to the Bigs. Though, even before our second set of Littles came along, I still found it necessary and worthwhile to have my Bigs do their own laundry.

If the child is capable, the job becomes theirs.

This goes for laundry, cooking help, dishes, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, vacuuming, trash, dusting – any and all household chores and needs.

Never should parents take on the full load of household work while their kids sit around on their phones, not learning valuable skills or learning to take responsibility for family needs.

BONUS TIP

I have this lovely laundry sorter and it has come in super handy. Littles put their dirty clothes in the two hampers on the left. Bigs have their designated hampers on the right.

This keeps our dirty laundry separate but all in one place, which is much nicer than having dirty laundry piles all over the house. (But who am I kidding? I still have dirty laundry piles all over the house, because…babies.) :)

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What I Teach My Kids about Geometry, Food, and Budgets

July 14, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

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I’ve always been a very practical person. I’ll even admit this to you: When my kids ask me during an advanced math lesson, “Mom, when will I actually use this Geometry or Algebra 2 stuff in real life??” I’m like, “So sorry Dude, YOU WON’T.”

But then I make them do it anyway.

Will some kids grow up and use the Geometry and beyond-basic Algebra lessons they learned in high school? Absolutely. But all of my kids (so far) are more creative types. In fact, beyond some very basic pre-algebra skills, not ever in all my 47 years of life have I used the high school level math I learned as a teen.

Oh, except for what I’ve had to relearn so I could teach it to my kids, who will also not likely ever use it. But I’m not bitter.

So like good little soldiers, we complete the courses anyway, and here’s how I explain it to my kids:

It’s a state requirement for high school, therefore we will complete these classes. And we will keep a good attitude while doing it (except for when we don’t, because there are some lessons that only Jesus-as-Tutor could help us understand). But what you are really learning about while doing these difficult lessons? Hard work. Discipline. Perseverance.

Amen. Preach it, Mom.

So now you know how I really feel about upper-level math classes that all of our kids are required to take. I think you already know how I feel about identifying gerunds and diagraming sentences.

I just so much prefer to teach my kids about things that matter to our family. Jesus. Caring for others. Life skills.

So we plow our way through the harder, less-practical-for-our-lives-stuff. Then we focus our time more on what we know we’re going to need and on where our gifts and interests lie.

Food, Budgeting, Leadership…

This year’s Homeschooling Bundle piqued my interest because it includes really practical courses and books about things like:

Leadership for your teen
How to run a business
Personal finance (banking, budgeting, and buying)
Photoshop for kids
Creative writing
Prepping your high schooler for college
Scavenger through the grocery store
Building strong readers
So much more

THIS is how we love to learn at our house. And we’re sort of not actually homeschooling anymore. Except that we are. This explains it all.

So practical skills that we all need for life – that is where it’s at.

And also: FOOD.

Because of my love of food, and because of the fact that every one of us needs to know how to shop, plan, and cook food, I made all of these for us to give to our kids:

This is a 2-in-1 package that includes:

Fun With Food activity book for kids ages 2-10. It’s full of fun menu planning, grocery shopping, and budgeting activities that are practical but almost game-like. Never before has learning the skills of menu planning and grocery shopping been this much fun!
Feed Your Friends is a book for preteens and teens. It shares inspiration and tools needed to learn basic meal planning and cooking, and it’s all centered around teens cooking with and for their friends. I would have loved having this during my teen years!
PLUS, both of these come with a set of recipe cards that can be printed and turned into a recipe flipbook to use in the kitchen. The recipes included are kid/teen favorites!

Let’s teach our kids real life skills.

Let me say this again though: Even if you don’t homeschool, you homeschool. Because we are our kids’ first and best teachers, no matter where they attend school. So look at this with an open mind, grabbing the resources to help your kids of all ages learn so many valuable life skills!

Our Bonus For Teens:

Here are a few more details about our Feed Your Friends package.

I know how this works. Most teens love to hang out with their friends. All teens need to learn basic cooking skills before launching into the real world. So I put together this package just for teens, full of recipes, party planners, and more so that they can practice their cooking skills with and for their friends!!

It’s a book full of printables plus a file full of recipe cards that they can print and turn into a recipe flipbook to have in the kitchen!

