Meet My New Book ~ First Steps in Missions

First Steps in Missions, Ideas and Activities for Preschoolers and Teachers

 by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I'm honored to announce the release of First Steps in Missions, Ideas and Activities for Preschoolers and Teachers, Volume 22.

What? You already have a copy?

True. It was available in late summer. I was barely available. Thank you for going on without me and getting your copy!

My honey and I were eyebrow deep in cleaning, packing, sorting, storing, and donating our belongings. Why? We sold our home. I should say, God sold our home. In 3 days.

That was a quick sale and left us with no free time to do anything. Except move.

Never fear, we are not homeless. Many of you have already seen the pictures. We are full-time RV'ers living in a solid (though you can feel it move when walking inside), warm (we hope), and quite spacious RV with our 2 crazy kitties. The excitement and adventure is fantastic! Let's just not mention the period of adjustment, shall we?

In the midst of this transition, First Steps in Missions was released. I'm very excited to see this work in print.

In honor of this project, I am going to take a monthly walk through each chapter and area of the world, choose my favorite activity, and flesh out additional ways to use the activity with preschoolers. So much fun!

Coming soon: September fun in the Philippines.

If you would like your own copy, I'm thrilled to direct you on the right paths. First Steps in Missions, Volume 22

Thanks for stopping by!

The Stack (of Paper)

The completed manuscript with sources, sketches, and documents

This is what I've been up to. Instead of blogging.

There is not much time left in my days (weeks, months) after planning, writing, editing, printing, sourcing, compiling, emailing, packaging, and mailing this baby.

Oh, yes. This is my baby. The first half of a 12-month activity book for preschoolers and missions has been delivered (emailed and mailed) to my faithful preschool resource team at Woman's Missionary Union.

The completed manuscript package and its twin - the emergency copy that can be mailed if the PO loses the original

Now they get to do their huge part.

And I will continue on with the above steps for the second half of the book.

The writing life is grand.   

A glimpse of the chaos that is my office, including desk, side table, and floor

The Help

Meet the help.

Stats: 2 year-old male
Experience: Negligible
Status: Volunteer
Job assignment: Laundry assistant
Recruited by: Head cook, housekeeper, and bottle washer

Sometimes help is required. Today was such a day. Recruiting was simple, as above mentioned volunteer adores time spent opening and closing doors.

 

The dryer has a door that opens and closes. It also has a lint trap that can be taken out, cleaned, and replaced.

Success rate: 100 % (per number of items folded, er, rolled and piled on top)

Comments: Supervisor says recruit shows much promise. With proper training and years of experience, volunteer will be able to exhibit superior laundry folding skills.

Tip: Train the help early. The younger, the better.

Poll: What jobs have you trained your volunteers to do? How young did you start the training program? Success rate?

Beeb Boy Can See Just Fine

I just love preschoolers. Of course that's true, you say, since I'm the Nana. But even with my students, who were not mine other than belonging to my class, I loved them as well.

Preschoolers are cool! They are funny, real, silly, clumsy, investigative, curious, destructive, messy, loud, drippy, smelly, lovey, energetic - absorbent little sponges.

The Beeb Boy, my new nickname for Donavyn, is indeed a toddler/preschooler. He is all of the above. His current favorite food, besides all foods, is beebs.

To you lay folk, that would be berries. Any type of berries. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. Actually he loves fruit. Period.

The Beeb Boy can spy a strawberry beeb in the garden with excellent accuracy. Sadly, Nana has disgusting irrigation water for the garden, so she has to do the picking and washing first. But Beeb Boy knows what he sees and wants to eat.

Just the other day he noticed the beeb on a shelf over my stove. The beeb in question is actually a red strawberry sugar bowl. It really looks like a strawberry. Today Beeb Boy was noticing the beeb on the shelf. So I pulled it down so he could see it was made of glass and had sugar in it.

What did he do? Yes. Beeb Boy stuck out his tongue and took a lick. LOL

That was disappointing! I'm sure he thought it would be a giant beeb just for him.

Our family has two new names for berries. Strawbabies (Khloe) and beebs (Donavyn). Did you know that preschoolers could enrich your vocabulary this much?

It's beebs and shortbread for dessert tonight, honey.

PS Beeb Boy, who recently had eye surgery - wow, almost a month ago - is doing very well. Thank you, Jesus!

The Carolers - Victorian Dolls Meet Khloe aka Decorating When You Are Three

The Evolution of Design

Meet Khloe, interior decorator. At three, both her decorating style and choice of wardrobe show future promise in the world of fashion and design. In our first photo, Khloe demonstrates her ability to focus on the facets of design. She steps back to view the overall picture before beginning her work.

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Caroler. They are the subject of study by designer Khloe. How to look upbeat and current? How to take a fashion stand?

Notice the touch of class added by our design protégé. A classic tiara, in teal sequins, adorns the top of Mrs. Caroler's head. In a nod to worldwide celebrations, Khloe has added a string of matching Mardi-Gras beads. Perfect touch.

At first, our top class designer, sporting her own look of princess train and crown, thought to keep with appearances and wear the crown.

