How to Form Habits and Change Your Life

Disclosure

Habits.

Discipline.

Change.

Scary words for many people. As someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, I feel the exact same way. And anyone coming from a point of overwhelm (and let’s be real, far too many moms get stuck in overwhelm!) is going to have a hard time setting big goals because they will just add to the overwhelm. So the question is how to form habits without getting defeated, feeling intimidated or becomeing even more overwhelmed?

(If you’re interested, check out my post to read more about How to Deal With Anxiety.)

I have always felt like there is a part of me that should be able to do more. Be more. There are so many people out there who can handle so much more than me so why can’t I? So many other people have success in shaping their lives through discipline and habits and hard work, why not me?

Have you ever felt like you are just watching all these people who seem to have things together and wondering “why not me?”

Making Excuses

I am a queen of excuse making. I joke about how I can justify anything.

Chocolate? It has iron and I’m often bordering on deficiency.
Popcorn twists? It’s the one of the few things I can eat while dealing with morning sickness so they can’t be that bad.
Being a couch potato? My baby needs to nurse frequently and, when she isn’t nursing, the toddler needs lots of hugs and cuddles too. So I’m not being lazy, I’m meeting needs a building relationships.
Reading instead of doing laundry? I need to get more education on how to improve my housekeeping skills and systems.

It is actually an unfortunate “skill” that I use far too often to prevent myself from getting ahead. In the book Do It Scared by Ruth Soukup there is a whole chapter dedicated to making excuses. The lesson I took away from that chapter is that a good excuse is still just an excuse.

A good excuse is still just an excuse.

Since reading that, I’ve started trying to justify why my excuses don’t actually make sense. Arguing the other side of the coin, so to speak.

How to Reframe Excuses

Excuse: My energy level and back injury make most exercise choices and routines impossible.
Reframe: What CAN I do with my current energy level and back pain?

Excuse: My kids make messes faster than I can clean them up so why bother starting?
Reframe: I don’t need to do it all but what is one thing I can focus on?

Excuse: I can’t pursue my hobbies because my kids, marriage, and home take all my time and energy.
Reframe: I manage to find time to read a bit or scroll through social media and volunteer at church so how can I break down my hobby into 10-15 minute increments and redirect my mind toward it?

As mothers, it is so easy to get caught up in putting out fires all day.

If you are a homeschooling mother or mother of young ones you are also pushing your kids through their routines all day.

Then throw in the perpetual guilt about that laundry pile that you “should” be tackling instead of doing something productive for yourself.

The new year just passed and many people try to set resolutions but, let’s be honest: no one ever follows through on those things, right? Yup. It’s not just you. 80% of resolutions get dropped within the first month.

So instead of focusing on unattainable resolutions, take some time to think of good habits you would like to develop instead. Think about what you would like to change in your life to bring a sense of peace to your home or a feeling of accomplishment.

Then break it down and find just one small habit that would get you one step closer.

Then all that’s left is finding a system to help you keep track of where you’re at.

System Options

Habit Tracker Sticker chart

I am an avid user of sticker charts for my kids. They have boxes and clip art and putting a pretty sticker on the chart is a small reward in itself. I figured if it worked for them then it might work for me too. So, in the past, I made myself a sticker chart. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy filling in the boxes with stickers. It wasn’t complicated. Just a table in MS Word with stock clip art. But it was colorful and fun to use.

Habit Tracker Scorecard

Lisa Canning, author of The Possibility Mom, talks about the scorecard. I believe she actually borrowed the idea from a different book but she is the one who showed me the template. It looks a bit overwhelming but it can be used digitally or it can be printed out and hung in a place you look everyday. All you do is read it a few times a day and check the box. Not as visually appealing as the sticker chart but it works just as well.