Bonus for kids ages 4-10:

Here are a few more details about our Fun With Food package:

It includes a 30+page printable book full of fun activities to help them learn to grocery shop, budget, and plan simple meals. This is hands-on, fun learning – activities I’ve never seen before but created to be fun and almost game-like. But ah yes. They’ll be learning too!

Plus the book full of blank recipe cards, menu planning activities, grocery shopping/budget practice, and more.

All of this has been so much fun to put together! Here are a couple of sample pages to see some of the included activities:

They also get a file of recipe cards to print and make into a Recipe Flipbook.

I love it when practicality and fun go hand in hand. These packages are a win in every way!

I’ll give them all to you for free as a thank you for purchasing this week’s Homeschool Bundle from our links.

But wait. I don’t homeschool!

It’s doesn’t matter. WE ALL HOMESCHOOL. Read my thoughts about this here.

Just don’t let the word “homeschool” in the bundle title scare you. These resources are for everyone. I’m using them even though we mostly don’t homeschool currently. Because we learn from home all the time!

Get your bundle here. (offer expired)

Then email me and I’ll send you all the freebies!!

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Is Our Family Still Homeschooling?

July 14, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Today seems like a good day to update you on whether or not our family is still homeschooling…

I’m not great at keeping you updated on life, and for good reason. Here’s a small scrapbook to show you what takes up our time and energy these days:

And oh yeah. Asa’s getting married next month!

When people ask me, “How many kids do you have?” I absurdly stutter around for several awkward seconds like a weird-y weirdo because I honestly don’t know how to answer.

The breakdown:

One of our foster babes went back to live with bio family, but he’s still with us three days a week and we still claim him as our own. We’re adding a daughter-in-law to the mix, and she totally counts as ours. Justus also has a serious girlfriend; she is our girl too. We currently have four foster daughters. We have four bio sons and two adopted sons. And there are at least 2o young adults/college students that come and go from our house regularly for food, laundry, and hugs.

So Laura. How many kids do you have?

I don’t know. 27?? 32?? Eighty-twelve??

Currently, though, I’ll go ahead and land on the number ten. That’s the official number as of today, which includes our bios, adopted, and fosters. Today, we have ten kids.

I guess I still haven’t answered the original question though:

Is our family still homeschooling?

The short answer is yes, we are. But also no, we aren’t. Eh?

I’ll explain.

About a year ago, I shared how God led us to put Brayden (our now 7 year old) in public school to help meet his many academic and emotional needs. Head here to read more about that.

How’s it going?

So, so well. Our public school in York is fantastic and is offering Brayden so much of what he needs right now. We are so thankful!

He will start 2nd grade there in August, and his 5yo sister (our foster daughter) will join him as a kindergartener.

Meanwhile, our 16yo Malachi will be doing a hybrid-type of schooling for his junior year. He’ll take two classes at our public school, which will allow him to participate in extra-curricular activities (soccer, tennis, show choir, one-act, and whatever else our extraverted child decides to become a part of). He’ll also take three college classes per semester this year to knock out as many dual credits as possible. And he’ll finish up any regular homeschool credits he needs to meet high school graduation requirements.

So technically, we’re still homeschooling Malachi. But really, we’re just guiding him through college courses and equipping him for adulthood.

But here’s the big truth about homeschooling:

We. Are. All. Doing. It.

Or at least we’d better all be doing it. Officially or unofficially.

No matter who is the main academic educator of your children, as parents, we are all and should be still teaching our kids. We teach them about loving and following Jesus first. We teach them about loving and serving people. We teach them to work hard and share and care and take turns. We teach them to put others before themselves. We teach them to be responsible and for goodness sake please take your dishes to the sink and your trash to the trash can.

And what else? We turn everything into a teaching opportunity. (Ok, not everything. Sometimes by the end of the day, I cop out with “good question I don’t know go brush your teeth” because my mouth is so very tired of talking to so many people all day long. I admit it.)

But (in the morning after I’ve had coffee) when my kids ask a question about the bug they find on the leaf outside, we have fun finding the answer (because there’s an app for that). When we scoop flour into the mixer, we count out loud. When we realize that every kid got to crack three eggs to help with breakfast, we add them all up to see how many that makes altogether.

I read books to them. They read books to me. They read books to themselves. We talk. We explore. We memorize scripture. We talk about budgets, money management, running a business, running a home, running for office, running a race, running for cover (tornado drill, anyone?).

