Great Resources for Boys

We've selected many of our best resources that we think are great for BOYS!
Adventure, Heroes, and Character can be found in any of these Books or CDs.
Help your son grow into a man of godliness and character by exposing him to resources filled with good and worthwhile things.
Phil 4:8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Books for Boys:

The Runt
Book 9.95/ Audiobook CD or Download: 19.95
He was a runt. Kit Carson Hunt was tired of being the smallest boy in the Flat Creek country. He dreamed of doing big things. First, he wanted to rule the Ozark woods with his champion coonhound. But when the dog came into his life, it wasn`t champion material, just a mixed breed hound puppy, and the runt of the litter, at that. But God moves in strange ways. He would use that mongrel pup to teach Kit what it really means to be a winner. Our kids especially love the audio version. They have listened to it again and again. available as a This action-packed novel, is sure to be a winner with readers of all ages.


Civil War Series 5 Books of Historical Fiction- $84.95
This five-book set tells the story of America’s greatest conflict through the lives and experiences of Kentucky cousins Harry Kenton and Dick Mason. Torn between family ties and political beliefs, father and son Kenton serve in the Confederate army, while Dick Mason leaves his widowed mother and fights to preserve the Union.
1.The Guns of Bull Run 2.The Guns of Shiloh 3.The Scouts of Stonewall 4.The Sword of Antietam 5.The Star of Gettysburg




Attack on Pearl Harbor
Hardcover- 18.99
This book is incredibly interesting!! Tuck and I have read it many times over. It tells true eyewitness accounts of several of the players in Pearl Harbor, an eleven-year old , a sailor, trapped in the ship, Oklahoma, the Japanese submarine commander, and the Japanese commander of the entire mission. The book switches from scene to scene as it tells the true account from these eyewitness. It even pictures the people at the time as well as when they are older, years later. This author has a gift for making you feel as if you were there in person. This is one book you won`t want to miss!

American Revolution Heroes Series
Set of 3 books- $23.85
Cheryl Harness uses her interest in history and art to create picture-book biographies that make it easy for kids to connect with people from the past.
These books have wonderful illustrations and helps make history come alive.





Picture Book Series of American Patriots
Set of 6 Books- 69.95
This is a wonderful series for children that gives them personal information about leaders from our country`s founding period. The author makes history come alive as he shares true information about the lives of of our brave leaders. Perfect for children preschool age through elementary school. Two of the titles are hardcover and the other four are softcover.

A Little Boy after God's Own Heart
15.99
Jim and Elizabeth share Biblical truths in fun rhymes for little guys. This book offers encouragement for growing boys to share God`s love when being a good friend, honoring their parents by behaving well, practicing patience as they help others--including brothers and sisters--demonstrating the Golden Rule by being generous, and following through as a faithful, obedient boy. The combination of charming paintings and easy-to-learn lessons will guide boys toward the heart of God and toward a life of godliness that shows in their words, actions, and spirit.

God's Wisdom for Little Boys
15.95

I love this book! The illustrations are paintings of children -- and so well done! Share with the little boy in your life the gift of God`s wisdom from Proverbs, and teach him the character and traits of a godly man. As you read the fun rhymes together you will be illustrating wisdom and strength; he will discover how special he is as a child of God.



CDs and Audio Downloads for Boys


Stories of American Life and Adventure
CD: 12.00
MP3CD: 10.00
Enjoy listening as Uncle Rick reads and early America comes to life in these exciting stories. Explore the wilderness with the pioneers and brave the dangers of the vast ocean with the New Bedford whaling men! Your great grandparents loved these dynamic adventure stories and your children will love them too! This is 2 hour audio presentation.




uncle rick tell stories of
The War For Independence
CDs: 14.00

These stories were originally published in 1908 for use in the public school as fifth/sixth grade reading material. They are excellent patriotic stories of events that occurred during the War of Independence, such as the Boston Tea Party, and events that led to the war and people involved in it. They are fascinating for kids ages 5- 13. Approx. 150 minutes contained on two CD`s.

uncle rick reads
The Trues Story of Benjamin Franklin
4 CD set- $28.00

Perhaps no other American of his time was so well-known and accomplished so much in the interest of American independence as Benjamin Franklin....Long buried in obscurity, this once-famous biography of Franklin has been revived and audio- recorded by Uncle Rick in his ongoing mission of introducing the children of America to the glories of their heritage as Christian Americans.

uncle rick reads
The True Story of George Washington
Cd set: 21.00
Audio Download: 15.00

He was called the Father of his country -- George Washington: soldier, surveyor, farmer, statesman -- the epitome of the American hero. Now this American giant comes alive once again in this classic audio reproduction of the 1895 biography. Though neglected in modern "politically correct" history books, George Washington was once the hero of every patriotic American boy and girl. Now he once again assumes his rightful place as, in the words of General "Light Horse" Harry Lee, "First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

Read in the entertaining and informal style of "Uncle Rick Boyer," children of all ages will love this great biographical classic and Uncle Rick`s Character Commentary, added throughout to give the full benefit of the life example of this exemplary man. Watch your children effortlessly learn history, language, and sterling character as Uncle Rick reads The True Story of George Washington. This is over three hours of entertaining character through history!