Habit Tracker Phone App

There is always an app for that, isn’t there? I currently use an app called Loop – Habit Tracker, which is only available on Android but I know there are many other good apps as well. I almost always have my phone available and often look at it during the day anyway so I decided to make it my friend instead of my distraction. I do not have any social media on it and have made a whole screen dedicated to habit widgets. (For those who have Apple devices, widgets are the number 1 feature you’re missing out on!) Several times a day I flip to this screen to see which boxes I have yet to check. I color coded to make it more visually appealing and use it just like I did my sticker chart or score card. There are many fancier apps out there but making it simple to see the habit and progress is a key factor in a habit tracking system. It is either checked or not checked and refreshes every day.

No matter which system you use, don’t get too caught up in “streaks” of good days. While this can be exciting, you’re going to have a bad streak at some point and don’t want the discouragement to throw you off. Every day is a fresh start and a new opportunity to to check your boxes.

Focus one one day at a time. Put one foot in front of the other. Choose one small habit to move you forward. You don’t need to start with overwhelming goals in which you don’t control the results. Focus instead on what you can do: just do the next right thing.

If you’ve always wondered how you can form habits, the next right step is to print out the free Habit Workbook I designed which will walk you through the habit setting process step by step. It also includes a printable habit tracker to track several habits that you can add to as you get better at changing habits.

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3 Steps to Live Better

by Tessa | Personal Development

3 Steps to Live Better

Disclosure

Have you ever heard of how to eat an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time. It’s a pretty similar process when you want to live better.

This is the continuation of my previous post. In that post I gave you a partial list of my lifestyle improvement goals and asked you to make your own list. I hope that you now have your own list made and I hope that you went nuts on it and made a great word picture of how you want your life to look. If you haven’t done the assignment there yet, first head on over to read about taking steps to live a better life and then you’ll be ready to come back here to learn about using these 3 steps to live better.

Do you want to improve your life? It sounds like such a ginormous feat! But you eat an elephant one bite at a time and you also improve your life one step at a time.

1st Step to Live Better:

Choose an area or two that you feel the most overwhelmed with or that you feel are the most important areas to move forward. I chose housework and Jesus. (Remember when the answer to every question asked in Sunday School was “Jesus?” He’s the answer here too.)

2nd Step to Live Better

Choose one sub-topic in that area.

Housework: My “sub topic” was my dining table. It was piled like a meter high with junk and it was a nuisance when trying to eat dinner at the table and it was an eyesore and it made me feel like my entire life was piled a meter high with junk. I can’t tell you how good it is to walk into the room and my table is clear and clean (even if it is just for a few minutes a day). For some people they get this feeling by shining their sink, another mom I know got that feeling from cleaning off her kitchen island, another for keeping the entryway clear.
Jesus: I wanted to find a way to get to know Him better to make him a larger part of my life.

If something feels impossible, focus on doing just one small thing at a time.

3rd Step to Live Better

Make a simple plan and jump in:

Housework: I made it my goal to clear off the table (done over a few weeks of 10-15 min per day spurts) and keep it clear. I don’t do it every single day (sometimes we’re out the door before I have time to do it) but I don’t beat myself up over it. Slowly my table expanded to doing my dishes every day. And with no dishes piled up everywhere I was/am able to wipe my countertops every day. When I get behind and I look at my kitchen and get overwhelmed I simply go back to square one: clear and clean the table.
Jesus: Everywhere that I looked and everything that I read and all the convictions in my heart told me that the best way to improve my relationship with the Lord is to read His Word. Sounds simple enough but I’m going to have to be perfectly honest with you: outside of church and the ladies Bible study that I attended, I pretty much never picked up my Bible. I made a goal to increase my Scripture intake. I figured that I dedicate more than 15 minutes per day to social media alone, not including the articles I read on it and, more recently, Pinterest. The least I could do was give 15 minutes a day to get to know the One who gave His life for me. Ouch. What a reality check that was for me! I tried last year shortly after I had the baby but he was….. hard and I didn’t keep up with my reading. So I started all over this year. Who cares if I “failed” my attempt at this last year? I’m doing way better this year! Currently on day 162 of a 365 day plan. Woot! Last year’s failures don’t need to dictate this year’s success.