You don’t have to be a homeschooler to homeschool.

Does this make sense? Call it whatever you want, but know the truth: You are your child’s teacher. You are their best teacher. Their first teacher. Their most important teacher – no matter who teaches them to sound out words or explains the finer points of Algebra (and shall we all now take a moment of silence to appreciate these professionals who pour into our kids so that we can avoid having to hurt our brains trying to understand exponential equations?).

Will our family ever homeschool again?

Again, we are still homeschooling. We’re just currently sending our younger kids to public school, and we are so grateful for this wonderful option for our family right now. ;)

But will we ever homeschool again in the traditional sense?

We’re waiting for God to tell us that answer.

Right now, we feel 100% confident that public school is necessary for our kids and also for me with all I am juggling (four kids ages two and under, court, caseworkers, baby’s medical needs and physical therapy, etc).

However, I also sometimes look at our shelf of books with longing. I look back at our years of homeschooling memories and I miss it.

But I also remember how much work it is. It was good, meaningful, worthwhile work, but it was hard work. And I don’t miss that right now. I don’t have the bandwidth to do it well right now. Our kids need more academically than I am able to give.

We are confident that God will make our kids’ educational needs clear in the coming months and years. So while we’re gratefully turning their academics over to the public school teachers, we’re still teaching them at home as God leads us to.

We hope you are too. No matter what educational route you’ve chosen for your family. :)

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Perfect Summer Snack for Toddlers

June 17, 2020 by Laura 15 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I have discovered the perfect summer snack for toddlers! But first, let’s enjoy some pictures of the adorable toddlers who eat these snacks:

Keith (on the right, above) is our forever Bonus Boy6. The future of Boy Babe7 (on the left) is still up in the air. We are praying goodness and security for him as we spend these months loving him in our home.

The sweet 6-year old in the blue polo is Brayden, our Bonus Boy5. He became our fifth Coppinger boy through the gift of adoption in 2019. Truly, the work God has done in our family during the past two years has astounded us. He continues to grow us in number and in faith and trust as we walk this journey with Him!

Now that we’re back to raising littles again (our older sons are now 23, 20, 18, and 15!), we’ve been fixing up our backyard to be fun for them. Brayden helped me paint an old tractor tire, and we turned it into a sandbox. It has been so much fun!!

We bought a kiddie pool, and bubble mowers:

Two of these little mowers
This simple but perfect-for-us kiddie pool. (Not only does this work well for our 1-year olds, it’s great for Brayden, our 6-year old too! Also, this one is listed now for way more than we paid for it a month ago!? We only paid $20!)
And this toddler sized picnic table:

Which almost leads me to share about the fun summer snack I discovered. But first, can we just take a minute to appreciate God’s work in teenagers and young adults? In the picture above you can see Malachi, age 15, our Boy4, running around and pick up sticks in the yard with Brayden. And Elias, age 18, our Boy3 kissing the babies before he headed off to work for the day. My heart overflows with gratitude.

Here’s Justus, age 20, our Boy2 who was home from college for several weeks during quarantine before he headed to Texas for a summer internship. Our little ones sure miss “dut-dus.” Well, we all do.

Last but not least, here’s Asa, our 23-year old and Boy1. He lives and works in Lincoln now as a videographer for Back to the Bible. So we don’t get to see him often, but when he does make it home, the little boys pile on top of him!

Apparently I felt that you needed a big family update!

Ok, one last thing: I’d love for you to be blessed by the latest video our boys made together. Asa, Justus, and Malachi worked hard on it as a gift for Elias’ high school graduation!

Perfect Summer Snack for Toddlers

And now, the information you’ve all been waiting for. The perfect summer snack I’ve discovered for our toddlers is:

Frozen Peas.

See also: Frozen Corn, Frozen Blueberries, Frozen Mixed Veggies, and Frozen Mango.

On a hot day when we’re running around and playing outside, grabbing little bowls of frozen veggies or fruit for them to eat at the picnic table as finger food is a huge hit for our toddlers! It cools them off and nourishes them at the same time. The frozen foods are easy to eat and take absolutely no prep! They’re perfect!

And now you know.