Part 5- What Do You Do With BOYS?

Boys and Sports

Let’s be honest about it: Sports have become a religion in our society. Professional athletes are among the highest paid people in the country. I’m not objecting to their incomes; they are drawing millions of fans to the stadiums and so their commercial value is undeniable. My problem is with the widespread philosophy that propels so many people to spend their money and time watching it all happen. That attaches so much worth to the playing of games. What does it say about our culture that we so reward people who don’t serve us in any serious way, but only entertain us? Athletes, like movie actors and rock stars, are people whose services we could very easily live without, when compared to medical personnel, police officers and even grocery store employees. At the same time, the moral character of people in the entertainment business—of which professional sports are definitely a part—is generally known to be less than exemplary. Yet they are worshiped and everybody knows their names. They are paid big money to endorse products. What’s wrong with this picture?

We are rapidly becoming a society defined more by our play than our work. That’s a far cry from the America of earlier days, when we gave the world the steam boat, the locomotive, the telegraph, the telephone, the automobile, the electric light and the x-ray machine and still more importantly, the world’s first lasting republican form of government. We were known for accomplishments that made the lives of millions better. Now we’re the country that gave the world Tiger Woods.

Home school sports leagues are springing up all over the country these days and parents are having to decide how much time, money and inconvenience they are willing to expend for the value of having their children involved. The Boyers say no, thanks. With all respect to the motives and the sacrifice of those who organize these events, and some of those people are dear friends of mine, it’s just not worth it. Why? Because time, like money, is limited. Every dollar and every hour you spend on one thing ceases forever to be available for the purchase of something else. Let the buyer beware.

When our son, Josh contracted leukemia, he was admitted to the pediatric oncology unit at University of Virginia hospital. The first sight I recall seeing when we walked through the door there was a little boy of about seven who was out for his daily exercise. That consisted of walking around the halls rolling his IV pole behind him. The sight of that little guy, his head bald from radiation or chemotherapy, stuck a dagger in my heart. It was a poignant reminder to me that this life we’re in is no Sunday School picnic. Later, the nurses told me of special hardship cases. One example was the young single mom who had a child on the ward, perhaps terminally ill, who wanted Mom to be there all the time. But there was another child, or two or three, at home who needed Mom also. And usually, there was a boss who needed Mom back at work. If you’ve ever spent any time in a ward full of very sick kids, you have to wonder how much time and energy you can really afford to spend on amusements.

So, when deciding whether to put your time and your child’s time into sports, consider what other uses you could be making of that same amount of time. Maybe there’s a sick kid and a desperate mom somewhere not far away who would be a better investment than a chance at a gilded trophy. It’s not hard to find needs you can meet, that is, if that’s what you’re looking for rather than games to play.

But don’t kids need sports—especially boys?

Yes, I believe they do. Everybody needs some play, some recreation. The issue is how much of it we need, and how much of a price should be paid in time and resources to get it. There’s a big difference between an hour of pick-up basketball or a neighborhood baseball game and the ultra-organized sports leagues many parents and kids build their schedules around. Is there really that much value in uniforms and trophies?

Kids have always played and competed. But the cumbersome phenomenon of sports leagues is quite new. Read the biography of any American hero who lived a couple of generations ago and you’ll find that his boyhood recreation consisted of hunting, fishing, swimming, climbing trees and mountains, playing tag, shinny and mumblety-peg, exploring caves and hunting for treasure. Tom Sawyer didn’t seem to languish for someone to organize games for him. Boyhood play in the old days gave its satisfaction mostly through the use of creativity and imagination rather than meaningless competition.

But don’t sports build character? As Voddie Baucham points out, if sports built character very successfully, our pro athletes wouldn’t need drug testing and…too bad about Tiger. Ah, poor Washington, Franklin, Jefferson! If only they’d had Little League, they might have amounted to something.

But boys are after all, growing into men. Yes, I do think sports have some value. As did General MacArthur, who wrote of the value to future military leaders of lessons learned “on the field of manly sport.” But which sports? And how much time are they worth?

I’ll be the first to confess that I was a sports nut as a teenager. My junior and senior years in high school, I was in three sports a year. I wasn’t a gifted athlete, but I enjoyed it and I didn’t understand the value of the time I was investing and what other uses I could have made of it. I see it rather differently now. I’d do it differently if I could do it over, and my children have definitely done it differently. None of them have ever played in any sports league, though they have done a lot of playing. None of them has missed it.