So let’s recap:

First you will need to choose a major area or two of importance.

Second you will need to find your bite sized piece.

Third is to take a bite. And then another. But just start with one bite.

You may not have conquered the world but you are one bite closer than you were 10 minutes ago!

What is the bite-sized improvement that you working on right now? A really great way to work through a life improvement brainstorm and then track your results is with my custom Habit Tracker and Workbook. Enter your email to get the free printable and get started with your personalized steps to live better.

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by Tessa | Personal Development

3 Step Plan for How To Set and Keep New Year’s Resolutions

Disclosure

Last week I gave you some Ideas for New Years Resolutions and this week I would like to share some methods for how to keep your New Years resolutions. Because what good is it to set resolutions if you aren’t able to keep them?

As a kid, I loved the first day of school. The new pens and notebooks and binders and paper. New schedule, new classes, new learning possibilities, new goals.

Now that I’m not a student anymore, that’s how I feel about New Years. New calendar. New tax year and savings year. New life possibilities.

I can’t remember the first time I heard about the idea of New Years’ resolutions but I think there is an innate part of me that has always made them and appreciated the process. I’ve been making resolutions as long as I remember.

Here’s the shocking part: I have actually managed to keep my resolutions! Well, most of them anyway.

I’m pretty sure that we have all heard that 80% of people fail at their resolutions by February so what’s the magic formula to be one of the few who can consistently keep new years resolutions?

Having a plan, reviewing it regularly, and taking action.

Resolution: the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.

Resolutions are not meant to be pie-in-the-sky wishes that someday, maybe, hopefully, they will come true. They are meant to take that wish and apply the “how.” You need to figure out what you can do to accomplish that goal or make that dream or hope a reality. Then you resolve to take action toward that goal.

Something like 90% of what we do is done out of habit. So if we want to achieve certain goals or resolutions, the easiest way would be to make the steps towards them into habits.

The simplest method to make your plan is to download my Habit Tracker Workbook. It will walk you through a quick brainstorming session for goal setting in different areas of your life, and then help you figure out how to accomplish that and where to begin.

The workbook also includes a specially designed habit tracker that you can hang up to help you regularly review and allows you to get that satisfaction of checking off that little box each time you take that step forward in action as you begin to succeed at your resolutions. (Bit of neuroscience for you: That little dopamine rush at checking off a box makes you more likely to want to follow through!)

A few simple yet powerful ways to create new habits to help you keep your New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Visual reminders: Write out the habits that you want to create that will get you closer to your goal. Hang them up around your house in areas where you’ll see them and be regularly reminded of what you want to accomplish. Some high traffic places are above the kitchen sink, on the bathroom mirror, on the fridge, near your computer. You could hang up just the paper or even get frames to put them in. My favorite solution is a simple page protector because I can easily switch them out to work on a new habit each month. It also protects the paper from my little people’s hands and from splatter of dishwater.

2. Audio reminders: Most people have a cell phone and nearly all cell phones have an alarm capability. Set an alarm to remind you to about your habit.

3. Physical anchors: Evaluate your day and recognize the things that you do by habit and tie another habit to it. For example, I already drink a coffee each day but want to increase my water intake. So I drink my water before I allow myself a coffee. In an effort to reduce/eliminate pain from a back injury a few years ago, I want to strengthen my core. I’m going to tie core exercises to my husband’s lunch hour (so he can hold the baby).

If you’ve been looking for ideas for new years resolutions, you can check out last weeks post for inspiration and then enter your email to get my free printable habit tracker and workbook. Keep in mind the information you’ve learned in this article (visual reminders, audio reminders, and physical anchors) and you’ll finally be one of the people who can keep your new years resolutions and begin finding peace and success in the New Year.

Once you’ve worked through the habit tracker and workbook, send me an email or leave a comment with the resolution or habit that you think will have the biggest impact.