I’ll leave you with this:

Here’s Keith the night our littles took turns putting on goggles and laughing their full belly laughs.

God’s plans are better than ours, always.

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Calling all Kids!! Join us for a Kids Cooking Camp this Summer!

June 2, 2020 by Laura 22 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

We excitedly invite your kids to join our Kids Cooking Camp!

Don’t worry one bit about this whole camp thing being educational. The kids don’t have to know about that part. They’ll just think they get to make and enjoy treats like ice cream and mudballs and fruit dip. So what that they’ll learn some valuable cooking skills? Who cares that they’ll learn about family teamwork? Whatever that they’ll get to help with meal planning and meal prep? They won’t even realize they are learning because they will simply be having fun and doing something special just for them!

Aha! But it isn’t just for them. It’s for parents too! Because when the kids learn great cooking skills, the parents win big time!!!

This entire Kids Cooking Camp package is worth $99 because of its loaded content and lifetime access.

What is Kids Cooking Camp?

It’s an online “camp-in-the-kitchen” experience. Your kids can have fun with you, with their siblings, and/or with their friends and neighbors while enjoying the Kids Cooking Camp activities and recipes! Here’s what you and your kids will find when you first access this awesome online resource:

Heya Kids! Welcome to the Kids Cooking Camp!

We hope you’re ready to have some fun. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two while you’re here?!? But mostly we want you to find some new favorite recipes and figure out some ways to have a blast in the kitchen!

To make this happen, we created a great list of Challenges and Activities for you to choose from.
Then we created an entire stack of printables for you to use as you work your way through the Challenges and Activities.
Of course, we put together huge lists of recipes that you can pick from and enjoy.
And we topped it all off with a Campfire. Because you can’t have camp without a campfire!

You’ll find a Parent Letter to give you more of the information you need. The huge list of delicious recipes is kid-friendly, easy, and fun. There’s even a brand new eBook full of Non-Food recipes (for things like slime and moon sand!!) to give your kids an extra fun recipe-reading-and-following experience.

Well, you just need to get signed up and dig in with your kids. That’s all there is to it. Then you can see for yourself how fantastic this is!!

Who is this Kids Cooking Camp for?

Really, it’s for kids of all ages.

Little ones can have fun doing activities and creating recipes with a grown-up. Older ones can take the entire package and run with it! And adults? Well, have I mentioned that we all get to eat the tasty treats our kids will be making?

Everything is great about this Kids Cooking Camp! Everyone wins!!

It’s so easy! We look forward to enjoying this with you and your family! Ready to dive in?

Enjoy our Kids Cooking Camp – awesome for everyone in your family – HERE —>

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Introducing, Keith Coppinger!

February 21, 2020 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s the precious face I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you!

He’s learning to feed himself, and he’s oh-so proud.

His name is Keith, and as of today, he is Coppinger Boy #6.

Foster care and adoption is an emotional experience in at least a thousand ways. There’s joy and there’s sorrow. Adding to the family also means there is loss in some form. We don’t take that lightly.

But today, we fully embrace the joy of adding to our family. We embrace it so much that the tears won’t stop. This little boy, who has been a part of our family since he was just 2 months old, has overcome so much in his short life. That we get to be a part of this and learn more about victory in Jesus because of him humbles us greatly.

Keith loves Mommy and Daddy. He thinks all of his older brothers are THE BEST. But when Brayden walks into the room, there’s no doubt who he thinks is the BEST BEST.

These two have a special bond – so much so that Keith’s first word was actually “Brayden.” I was lobbying for “mama.” We all asssumed it would be “dada.” But when the big day came, Keith looked up at his beloved Brayden and said, “Dudden! Dudden!” It is the sweetest thing ever.

We continue to foster Boy Babe #2. Our older sons continue to embrace this new life with grace and love. Matt and I stand in amazement as we experience all God is doing and teaching us through this.

Thank you for walking this journey with us. Your love and support has meant so much – and I’ll thank you by sharing lots of adorable Keith pictures now that I can!!!

Here he is with Justus, age 20. Because yes, we now have sons aged 1-22!!!!!

He’s already learning to cook. I’m pretty sure he was making me some coffee…

Keith got to wear Elias’ hat!

Yes, he truly is as sweet as he looks.

And most days, he’s happy as can be!

