Make Today Matter Mini Makeover Catalog

Mini #89
Available 9/1/09
For homeschooling and parents interested in supplementing elementary teaching 

This Mini features a 6 page guide
4 worksheets for planning a study
8 pages to use with unit studies and other learning
Resources for unit studies
An 8 Step Process for designing your own Thematic Unit Study

Field trips, fun and learning all await you by designing and implementing unit studies based on your child’s interests and lessons you would like to teach. This Mini will give you an overview of what a Unit Study is and eight simple steps that will take your Unit Studies from ideas to planned projects. You’ll also find web resources where you an download free Unit Studies and worksheets you can use to support your Unit Study and other schooling including homework cards, book reports, nature journal and more.

Mini #88 - September Featured Mini
Available 9/3/09
Includes Audio
and Month of Magic Worksheets

Special online event with Brook Noel: Join Brook Noel from 7:00PM-8:30PM on September 23rd for a special chat event.

Often when we think of making change we think BIG. Sometimes SO BIG that we paralyze ourselves from taking action. This Mini is designed to show you how simple taking positive steps can be–and how a well thought-out plan can help you promote and maintain balance, contentment, joy and organization.

In this Mini you will create a special set of “10 Minute Cues” using a template that encourages you to give a little focus to several important life areas. These cues will then become a grab bag for creating a month of magic. Each day you will choose a 10-Minute Magic Prompt at random and paste to a calendar. You will be amazed at how much magic you can create in a single month with a little concerted effort!

#074

A family functions at its finest when all participants contribute and take responsibility for at least some of the maintenance work required…. but… that concept and reality often collide. Getting kids to help routinely can be challenging and quickly turn into an area of tension (spouses included!). In this Mini I share a new chore and reward system I created that creatively encourages responsibility and encourages kids  to excel with rewards or recognition in direct proportion to contribution. This system works for all ages and can be used regardless if you are trying simply to instill responsibility or looking for a system for fairly basic monetary rewards. The system can be created with simple supplies such as scissors, index cards and a stapler.

Mini #71
8 pages

Positive thinking, for whatever reason, doesn’t spiral at the same speed as negative thinking. I believe this is because most people are trained to prepare for the worst versus expecting the best. Because we live like that, or live around people who think like that, negative thinking has the power to build more quickly—like the first little snowball that is soon rolled into the belly of a big snowman. In this Mini we will look at how the mind influences our thought patterns and practical strategies you can start NOW to tune out the negative and tune in to the positive.

Mini #68
6 pages
“Historically more than 80% of resolutions are abandoned by late February, Many women believe they are doomed before they begin. A resolution becomes another pressure in an already pressure-filled life.

As I waited for the clock to strike midnight this year, I was deep in thought about this challenge we face when reaching our goals. With statistics like these, it seemed creating a resolution is a way for many people to procrastinate on the very thing they resolve to do for another year.

If you have been discouraged by goals and set them half-heartedly or not at all, then the technique I present in this Mini offers a new approach for creating fun, Mini goals. You can use this technique to set goals for a week, a month, a quarter or an entire year. It is a great technique for regaining focus that flows with life.

Mini #64

Many people think “day dreaming” is a useless exercise – they may be right – but I can guarantee that visualization is not a useless exercise. Visualization is the practice of vividly and clearly envisioning something you wish to manifest in your life. The clearer this image in your mind, the more likely you are to see it in reality.

Visualization in terms of our goals is very important. We must have a crystal clear vision of how it will feel to live this goal to get us through the obstacles that will undoubtedly surface. In this Mini we work through the process of creating a Vision Statement for your goal and then illustrating your goal with a goal poster.

Mini #56
Please note this Mini will not be available until November 7, 2008

My daughter Sammy and I were having an interesting conversation about values and character the other day. (She is thirteen.)

“How would you define character?” I asked.

She paused for a moment and said, “Character is how you define yourself, which in turn defines you.”

I loved this definition and it led me down the path of thinking carefully about character. Character is the real “you”– it is who you are when everyone is looking, and maybe more importantly, who you are when no one is looking.

In this Faith Matters study we look at fifteen important character traits found in the Bible and see how our character does (or doesn’t) embody these traits. This realistic character self-portrait provides a spring board for healthy changes.

Mini #53
Please note this Mini will not be available until November 7

“Gratitude turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie

Developing a thankful attitude, goes a long way toward developing a more resilient, confident, and appreciative self, while also dramatically influencing life joy, contenment and inner peace. In this Mini we work thorugh practices for keeping a Gratitude Journal to increase your attitude of gratitude.

This Mini includes printable Gratitude journal pages, exercises, and prompts to help you discover the magic of this timeless tool.