How to Form Habits and Change Your Life

Habits. Discipline. Change. Scary words for many people. As someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, I feel...

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12 New Years Resolution Ideas to Increase Health, Peace and Happiness

by Tessa | Personal Development

12 New Years Resolution Ideas to Increase Health, Peace and Happiness

Disclosure

What if you could actually improve your life through your new years resolutions?

What if today you could be changing your life for the better?

What if today you were beautiful, fit, and healthy?

What if today you had more peace in your home and family?

What if today you were happier and had more love and friendship in your life?

Don’t join a gym only to never go. Don’t resolve to lose weight only to get discouraged when it doesn’t go according to plan. Instead, make some life altering new years resolutions that you can actually follow through on. Below I’ve shared some ideas for new years resolutions that will bring your more peace, health, and happiness:

1. Go to bed on time, and not so you can get up earlier. Just give up some of your evening so you can be more rested.

2. Eat more green stuff.

3. Read to your kids more. Not just listening to an audiobook but actually sitting with them and reading a paperback book. If you want some suggestions, my Book List for Boys is a good starting place. (Don’t be fooled by the title as many of the books are loved by girls as well.)

4. Spend at least 20 min outside each day. Yes, even on cold days. (Speaking to myself here as I tend to avoid the cold like the plague.)

Until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.

–Napoleon Hill

5. Drink more water or milk and less coffee, juice, soda, or whatever your poison is. Just try drinking a cup of water or milk before your next cup of coffee.

6. Cook more often. Eating premade meals gets expensive and is often not as healthy. For an easy dinner to add to your meal rotation, feel free to read how my easy meal plan helps spaghetti saves my sanity.

7. Compliment someone daily. You will learn to look for the good in people which will improve your day and many people go for years without recieving a genuine compliment so you can change their life too.

8. Put less unnatural products on or in your body. You don’t actually need all the hair products, face goop, or lotions. You don’t need all the treats or takeout. Trust me, you’ll be fine without them. Plus you’ll save money!

9. Say no more often. Practice in front of the mirror. Practice different methods of saying no (ex. I would love to help but I just can’t make it fit in my schedule at this time.). Start by saying no to small things. Like your children… really. They don’t need to have or do all the things. Nothing bad will happen if they don’t experience everything as a child.

10. Declutter. Less stuff means less stress which leads to better health. Plus it will be less to clean up. Ideas to declutter: CDs or DVDs (almost everything is digital these days), clothing that doesn’t fit or you dont even like anymore, extra or unused kitchen utensils and gadgets, old cell phones and chargers.

11. Make a family photo album. How many of your photos are sitting on a smart phone or computer harddrive? Start by putting them all in one place. Then pick some to print out and put them in an album. It doesn’t need to be a fancy scrapbook. Just slide them into the photo sleeves so the kids can flip through their history. (Talking to myself again here: no fancy scrapbook needed, digital or otherwise!)

12. Beautify your home. It does not necessarily have to be Pinterest worthy, but personalize it. Make it your own. I am a minimalist when it comes to decor and much of what I have is things people thought I would like that I put up to appease them and never took down. But I have two pieces I really love: my calla lillies and my clock. So they hang in living room where I see and appreciate them every day. Find one or two things that speak to your heart.

I can’t guarantee any dramatic life changes for the next year if you follow these resolution ideas. But I can guarantee that your New Year will have more peace, health, and happiness. You don’t need to do all. Focus on one a month, or just pick your top three for the year.
Drop your email below to get access to my Habit Workbook which you can use to figure out exactly which resolutions you should make for your life to have the biggest impact. You should also read my my article on how to succeed at your for New Years resolutions with some easy to follow steps to help make these second nature.

How to Form Habits and Change Your Life

Habits. Discipline. Change. Scary words for many people. As someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, I feel...

3 Steps to Live Better

Have you ever heard of how to eat an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time. It's a pretty similar process when you...