If asked my opinion about boys and sports, I’d say keep it in perspective and priority. No, you don’t have to be an athlete to get a scholarship. In fact, you probably don’t need college any way. But if you do, you’re more likely to get a scholarship for real life achievement than for either sports or good grades. I recently read that Harvard turns down four out of every 5 high school valedictorians in favor of young people who didn’t strive for straight A’s but who have done something worthy of real world significance. The Harvards of the world like to invest in a student who has written a book, started a business or done something else of real value. They know that here they have a young person who will someday make his mark on the world and bring glory to the old Alma Mater.

If your son wants to compete in sports, look outside the mainstream. Don’t run yourself ragged and sacrifice essential family time chasing around to two or three contests a week (in addition to practices). The assumption that “everybody does it” doesn’t mean it’s worthwhile from God’s point of view. Make your choices carefully. And for heaven’s sake, don’t think of putting your son back in school just for the supposed value of playing big boy games!

I’d also recommend serious limits on the time invested in sports. Most sports are “me-centered” in that they don’t benefit anyone but the participant. How much time is it really worth per day or week? Please don’t let the playing of games dominate your life or your son’s life. True, there are lessons to be learned from sports. But there are more important lessons in other things.

~Rick Boyer

Part 4- What Do You Do With BOYS?

Boys and Heroes

It’s trendy today to refer to “role models” for boys. Why might that be? Why doesn’t anybody suggest that boys should have “heroes” any more?

One of the casualties of political correctness is the concept of moral excellence. That is, that there are absolute and definable values of good and evil and that some actions and attitudes are better than others. There used to be such things as good people and bad people who did good or bad things. Now, we’re not taught as youngsters to think in terms of right and wrong, but in terms of our own “values.” Hence we don’t learn ethics but values clarification in school. Heaven forbid (if you still believe in heaven) that we should endorse one person’s values over another's, let alone assert that there are absolutes of good and evil.

This is a far cry from earlier days when it was generally recognized that God was the judge of good and evil and that His opinions were immutable. I’m old enough to remember a time when everybody recognized that there exist absolutes of right and wrong, good and bad, normal and perverted. That the only values that matter are the values that God places on things. It was understood that no man had the right to determine morality for himself but must bow to the Creator of all things and His valuation.

Today, moral judgments are considered out of bounds. Hence, we don’t use the term “hero,” which denotes virtue of character. Mustn’t pass judgment on anybody’s character by suggesting that someone else’s is superior. Rather, we talk about “role models,” which seems to simply mean somebody who is good at something he does. He may or may not give a rip about what’s right and wrong; in fact he may be selfish, rude, promiscuous, boorish and abusive—but he sure can throw a ball through a hoop. He is a good model for the role because he’s good in that role himself.

It’s symptomatic of our times that we have not only devalued the idea of heroism to the level of role models, but we have even attached inflated value to the roles themselves. We worship people who pretend to be other people in movies, though their personal lives are moral cesspools. We admire people who invest years of discipline into playing games that only entertain, yet scarcely recognize others who have made the world better for the entire human race. Everybody knows who Tiger Woods is. He bumps little balls into holes in the ground. How many people know who Jonas Salk was? He developed the vaccine that eliminated polio. Think about it.

Another way we devalue heroism is to apply the term too loosely. One of the good things that came out of the tragedy of the terrorist attacks of 911 was a renewed appreciation of military personnel and emergency service providers—policemen, firemen and medical first responders. Even still, police officers are less often portrayed as heroes than people in the other categories. Could it be because their very existence implies the punishment, and therefore the presumed presence, of evil in the world—in other words, that moral judgments can and must be made? But I digress.

I was going to point out that since 911, every firefighter, every EMT, every member of the military is referred to as a hero. Now, let’s be careful to give credit where credit is due. It’s true that any member of the military or emergency services runs the risk of having to place his life on the line for the sake of others. They should all be applauded for that. But let us not lose the distinction between the usual and the exceptional. There are some emergency personnel who have reason to expect that their service will normally be comparatively free of risk to their own safety. There are others who know perfectly well that they are taking their lives in their hands every time they go to work. Compare the life of a police dispatcher to that of the street cop for example. They both wear the same uniform, but dispatchers rarely get shot at. Every now and then one of those street cops chokes back his fears and does what must be done, knowing that there is every possibility that he’s about to end up with his portrait on the station wall. That is a hero. And it cheapens the term to imply that everybody in the uniform is just as much a hero as that guy.

Today, more than ever, a boy needs heroes to look up to. Of course his first hero normally is, and should be, his father. But ever more boys are growing up in fatherless homes without even a male “role model.” Even more common is the home that exemplifies our society’s addiction to shallow entertainments, mostly of the electronic variety, meaning sitcoms in which Dad, if he’s there, is an imbecile and movies in which even the good guy isn’t good. Movies don’t have heroes any more.