God bless YOU in whatever ways He is working in YOUR lives. I have no doubt He is doing great things!

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Our Kindergarten Through College Curriculum Plan for 2019

August 6, 2019 by Laura 5 Comments

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Every year it’s fun to talk through upcoming school plans! We’ve got our hands full this year with a kindergartener, a 9th grader, a 12th grader, and one in college. (We’ve got a college graduate and a baby boy too, but woohoo, they aren’t studying for tests this year. Our graduate is beyond happy about this.) Here’s our kindergarten through college curriculum plan for 2019!

Our Kindergarten through College Curriculum Plan

Bonus Boy and I have already started several of his books, simply because he was excited and he likes to stay busy. Who am I to argue with someone who wants to have a reading lesson? Meanwhile, our high schoolers are trying not to think about school starting yet. I don’t blame them. Summer break is bliss.

Here’s the rundown of our curriculum plan!

Bonus Boy, grade K:

We will be using our Learn to Serve Complete Curriculum Package as a primary focus. Serve and learn, learn and serve!
We’ll work our way through at least the beginning of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. (Once he gets the gist of reading, we’ll move on to Bob Books and other easy readers.) (Oh, I just ordered these – SO CUTE!!)
We’ll follow many of (but not all of) Sonlight’s kindergarten suggestions for Read-Alouds, History, and Science.
We’ll use the fantastic downloads we got last spring during the Build Your Bundle Sale. (*SEE NOTE BELOW!!)
We’ll use Explode the Code, Italic Handwriting, and Miquon Math workbooks.
We’ll use several of the curriculum packets I’ve created to meet his specific needs. I’ll share more about these soon!
He’ll receive speech and language services from our public school once each week. I am SO GRATEFUL that they are so supportive of our plan to homeschool while still working with him to improve his speech and language skills. I’ll be a part of these sessions so that we can be more aware of what we’ll need to continue working on at home with him.
We’ll read, read, read, read, and read! Library here we come!
We’ll play, play, play! This boy loves to be on the go, explore, and be with friends. Never a dull moment, we’ll be involved in many activities that keep him interacting and active!

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*The Build Your Bundle folks are offering a flash sale today through noon on Thursday, August 8! Look through all the digital curriculum offered at up to 92% off and take advantage of this surprise offer. Bonus Boy and I are LOVING all we bought from this sale a few weeks ago. These books are all wonderful supplements to our regular curriculum!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malachi, grade 9:

He will be taking Chamber Singers (choir) and Strength Training (weight lifting) at our public high school so that he will qualify to play tennis and soccer with the public school team.
He will finish Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 and begin Algebra 2.
He will work on Wordly Wise and Grammar books, and read many of Sonlight’s suggested English and Literature options for 9th grade.
We will read and work through Apologia Physical Science together.
We will read through many of Sonlight’s Church History suggestions.
He and Bonus Boy will work through Travel the World, Experience the Creator together (with Malachi doing the entire book and Bonus Boy only doing the parts he is ready for).

I’ll share in more detail soon, but check out one of our newest curriculum creations!

Elias, grade 12:

Boy #3 has become a senior this year! I’d say I blinked and here we are. But yeah right. We worked hard and here we are. Heh. :)

Elias is mostly finished with his regular high school credits, so he’ll be doing mostly college-level work this year.

He will be taking Chamber Singers (choir) and Strength Training (weight lifting) at our public high school so that he will qualify to play soccer with the public school team.
He will be taking classes at York College: College Algebra, College Speech, College Intro to Business, College American History, and one other college class to be determined. These will be divided between two semesters and will give him both high school and college credits.
At the end of this year, Elias will graduate from high school with 30 college credits (he started taking college-level classes as a high school sophomore) so he will begin college next year as a college sophomore!

In case you’re wondering about our other boys…

Asa graduated from college in May and is working toward a full-time career in Videography. He is incredibly gifted in this field and has used his summer to work on several video projects for clients.

Justus is starting his second year at York College (though technically now he is a college junior). He is pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance and wants to have a career in Music Production. He is in choir, student government, and helps with the men’s soccer team.

And because he shouldn’t be left out, our foster Boy Babe is 8 months old and learning how to stay away from the stairs and electrical outlets. He gets an extraordinary amount kisses from the seven of us every day, so we’re pretty sure that’s why he’s so roly-poly.