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Last week I gave you some Ideas for New Years Resolutions and this week I would like to share some methods for how to...

12 New Years Resolution Ideas to Increase Health, Peace and Happiness

What if you could actually improve your life through your new years resolutions? What if today you could be changing...

Book List for Boys

by Tessa | Homeschooling, Personal Development

Book List for Boys

Disclosure

After writing about how to encourage boys to love reading, I promised that I would share a book list for boys based on what has been popular for my sons and their friends. Since Christmas is coming up, this could also be a Christmas gift guide for boys on your list. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to give something other than toys. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

Just a note: I am an Amazon affiliate and, at no extra cost to you, I may earn a commission if you decide to purchase through one of the following links.

Books for Babies and Toddlers

A few notes about these books:

Big Red Barn: After I borrowed it from the library and my eldest, who was 2 at the time, fell asleep while listening to the lyrical story, it has not only been a family favorite but a book that I gift to nearly all new parents.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: I found this gem at a used book store and, while I held fond memories of the story from when I was young, I wasn’t sure how it would go over. Turns out it is my toddler’s favorite story and sometimes the only way we can calm him down after a difficult nap wakeup.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Not much needs to be said about this classic book. Dare I say it has an almost cult-like following? But it’s still a winner and, in addition to the stuffed animals and various caterpillar toys, I learned recently that there’s a toddler app that is crazy adorable! One of the few apps where I actually purchased the full version.

Snuggle Puppy: I don’t actually own this one but a friend does. The love for this book can be clearly seen in this heartwarming and adorable video of her reading it to her daughter.

That’s Not My Tractor: If you haven’t yet hear of it, let me introduce you to the That’s Not My…” series. Every single one of these has been a hit. And we have several. As a bonus, if you know an Usborne rep, you can often support a WAHM by purchasing from her.

On the Night You Were Born: This is another that is often in my “new parent” gift package. It is about celebrating the uniqueness of your little one. Beautiful rhymes that make for a perfect bedtime or cuddle time story.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site: The first time my boys heard these stories was at my parents. Unfortunately that meant it would have been overkill to purchase them for my own shelves as we live right across the yard from my parents and these books were special to their time together. But last Christmas my mom decided to give them to my sister’s boys, who live farther away, as a reminder of their sweet times with Opa and Oma. So now they’re back on my wishlist for my boys (hint hint, in case anyone reading this knows us and is wondering what to get!)

Little Blue Truck: Every time I take my kids to the library, this is the book my littlest ones grab. A cute story that you won’t mind reading over and over… and over and over.

The Wonky Donkey: If you haven’t seen the video that went viral a few years ago, you can watch as a Grandma reads Wonky Donkey. When you’ve finished drying your eyes after laughing at that video, you’ll see why this is not only a hit with the kids but with the parents too.

First 100 Trucks and Things That Go: Bright pictures of real vehicles and a soft cover that kids love to hold. What little boy wouldn’t adore this? Alas, this is another that my parents own so I don’t have it here. Thankfully they can flip through it whenever we go across the road.

Mommy Loves Her Baby/Daddy Loves His Baby: We used to read this two sided book every night with our older two. Then it got shelved for a few years. The younger two boys recently pulled it out and I have read it numerous times since then. This is out of print so you’d have to get a used copy, usually with library markings, but it is worth it times 1000! We add in our child’s names to make it every more special (“Mommy loves her Asher like the fishies love the seas”)

Eric Carle Box Set: Most people are familier with The Very Hungry Caterpiller but Eric Carle has so many other great books as well. No child’s library is complete without several of his titles.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

MyM Books for Young Boys

Tacky the Penguin: A fun little diddy about a penguin who isn’t like all the others. He doesn’t march in time with the others but that’s okay because he’s still pretty awesome. My more active boys like to get up and copy his funny walk while they’re listening. Not all story times need to be calm! There are actually several Tacky books that are all super fun.