But upon further consideration, Khloe, ever wise in her decisions, placed the piece de resistance upon Mrs. Caroler's head. The result? Much joy and satisfaction is evident on Khloe's youthful face.

Star watch, people, star watch.

Keep an eye on this young designer. The future will tell how her strong and confident clothing and design choices will influence leaders at even the top houses.

A Month of Thanks - November 19 - Mission Friends (aka Preschoolers)

The well-loved (talking) piano

Today, November 19, I am thankful for Mission Friends (also known as preschoolers).

I can't help it. They are so cute, inquisitive, hysterically funny, naughty, inventive, playful . . .

Take my Khloe, for instance. Yesterday we were rearranging the living room to make room for the Christmas tree. She wanted to move the kid piano over to the fireplace. This is the piano that has been loved and ecstatically used by generations of my family.

I told her it would be better to leave it where it was (in my mind, the play section of the living room). She disagreed.

(Insert squeaky piano voice) "No, I want to move over there," said Khloe, speaking for the piano.

Khloe is three. I busted up laughing. She felt quite pleased with herself.

Khloe is not the only preschooler that draws and keeps my attention. They all do. I can't help it. I love preschoolers. They bring out the best and the worst in adults, depending on what type of day they are having. They remind us of the innocence and child-like faith of being young. They love with abandon and absolutely mimic those around them (a lesson and a warning for us, right?). Energy and fun rule their days.

I am thankful for Mission Friends, preschoolers that exhibit all of the above, and want to learn about people from other cultures and parts of the world. And Mission Friends love those people. And the workers that go all over the world to love. Mission Friends exhibit that love as they learn and experience. They pray. They share. They give.j

What is not to love and be thankful for when I consider these little children?

Mission Friends Leader Mag

Old Beans = New Mess

Found some old, I mean OLD, bags of dried beans in the cupboard yesterday while I was cleaning out a drawer (summer goal - clean out every drawer in the house, just one at a time, when the chance pops up). Too old to even want to consider cooking...

The grands were present, so old beans became a new mess and fun activity for these busy two. They loved it! Papa, not so much.

But Nana knows preschoolers need to scoop and pour and make messes and spill and dump (and throw all over the garden)...

Old beans, plastic tub, scoops, tubs, old egg trays...

Et voila', fun times at Nana's.

PS I usually don't like to use food items in play, due to world hunger. But these beans were SO old and broken up, I don't think anyone would have enjoyed them. For sure, they won't now!

the end table

Not my favorite, but it came free. With the house. Unless you count it as part of the house payment. Then it was quite expensive.

Breakable, stylish (but not sure when or where), functional. Necessary, but still, not my personal choice.

Et, voila! It becomes instantly transformed from the former use as an actual end table AND a toy box for Bubba. Enter: an almost 2 year old preschooler, who unceremoniously dumps the toy box baskets, crawls inside, lays down, and is ready for a blankie, a pillow, a toy, and a cozy resting spot. A hideout!

Of course. No one can see him.

That's all we really need in life. Imagination. A pillow. A blankie. A toy. And a hideout.

never too young, never too old

You can't do anything better with your time than read with a preschooler!

Gigi (great grandma) is being adored as she reads with Hayster (almost 2). He loves the time together and one on one attention. Not too mention the dog and cat sound effects and fuzzy pictures. "Pay" he says. Read: Play. With me. Sit down on the floor. Do what I want. Oh, hey. Let's read this upside down book.

One more reason to love books. And grandsons. And grandmas.

Molly Meets the Missionaries

Check out this new book by my friend and editor, Rhonda Robbins-Reeves.

Molly Meets the Missionaries is a delightful, inspiring book. Preschoolers, children, families, and teachers will enjoy using this resource to show what missionaries do as they serve around the world. Real life photos and awesome graphics make each page a work of art. Bible thoughts that teach and reinforce biblical concepts are highlighted. Recipes, a song, and cut-out paper dolls of Molly and Mikey are included for playtime fun and extension activities. All in all, a fantastic book!
Way to go, Rhonda and WMU!

Visit: www.missionfriends.com to see more. Order a copy at www.wmustore.com.

Tell people about Jesus (see Matthew 28:19).

Something of Which I Am Proud...

Just in case you were wondering, this post is not about my grandbaby, although I am extremely proud of him. :)

Families on Mission, Teaching Your Preschooler to Love, Share, and Care (New Hope Publishers) by Angie Quantrell

Check out this book. It's a great resource for families - filled with ideas for activities, games, and projects. Many of the activities are geared towards families with preschoolers and younger children. I am so excited to offer this book as a resource to families who want to teach their children how to be on mission - how to live their daily lives as an active, loving, giving, sharing testimony about Christ. I hope you will take a moment to check this out this book. It was my pleasure to write it for New Hope Publishers. Let me know what you think. :)

(Notice several other books in the image - the "I Can" Series published by Woman's Missionary Union, also written by yours truly.)

I Can Pray by Angie Quantrell

I Can Give by Angie Quantrell

I Can Do It! by Angie Quantrell

I Can Be More Like Jesus by Angie Quantrell