I’d love to hear more about your upcoming school plans (public, private, or homeschool)! And stay tuned because we have some fun curriculum creations we’re about to reveal. Psst, some are FREE!

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The BEST Way I’ve Found to Help a Kid Sit Quietly Through a Sermon!

April 2, 2019 by Laura 13 Comments

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Where was this idea when we were training our “first set of kids?” Gather ’round. I have discovered the BEST way to help a kid sit quietly through a sermon.

But first let’s back up. “First set of kids?” I’ve mentioned our huge life changes here and there, but in case you missed it, allow me to explain again.

Our big kids are currently 21, 19, 17, and 14. Just as we began counting down the years toward empty nesting, God surprised us by moving a 4-year old into our home in April, 2018.

He’s 5 now, and is officially becoming a Coppinger this month. We continue to learn daily that our God is sovereign, that His ways are bigger than ours, and of course, His ways are better.

And with that, I shall show you a better way to quietly and peacefully get your child through a sermon.

The BEST Way to Help a Kid Sit Quietly Through a Sermon

Friends, I’m not trying to brag, but I have discovered the art of making a cheese stick last 25 entire minutes. Indeed. Bonus Boy loves to sing all the songs at church. But come sermon time, it’s harder to sit still, of course.

One particular Sunday early in our days with BB, I happened to have a cheese stick in my purse. I pulled it out, and ever so slowly began pulling off “strings” and handing them to him to eat. Did I mention that I began pulling off the strings slowwwwwlllllyyyyy? And thus, before I knew it, the cheese stick lasted through an entire sermon!

It’s magic. Unless you don’t want your kids to get into a habit of eating a snack during the sermon. Then this is a terrible idea for you. For us and for Bonus Boy, it’s magic.

There are cheese stick rules, of course. BB is allowed to open the package and pull out the cheese, but at that point, the cheese stick goes to either Matt or to me. The adults are completely in charge of the cheese and the strings. Bonus Boy must sit quietly and wait patiently for us to hand him each new string of cheese. There is no grabbing. There are no large strings. This is the only way it will last through an entire sermon.

Seriously. A cheese stick. Lasting for a beautiful 25 or 30 minutes. And a kid. Sitting quietly. For 25 or 30 minutes. It’s like a miracle happens every Sunday morning in the church pew.

Oh, and meanwhile, Bonus Boy is listening to the sermon, he just doesn’t know that he is. Long live the cheese stick.

As an even bigger bonus, I don’t have to lug a heavy bag of books or other quiet activities to use as sermon ammunition. I grab a cheese stick, throw it into my purse, we go to church. Amen and hallelujah.

What have you found to be helpful as you train your little ones to sit quietly and listen during church?

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How We Get Our 5-Year Old to Eat Fruits and Vegetables

February 17, 2019 by Laura 14 Comments

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Ah yes. We’ve got a 5-year old in the house again. Slowly but surely, we’re adding more fruits and vegetables into his diet. Interestingly enough, his teenage brothers who were raised in this house from the beginning have become more of a struggle than the little one. I don’t want to talk about it.

It won’t be long now before our Bonus Boy will officially be a Coppinger and I can show you pictures! But for now, just imagine lots of cuteness behind some gorgeous brown eyes and a giggle that turns all of us into mush.

When he first moved in with us, I knew he loved hot dogs, and that was all I knew. Man (or boy) can not live on hot dogs alone, so we began doing some trial and error to see what he might like.

First fruit success: Applesauce Pouches

Where were these gems when my other boys were little?

Yes, they are more expensive than canned applesauce or homemade. Yes, I still make homemade applesauce when I have the chance. But seeing as life has taken a major turn toward the more busy side of things (we have an infant boy living with us now too!), splurging on Applesauce Pouches has been very much worth it! Bonus Boy loves them, the teenagers love them (so there), and as an added delight, they can be eaten without making a mess.

We get them from Aldi, Walmart, or Amazon; and when they’re on sale, I grab varieties that have veggies added too.

Second fruit and veggie success: “Milkshakes”

Everyone knows that Smoothies filled with fruits and greens are a great way to easily get kids to eat (or drink) nourishment. Indeed.