Curious George: I hope I don’t need to say anything about this curious and mischievous yet incredibly lucky monkey. Things just always seem to work out for him.

Magic School Bus: There are various versions of these books but these older ones are our favorites. They are, unfortunately, out of print but you can often find them used. I bought about 20 of them at a garage sale and they have been loved so much that some of them are nearly laminated in packing tape from the amount of repairs I’ve made. The only one I would caution about it the dinosaurs book as there is a pretty graphic picture of one dinosaur eating another. My more sensitive children didn’t like that image. If you don’t have Netflix, the Magic School Bus DVD series of the older episodes are pretty awesome too (but this is a book list so… get the books!)

Clifford Collection: The puppy days series is cute for really young children but my middle kids like enjoy the classics more.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site: Dejavu? Yes, this is in the list twice. This version is not a board book but it glows in the dark. Perfect for bedtime stories for older children who no longer tear pages.

Drumheller Dinosaur Dance: In spite of the fact that this book is about dinosaur bones coming out of the ground to dance all night (which sounds very creepy as I type it out) it has provided many moments of giggles for my boys. We actually live not to far from the Dinosaur Provincial Park and have visited the Drumheller Dinosaur Museum so this one holds a special place on our shelves. That and it is just plain fun to read!

The Jesus Storybook Bible: We have had a lot of children’s Bibles but this one is, by far, our favorite. It weaves the story from creation, to Jesus, to the new heaven and earth together in such a way that you the kids can finally understand the purpose of the old testament and see how God has worked through all of history. Many families get a copy of this Bible for each child as a keepsake. The movies aren’t full cartoon (more just moving images) but the boys love it anyway. Then add in the audio version for car trips and you’ve got the perfect Bible gift set.

See Inside Second World War: This lift the flap book first caught their interest because it had tanks. Then they learned to read the words beside and their love of history started.

See Inside How Things Work: This series of lift the flap books from Usborne are just wonderful. This one about machines is sure to pique your boy’s interest as many boys would rather figure out the how things work than the why things work.

First Big Book of How: This book by National Geoprahic has great pictures and lots of interesting little blurbs that will bring your kids on an exciting adventure as the expand their curiosity as well as reading skills. You hook them with the cool picutres and then they want to keep going as they learn how things work.

Big Book of Big Machines: This book has more cartoony pictures but the information it gives about the uses of different machines and how they work is more in depth than you would expect. As a farmer, I am always nervous about farm machinery facts writted by city people but their description of how a combine works was pretty impressive!

Book List Older Boys

Castle Diary: Information and a story about life in a medieval castle that your boy can keep coming back to and can lead to many other books in the medieval time period.

The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia: Small bites to read and lots of variety and awesome pictures. The perfect book for a boy who doesn’t want to read. Draw them in with the pictures and they stick around for the education and reading practice.

Imagination Station: If you are familiar with Magic Treehouse you’ll understand the gist of these as they are a Christian version. I find they are written much better though. The series is about a couple of kids go back in time and learn about that period and they learn a life lesson. It is a great introduction to chapter books or makes an exciting but not scary bedtime read aloud.

Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armour: Boys usually like guns. And tanks. And swords. I managed to keep any weapon paraphernalia out of my house for quite a while but they still found sticks and made lego guns. So I bought this book. This book has some amazing pictures of historical artifacts and, even though they weren’t reading yet, my boys would flip through this book for ages. As they developed reading skills, they started to take in the facts and, at this point, my boys know way more about history (battles, culture, rise and fall of kingdoms etc) than I do. All because I hooked them with pictures of weapons.

Diary of an 8-bit Warrior: Minecraft + graphics + intriguing character = the first chapter books my 8yo ever read. He started truly reading earlier this year and his 11yo brother loved these books so much that he figured he would give them a try. He jumped from barely reading to reading this whole series of chapter books. I wasn’t about to tell them they were too advanced for him. These were lent by a friends who’s son had very little interest in reading but loved these books. If your boy is into Minecraft, these are a sure winner. They look to be a bit on the younger end but even my husband enjoyed reading them aloud for bedtimes (so the 6 year old could hear the story his brothers raved about) so they can be fun for older kids as well.

