This little guy that is staying with us LOVES to wrestle with "Poppy". Almost every night he says, "Come on Poppy, don't worry, I won't hurt you!" Friday night has become our big wrestling night...followed by a popcorn party and a movie. Boys need to know how to wrestle, how to be tough! They
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When our son was about 12, a fellow homeschool dad did a Survival Camp. They met once a week for 6 weeks and learned some very basic survival skills. They learned how to build a basic shelter in the woods, how to skin a fish, how to coat matches to keep them dry, how to start a fire without matches,
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Olivia surprised me with an early gift for over the mantel. I love this phrase from the song, Come Thou Fount. This is my heart's plea..."never more to wander from Thee". Now I know our home is a bit different because my husband is a handyman, carpenter, and junkyard extraordinaire (a
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We made a BUNCH of these in the past and sold them. These are so easy to make and next to no money in them! Jeff simply cut them and drilled small holes in them. I used a brown marker to give them a wood burned look. I've made some larger ones that said Merry Christmas or Welcome, others
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What a jointer is use for: How to use a jointer:
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Learning about Lumber Buying Lumber for Pennies on a Dollar
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It's gotten chilly here in the deep south which is a reminder to make sure we are ready for winter. Although winters here are fairly mild, we still encounter many below freezing days, and once every 10 years or so we have significant snow fall. When it snows more than a dusting here everything shu
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For the most part I'm all for living simply, now not too simple. ;o) I'm pretty frugal and I don't mind having less to make life more simple. I think it is very easy to get caught up in owning so much stuff that it can eventually own you. I mean really, do we need 4 frying pans? Do we
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Well worth your time to listen to! Doug Wilson Interviews Mark Driscoll (Part 1) | Men & Masculinity from Canon Wired on Vimeo.
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Here are some excellent resources to help you instill good character and a strong work ethic in your children. Created for Work: Practical Insights for Young Men This is an excellent book that will encourage a good work ethic. It is geared for boys but also applies to girls. Boyhood and Beyon
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Although this is an article about Canada, the United States is in the same boat, and they are both sinking! It’s hard not to laugh when Barry Smith starts telling stories about the hapless young workers he has to deal with. Smith, who runs Toronto-area roofing company RoofSmith Canada, tells
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I met Allison a few weeks ago at a party we catered. She and her family were there not only as guests, but she was also the photographer for the party. She has a really neat family which is partly birthed through adoption. You can read more about her family at Five Lewis Crew. When I w
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The ways to use pallets is endless! Here are some ways to make furniture with them: I love the practicality of storage here too! Here is a site with a bunch of ideas! Here are 4 other ways to use pallets as furniture. This one has a video to show you how. I love this bed a
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Last week I shared about a really cool bench. Did you know that: Approximately 40% of all hardwood harvested in the U.S. is for making shipping pallets About two-thirds of pallets are used only once before being thrown out 1/4 of all wood in landfills is from used pallets You
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I LOVE the whole using wooden pallets to make things for almost free! Not only that, but it is a great way to keep your high energy boys busy! Learning how to use a hammer and drive, in this case remove nails is something every guy needs to know. OR you could do it this way, but I think you
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I love this idea! It's a great project for the woodworker in the family. Turn your boy loose with a hand saw, some pallet wood, a tape measure, hammer and nails. Add a few throw pillows and it could really dress it up! What a GREAT low cost project to learn some woodworking skills! See the how-t
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I've told you before about my friend, Ben, and his love for restoring Farmall tractors. Ben, is only 17, and he has already restored TWO tractors! He sent me some pictures of the Bridgewater Lawn Party Show and Parade that he and his sister took part in. Enjoy Ben's narration of how God met many
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Woot is an online, deal of the day site. Their deal is only available for one day. I check it out everyday. The shipping is always $5, no matter what. Today's deal are these tool sets, all for $9.99 each. I thought I'd let my readers know. These would make a great Christmas gift for a boy. Bt
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Jeff made this for me several years ago. Because it stays on our front porch it needs to be re-painted every couple of years. I usually change the colors of the bird houses every time I paint. We've actually had birds nest in them. This would be a great project for a teen boy. :) &n
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Tools for the trade: Always check with Amazon for comprtitive pricing before you buy, many times you can get free shipping.
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Here is an easy beginner's project for boys and very functional! Detailed instructions over at Design Sponge .
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This is a great story, a true entrepreneurial story!!! This is a story of a 13 year old boy and how he rolling in the dough! If you have any entrepreneural stories please let me know!