Mini Number #32
11 pages

Includes:
•    5  activities with journaling space
•    Printable wallet affirmation card
•    Printable 3 x 5 Kindness Card

 If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years.  ~Bertrand Russell

So often people get caught up in their to-do lists or become so busy they forget the things that are important in life… connecting with other people.  With all the committees we belong on, the volunteering we do at school for our kids, etc…. it would seem we were “connected” with others. However, when we are being pulled in different directions, it is easy to not think about others and our connections to them.

The activities shared in this mini are a part of a “Happiness Toolbox” I developed for myself to use during those moments I felt the need to reconnect.  Based on the latest scientific findings on what brings happiness to our lives, we will explore five practices enabling us to connect with others in our journey to recapturing daily magic.

This Mini Makeover is divided into five separate activities. On the main page for this Mini you will find journal space for each activity. I encourage you to record the steps you take. Going forward you will know which steps most dramatically create an attitude shift for you. You will also find a forum for discussing each of the activities.

1.    Put People at the Center
2.    No Comparisons
3.    The Rat Race
4.    Forgiveness
5.    Giving Back

Note:  Mini #15 focuses on activities enabling us to look within ourselves to recapture daily magic.  Mini #32 focuses on activities that allow us to connect with others as we recapture daily magic.  Both minis are independent of each other. It is not necessary to one before you take the other. However, if you enjoy this Mini-Makeover, you may want to consider adding the other to your mini collection. Combined you will have 10 activities to explore.

Mini Makeover #031

Studies have shown close connections and open communication with children are the most important factors for emotional health. Effective communication also helps children make the right choices at critical junctures. Yet today’s kids are growing up in a different world as revealed in a report by the Congressional Quarterly citing top disciplinary programs in schools:

40 years ago                    Today

Gum                                      Drugs and alcohol
Noise                                     Assault / school safety
Running in the halls            Robbery
Dress code                            Suicide
Littering                               Pregnancy

I interviewed kids between the ages of 8 and 14 and asked them: How can parents help support you? How can we improve our communication? What outdated methods do we use that drive you crazy? In this Mini I’ll share the five tips kids have for parents to help us understand their world and support them through close connections.

Mini Number #15
10 pages
Includes:

• 5 activities
  
• Journaling space within printable or private online journal
  

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Anonymous

While meeting the demands of day-to-day life, many people find the “little things” slip away. I recently read an essay about an elderly man reflecting on his life. If he could do it all over again, he wrote, I would focus more on the little things and less on the big things. In his old age, he realized the “big things” were comprised of all the “little things” he was too busy to be attentive to each day. In this Mini we explore five actions and activities we can take to guide reclaim daily joy.

This Mini Makeover is divided into five separate activities. On the main page for this Mini you will find journal space for each activity. I encourage you to record the steps you take. Going forward you will know which steps most dramatically create an attitude shift for you. You will also find a forum for discussing each of the activities.

1. Releasing Expectations
2. Schedule Living for Today
3. Signature Strengths
4. Going with the Flow
5. Staying in the Moment

Note:  Mini #15 focuses on activities enabling us to look within ourselves to recapture daily magic.  Mini #32 focuses on activities that allow us to connect with others as we recapture daily magic.  Both minis are independent of each other. It is not necessary to one before you take the other. However, if you enjoy this Mini-Makeover, you may want to consider adding the other to your mini collection. Combined you will have 10 activities to explore.

“Your children will see what you’re all about by what you live rather than what you say.”-Wayne Dyer

Mini Number #14

The examples we set in our homes and our lives send a strong message to our children. What messages do your actions send to your children? Are you positive, encouraging, and supporting in good times and bad? Are you quick-tempered or demanding? This Mini explores what we teach our children through our schedule, priorities, attitude under stress, interactions, and self-care as well as five proactive strategies for building self-esteem and stronger relationships with our children.

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Mini Number: #005

Have you ever felt there must be “something more” but been unable to identify what it is? Have you ever felt your life is a series of to-dos but that you aren’t really living? These feelings are often caused by a disconnection between actions and values. This Mini-Makeover will help you rediscover your personal values–not the values others would like you to have. You’ll work through a values worksheet to deduce your core values.

These core values act as a filter. In times of indecision, we can compare options to our guiding values to make a decision. Values are the seams which shape the fabric of our lives. Without defined values, we have torn seams where the unwanted can sneak in, and our energy can sneak out. Values allow us to advance confidently in a meaningful direction. Without them we will be blown around by the emotions, people, and external events of the day. Recommended for ALL LIFE AREAS.

Related Minis: Creating Value Cards for Your Personal Power Deck #11, Creating a Personal Vision Statement #018 (It is recommend to complete this Mini before working on Mini #018.)

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Mini Number: 003

“You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”—John Wooden … To give for the sake of giving is one of the greatest blessings we can give ourselves, our communities and those we care for. In this Mini-Makeover we explore invisible blessings and random acts of kindness that add radiance to life.

(Featured image is a printable available at the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation…. www.actsofkindness.org )

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