BOZ BUZZ eNewsletter

Happy Easter from Your Friends at Exclaim!

Easter plays out in many different ways: Sunrise services … Easter brunch … Easter egg hunts … Easter bonnets … chocolate bunnies … and so much more. It's a day for families and friends to gather and celebrate the beauty of God's ultimate gift.

This Easter, make some time to talk through the meaning of Easter with your preschoolers. Help them better understand the significance of this holiday and how it relates to your faith.

Each month, BOZ Buzz provides you with family activities from MOPS International and parenting tips from FamilyLife. You can click here to see previous activities and tips.

"BOZ is all about Discovering God's World…Together," says Jon Green, Co-Creator of BOZ. "We are looking forward to working together with our partners FamilyLife and MOPS International for years to come."

The feeling is mutual.

"At MOPS International, we want to encourage and equip mothers of preschoolers with resources that help make them the best moms possible," says Elisa Morgan, MOPS International CEO and President. "That's why we believe BOZ is a great parenting tool for moms and their children."

"FamilyLife is excited to be partnering with Exclaim Entertainment as they introduce BOZ to families," says Dennis Rainey, President and Co-Founder of FamilyLife. "Parents will appreciate BOZ as a tool that reinforces what they're teaching their kids."

Teaching moments for preschoolers occur often. Make the most of your opportunities this Easter … and every day.

Passing On Values

At just seven years old, Scott has a vocabulary that can only be described as shocking. It's not shocking in how large it is. Instead, it's shocking in how harsh it is … nearly all of the time. The shock ends when you meet Scott's dad.

This apple did not fall far from the tree. Either intentionally or through his example, Scott's dad had taught Scott that people owed him something, that anger gets you what you want, and that the feelings of others don't matter.

Like Scott's dad, we teach our children every day. Here are some questions to help you examine what and how you are teaching them:

How are you teaching them to see the world? … Other people? … God?
Are you teaching them to be more like you or more like God?
Are your lessons driven by your culture? … Your upbringing? … Your faith?
How will these lessons impact them and their future families?

As a parent, take time to evaluate what values you are teaching. Once you do, you can be confident that the values they're learning are worth passing on.

Check out next month's BOZ Buzz for another great FamilyLife parenting tip. And if you'd like more parenting insights, go to FamilyLife’s website.

Naptime Reading

At many homes, it's just not bedtime without bedtime reading. That special time when mom or dad (or both!) sit down and read with their preschoolers.

Yet we may be missing out on another great opportunity to read with our preschoolers: naptime. So oftentimes we put our worn-out child into their bed at naptime knowing a limited respite is at hand.

But is reading only good at bedtime? What about naptime? You can make naptime easier while instilling good values in your children by reading to them!

Reading to your children before naptime accomplishes many things, including:

Giving children the gift of being read to
Settling down their bodies, slowing down their heart rates, and preparing them to sleep
Providing a positive emotional transition to sleep
Offering special one-on-one time with you
Starting their exposure to books, which sets children up to become stronger readers when they start school

Books are a wonderful resource of moms — not only at bedtime, but also at naptime! Try reading to your preschooler at naptime today!

Adapted from Juggling Tasks, Tots, & Time, by Cathy Penshorn

MOPS International will have another great activity for you and your preschooler next month in the BOZ Buzz. To discover more great Mom-centered resources and tools, visit the MOPS International website.