When my kids were younger we came across a resource that I just loved called Doorposts. Something brought it to mind recently, and I googled it to see if it was still in business, and was happy to see that it was.

It was begun by a home-schooling family who made up these resources for their own needs and then made them available for others. What I most love about them is the Scriptural focus and basis. One item that was really popular among my friends years ago was the “If-Then” chart. It was designed to help parenting be more consistent. It listed several offenses on one side, a Scripture verse illustrating why the behavior was wrong, and a place for you to put what the penalty would be. There’s also a Blessing Chart that follows a similar format except that it focuses on the positive: rewarding good behavior.

I enjoyed many of their books as well. One was A Day of Delight, about ways to make the “day of rest” special and enjoyable. If you want to be convicted to the core of your being, see A Checklist for Parents. Their book I consulted most often was For Instruction In Righteousness. It covers over 50 topics (like pride, anger, being a busybody, etc.), lists verses on that topic and verses about what happens to people who engage in those behaviors, ideas for discipline, how God blesses people who resist that sin, ideas for reward and encouragement when children show progress in overcoming, and stories and people in the Bible who obeyed or disobeyed in that area. It’s a wonderful resource not only when a problem area comes up in a child’s life, but also to use in family devotions.

There are also doll kits and coloring books.

Most of the books were originally written in the mom of the family’s calligraphy and cute illustrations which makes for a very homey resource.

See Rocks In My Dryer for more tips that work for others.