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Kelly asked: "My question would be how to find a balance between wanting your teens (mine are 13 & 17) to respect you and like you? I want them to obey, but they, especially the boy, challenges me. I am thankful to have a great husband who really interacts with all of us……but, I just
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Diana left this comment in the comment section of The Two Most Important Things in Education: As our kids are getting into the higher teens and they are getting income from various places we have struggled with what to require of them (for example a friend our ours has her children contribute hal
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Heard this song for the first time last night. I immediately thought of my young friend Ben, in Virginia, who just turned 17; he has restored an old Farmall tractor. Which made me think about the character he is building with that tractor. I love it when young men are doing manly thin
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Once you have invested in a good pair of scissors you'll want to take good care of them. With use and time they will need to be sharpened. Being able to sharpen your own scissors (and knives) is a valuable skill to have. Blade sharpening can be a profitable skill for boys, how many homemakers g
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If you have ever taken one of my sewing classes you've heard me stress the rule of NOT cutting paper (or anything else) with fabric scissors. Fabric scissors should be saved (hidden away from children and men who want to cut EVERYTHING but fabric) in a safe place and only used for fabric. Have yo
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This would be a good project for the boys, especially if you have a game room where drinks get spilled easily.
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Things to do in your yard before winter: Trim trees if there are branches close to the house or electrical wires. Dig up and transfer flower bulbs, plant spring bulbs. Mulch perennial flower beds. Reseed bare spots in the lawn. Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks. Move potted p
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There are all kinds of things that need to be done to get ready for winter, many things you can assign to your older children. Making sure that the house is ready for winter can make you more comfortable and save you money in the end. Here are a few suggestions: Furnace Inspection - Have y
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The grass is always greener on the other side... only to find that it still needs to be mowed. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher! If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet there is more manure there!
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All parents, well good parents at least, want their children to grow up to be responsible, respectable, productive adults. No parent is proud when their adult 'child' becomes a bum who squanders time, talent and money. I am simply amazed at the stupidity of this extended adolescence phenomena that
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Last week I shared these really cool videos on how to build a deck. Here is a link from the Lowes website that will allow you to put in the dimensions and location of a deck, then it will calculate how many boards and other supplies you will need. It's really neat! This would make a great real li
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Here are some really good tutorials produced by Lowes to show you how to build a deck. These would be really good for your young men to watch to understand how a deck is built and get familiar with the terms that builders use.
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I have been going through all of the family scrapbooks and BOXES of pictures trying to get a 50th wedding anniversary book together for Jeff's parents in a couple of weeks. Nothing like hours of old pictures to make you feel melancholy...and old. Then the florist called to say I had a delivery...
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As I thought about writing this post to honor my husband on Father's Day I tried to think of one word to describe him and the word Grit came to mind. Grit – is the ability to stick with a task and persevere over a long period of time, even when the going gets tough, while keeping long-t
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From The Art of Manliness website: So I’d like to suggest a definition of maturity for our modern age. And it’s embodied in this phrase: Create More, Consume Less. Boys are consumers. When they’re young, their parents set up their experiences for them; their only job is to sit back and
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We have a big campfire circle that my amazing husband built about 20 years ago. The circle has hosted many, many cookouts and birthday parties! I love our fall cookouts when we have to pull our chairs up close to get warm. Although hot dogs are really bad for you, is there anything better than
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I'm going to start a new series called, How to Work It Out. We all know that character and a good work ethic is important, but how to go about practically living that out is sometimes hard to figure out. With this series I'd like to spotlight some parents that are (or have finished) equipping their
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in the yard! Tonight Jeff helped Josh replace the brakes on his Jeep. They worked until well after dark. Tonight Jeff was the one holding the flash light as his son did the work. Jeff was reminding him when he was young and he had to hold the flash light how the light shone everywhere but it
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You should give your refrigerator a good cleaning once a month. (Be sure to watch the Brian Reagan video at the end - He's a HOOT!) First take everything out and throw away anything that is outdated. Remove shelves and bins. Unplug before you start cleaning it. I use hot soapy (dish liquid) wa
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Here is a question from one of our readers about boys: How do you motivate your boy (mine is 11) to become more ‘hands on’ rather than sit with his nose in a book? He’ll do it if prompted several times by his father, but not with any motivation and enthusiasm as we’d hope. Granted it ma
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Everything requires training which means that nothing is immediate or effort-free. In early America most people learned their family's trade or they participated in an apprenticeship. Boys would live and work with a master craftsman for at least four to five years. Once the appre
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Our family's choice:
Character is higher than intellect.
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