However, if we said, “Would you like a Smoothie??” our Bonus Boy turned up his nose. Inspired, I said, “How about a Milkshake?” Aha! He thought that sounded delicious.

Call it whatever works – we now make “Milkshakes” all the time. Bonus Boy makes them with me, and we’re not even hiding the fact that they are filled with goodness. HE PUTS THE FRESH SPINACH INTO THE BLENDER HIMSELF. Then he adds the strawberries and frozen banana chunks. I pour in milk and a little maple syrup. He pushes the button on the Blendtec.

Then he guzzles down two full cups with a lid and a straw. Milkshakes for the win. Smoothies though? He doesn’t like them. ;)

Third veggie success: Cheesy Taco (aka Green Salad with Shredded Cheese)

I don’t even remember how this came about. I think I had made Taco Salad for the rest of us that day and decided to see if he’d eat any or all of it. I knew he loved tacos, so I told him this was “sort of like a taco.” I tore mixed greens into his special bowl, tossed in plenty of cheese (his favorite food of all time), and stirred in homemade French Dressing (ketchup for the win). He ate it all with a spoon and asked for more.

None of my other little guys ever ate salad at this age, and here this kid is eating his and asking for seconds and thirds. Sweet!

Fourth veggie success: Orange French Fries

Our whole family has learned that Sweet Potato Fries are the best way to eat sweet potatoes. Bonus Boy discovered without any argument that Orange French Fries are pretty tasty dipped in ketchup! Nice!

Fifth veggie success: Yet to come

None of us likes everything, and we can’t expect little kids to love all the green food we know is good for us. Green beans are a no-go for Bonus Boy. Peas, not so much. Carrots, neither raw nor cooked nor when one is pretending to be a bunny. Broccoli “trees” are only fun to talk about, but are not fun for eating. So we’ll stick to what is working, and we’ll try new veggies as the months go by.

Fruit is mostly a winner

Not all fruit, but he does like clementines, apples, kiwi, bananas, frozen blueberries, and a few others – especially if the big boys are sitting at the table eating them too.

It’s important to remember that adding fruits and veggies to a kid’s diet is a process. I remember liking more and more as I got older; I bet you do too.

If your child struggles with eating many fruits or vegetables, don’t fret or give up. Keep experimenting to see what works. Find a new way to cut or serve it. Call it a milkshake instead of a smoothie. Enjoy the ride and know that any fruit or veggie nourishment is better than none at all. You’ll get there!

What are your kids’ favorite ways to eat fruits and vegetables?

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What is the Right Way to Handle Teenagers and Dating?

March 29, 2018 by Laura 16 Comments

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When our four boys were little, Matt and I had some real good ideas about how we would handle the upcoming years of teenagers and dating. As it turns out, real good ideas and real life can sometimes be real different.

What is the right way to handle teenagers and dating

Before our sons were old enough to realize that girls were worth thinking about, Matt and I started telling them, “Don’t focus on dating relationships until you’re in college and old enough to consider marriage. Treat girls like the Christian sisters that they are. Be friends with everyone.”

This is fantastic advice, is it not?

Our boys thought this sounded great because at the time they believed that 1) girls were weird and 2) marriage was for old people. So our advice held strong while our boys were still shorter than we were.

Our sons are now 20, 18, 16, and 13. They are nice, good looking, talented, and respectful. Girls seem to like these qualities. Therefore, Matt and I learned about two days into parenting teenagers that our perfect, lovely, and simple “don’t worry about dating or relationships until you’re old enough to think about getting married” plan might only be a good idea on paper. About the time our boys hit sixth grade, girls’ heads started turning their way. It didn’t take long, then, for our boys to realize that it was actually quite fun to have a girl’s attention.

I guess we could say that the rest is history. But the rest is not history, as it is right smack in the middle of our present. We’ve been doing this teenage parenting thing for eight years now with not one son but four. Where there are teenage sons, there are teenage girls. Times four.

I’ll skip sharing all the naive stuff I said and did as I first navigated girl attraction and young relationships with our offspring because it’s bad enough that our oldest son had to live through it. Instead, I’ll jump to the biggest lesson I have learned after eight years of being a mom to teenage boys:

There is no one right way to be in a dating relationship.

dating1

Can you believe that?