Ralph S. Mouse: Another cute story about a mouse who drives a motorcycle. Clean and interesting enough to capture a boy’s attention.

Virtual reality: This book comes with an app that allows children to really get into the topic, whether it be looking into space or peering underwater at ocean creatures. Younger kids will enjoy this as well but may need help and older kids will have a lot of fun with it.

A Pioneer Story: This is so much more than just a story about a pioneer family. It has activity ideas that will help your children connect more with pioneer times. It has life lessons. It can help them develop an appreciation for the advanced technological time we live in. And it can offer creative ideas for your children to get outsdie in the great outdoors. Don’t tell my kids but this but it will be under our tree because we’ve borrowed it from the library so many times it just doesn’t make sense not to have it on our own shelves.

A Way Through the Sea: A gentle introduction into the lives of children during WW2. We were gifted a copy by a friend who had them growing up but I believe they are currently out of print. I normally prefer my boys to have hard copies in hand but this was such a great series that I linked to the kindle version. We have a tablet with kindle and, as I was looking up this link, I learned that there are 8 books in the series, not 5. So I plan to get the rest of the series for my boys sometime soon.

The Chronicles of Narnia: No book list would be complete without this series. Some of the books (particularly The Silver Chair) are little more intence but most of the series is great for boys. And adults. I have to be honest and say that I bought these for myself and it was just a perk that the boys are enjoying them too. But with the action and adventure in them, who could blame them?

The Prince Warriors: These books look intimidating to a new reader but are a good enough story that they’ll plug through. They are fantasy but with an allegorical theme, similar to Chronicles of Narnia. The kids go into a fantasy world where they fight evil and earn their armour and weapons. Each piece of armour represents a character trait that they need to develop before they earn it. They are well written, the story is a page turner and it has a good ending.

Dragon Keepers Chronicles Series: This is another fantasy series with good lessons. But this time it involves dragons. If your kids like How to Train a Dragon, they’ll love these as well. Each character gets more than one dragon in this series and they can harness the powers of each as required. The kids save villages and fight against the bad guy who is trying to get a dragon army to defeat the dragon keepers (sound familiar?). Another series with what could be seen as an allegorical theme, similar to Chronicle of Narnia. It was a pleasant surprise to find a series about dragons with themes that I feel good about introducing to my children.

Wartime Farm: This is originally a BBC TV mini-series (which you can find on YouTube) that has been expanded on and turned into a book. It has a bit of history and a bit of homesteading-type stuff. The people live for a year as if they were in the 1940s. They eat according to rations at the time, plant and harvest according to agricultural methods, and live with only conveniences found during that time period. BBC has also done TV mini-series with matching books on Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastary Farm, and Victorian Farm. We have watched all the series at least once and, after he read the books, my 11yo filled us in on so many more details and factoids that enhanced the show for us.

Who Was Series: There are so many books in this series about a huge variety of famous people. There was also a show on Netflix that was full of silliness and songs but also nice facts (maybe it is still there?). This series looks like it is quite juvenile but I found the text in the books was a bit much for my younger ones. The 8yo and 11yo have borrowed them from the library and managed to glean quite a bit more information from them. Learning about real people is something that captures the attention of most boys. Usborne had a good youth level biography series as well (beautiful and hard cover with color picutres) but they are quite a bit more expensive than these. You can get a lot more people introduced to your boys with more affordable books.

I know there are an infinite amount of books out there and it can be overwhelming to figure out which ones are actually worth it. Some are worth borrowing from the library but there are certain books that are worth the investment to house on your own shelves to allow your child to pick them up time and time again. Books really are an investment in your child’s education and future. Even if all they want to read is fantasy or graphic novels, getting your boy used to reading is one of the best gifts you can give them!