There’s no one specific formula. There’s no perfect scenario. There’s not one exact thing that will work exactly exact for every single person or couple. (If you don’t believe me, look at the variety of relationships in the Bible and consider the various dating stories told by Christians who have healthy marriages.)

I’m so grateful that I understand better now that every person is different, every situation is different, and let me also say this:

I am very thankful that we didn’t stick with our original plan and insist that our sons stay away from girls until we kicked them out the door and they were suddenly navigating all of life on their own. “Happy Graduation, Son. Have fun at college, where for the first time you will be responsible for keeping your own schedule, managing your money, taking hard classes, making thousands of fairly difficult decisions every day, and dating girls for the first time.”

Because relationships. Those are easy to figure out without guidance.

Instead of formulating a “one size fits all” plan for teenagers and dating, this is what we have learned to do instead:

1. Let the Holy Spirit lead us.

Trying to parent without guidance and the peace that comes through knowing we have the Ultimate Source of Wisdom living within us leads only to heartache and worry. I’ve tried that route. It’s miserable, because I don’t care how great our kids are, Satan wants to win them. And he wants to distract me and deceive me into thinking I am powerless as a parent. I’ll double over in fear and be sickened with panic over my sons’ relationships and thoughts of their future unless I fully embrace the truth that God is at work in them and for them and He has already won victory over the enemy. All I have to do, and what I must do, is surrender to God and ask for His help, strength, and guidance.

2. Be open.

Do not freak out when your child begins to show an interest in someone. It’s normal and good, even if they are your babies and you can’t believe this is happening. I’ve learned (the hard way) to be very open about this with our sons so they don’t feel that they need to hide their attractions and interests from us. “She’s cute, huh? And sweet. It’s okay to feel that way. That’s how God made you.”

3. Ask your kids good questions.

My favorite question to ask my boys when they tell me they like a girl is this one: “What do you like about her?”

If they don’t have much to say, it lets me know right away that the attraction is more about appearance than character. But when he shares, “Our conversations are always meaningful” or “She is really nice to everyone” or “She is godly and servant-hearted” I know he’s given thought to what really matters. I also know he thinks she’s pretty, even if he hasn’t mentioned it, because of course.

4. Be safe.

We’ve found that if we are critical or harsh about any of our sons’ decisions or feelings, they quickly shut down and mute all communication with us. When my words, face, and body language show my sons that I’m open and safe, they are much more likely to come to me with “What do you think I should do about…” and “Is it okay if…” and “She and I were talking about…” and “What do you think would be a good gift for…” Our kids need to know we are on their team, especially while they are navigating relationships.

4. Smile often.

Sometimes this can’t be helped, because oh my goodness, the sweetness. I’ve found it’s important to be intentional about sharing in my sons’ delight over his special girl. If she means something to him, she means something to me too.

5. Offer gentle advice as the Spirit leads.

My sons don’t have any sisters, so they haven’t grown up experiencing life with any females except for me. I’m thankful for my sons’ openness so that I can offer advice like:

“I know it doesn’t matter to you if she wears jeans or a dress to the award banquet you’ve invited her to. But she’s asked you three times what she’s supposed to wear to this because she needs some reassurance. Tell her that the other girls usually wear casual dresses to this.”
“I’d get back to her sooner rather than later with an answer about that because you don’t want her to worry about why you aren’t responding.”
“Does she know for sure that you are going to this event only as friends? It’s easy for a girl to get the wrong idea, so please be sweet but make sure she understands you are only interested in friendship with her.”
“You might ask her if her dad wants you to talk to him first before you make plans to go to the Formal.”

So teenagers and dating…

Matt and I still feel strongly that relationships at young ages should be handled with extra care. They should stay in the “sweet” category and far from the “serious” until they are ready to consider marriage. We are so grateful that our kids started navigating some of these very important needs and issues with us, at home, under our guidance.

Some kids do wait until college to begin pursuing relationships. But I’m grateful to have learned that there’s not only one way to go about healthy Christian dating relationships. There is, however, one God, and His ways are perfect. Praise Him, He knows what each of our kids need. We rest fully on His promises to guide us and protect our kids.

Now about all the teenage and young adult girls who find themselves in our home, I’ve gotta say, I’m lovin’ it. Female people who actually speak my language using phrases like, “Aww, that’s so cute!” or “I like how you decorated your living room!” I could get used to this. :)

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