I’ve been a boy and I remember it. I had heroes.

I was never much turned on by the “superheroes,” though we had them even then. There was Superman, Batman, wise-cracking Spiderman—although he was only in the twelve-cent comic books, not yet a movie star. But even as a kid I could discern between the real and the contrived. I gravitated to books about George Washington, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Francis Marion, John Paul Jones, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson. If my family had been Christian then, I hope I would have grown up reading about John Wesley, George Whitefield, William Booth, Hudson Taylor, David Brainerd, George Mueller and Jonathan Edwards, too. These were men worthy of a young boy’s emulation. They were generals, presidents, preachers and explorers. They took great risks and made great sacrifices. They did things worth doing. Yet they were humble as they were brave.

Those men made me want to be a MAN. I wanted to grow up to be good and strong and wise and brave. I was, like most of my friends, waylaid by the cheap values of the world as a teenager, but my most formative years left me indelibly imprinted with the knowledge that there was something more and something better. There were achievements worth striving for. There was a purity of character that was a reward in itself. I sold a lot of potential for a mess of pottage when I was a teenager, but the heroes of my childhood had a grip on me still, and though I compromised a lot I never escaped the shadow of Washington and Lee. I hope my sons never do, either.

What is the value of heroes in our lives? Why does the Bible say so much about people who stood out? “Honorable” people? Why is there a whole chapter—Hebrews 11—devoted to chronicling the lives of people who did great things—not just remarkable, but admirable things? And they’re referred to as “men of whom the world was not worthy.”

I think it’s because heroes remind us that there really is such a thing as greatness. While the rest of the world chases its tail looking for satisfaction at discount store prices, kids who want their lives to amount to something have people, living and long gone, to look to for examples. Their heroes both raise the bar and at the same time show the way to get over it. To have a hero—not just a role model—is to be inspired to rise above the ordinary. It is a constant reproof to laziness, low standards and unworthy attitudes. Truly great people make us dissatisfied with ourselves, impatient rather than comfortable with our faults, and ashamed of complaining about our difficulties, most of which pale in comparison to those once shrugged off by our heroes. Many of our heroes—the real ones, I mean—came from humble circumstances but were raised by virtue to dizzying heights of honor and achievement. Boys who get to know them, aspire to rise above their circumstances too. To dream of being worthy of honor is an honorable thing in itself. It is surely the most direct path to becoming a hero to some kid who will come along in a future day.

One of the most rewarding projects I’ve done is the resurrection of great old books for kids in audio form. We’ve been thrilled to find biographies of great Americans written for young folks and before political correctness robbed kids’ literature of real heroes. So far I’ve recorded an excellent biography of Washington and another one of Franklin, both important founders. The author emphasizes character and quotes Scripture repeatedly. I also have some collections of stories about other American heroes. It’s exciting to know that in the years to come, thousands of kids around the country will hear old Uncle Rick read to them on CD about people worthy to be their heroes. They’ll learn an awful lot of our nation’s history at the same time. By the same token, you’ll find that our extensive ebook library contains a lot of biographies of honorable people along with other subjects.

I’ll admit that I was a little jealous when my wife wrote her popular book, For You They Signed. I’ve been heard to say that for a year and a half, I saw little of her but the top of her head. But her excitement over discovering the greatness of the men who gave us the Declaration of Independence drove her on and the result was remarkable. We’ve all seen Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration, but how many of the 56 men depicted can any of us name? And what do we know of their character and accomplishments?

Nobody seems to know of Caesar Rodney, the delegate from Delaware, who gave up treatment for his skin cancer—available only in England—when he signed the Declaration. Or that he rode eighty miles on horseback, mostly at night through a driving rain to cast his vote for independence.

Signer Robert Morris watched the bombardment of the British forces in Yorktown when the Americans had Cornwallis bottled up in his last fight. Morris was a man of means, and had a mansion in the city which was being used as a headquarters by British officers. When he asked why his mansion was thus far unscathed in the shelling, soldiers informed him that they were trying to avoid damaging his property. He told them to train their cannon directly on his home and blow the British out of it. They did so, and he lost his house.

That’s the caliber of the men my wife was writing about! Real Heroes!

My experience with audio recording biographies of great Americans has become something of a fetish, too. Biographies written a hundred or more years ago reflect the values that used to be standard in America. And they made no bones of teaching character lessons to the young people they were written for. In the biography of Franklin, the author, Elbridge Brooks clearly reveals young Ben’s diligence, honesty, civic spirit and eagerness to learn. While modern biographies portray Franklin as a deist, Brooks’ version makes plain the God-fearing philosophy that impelled Franklin to contribute his own funds to many various Christian ministries, including the famous evangelist George Whitefield. He relates the fact that Franklin, after a “long and useful life” (as described in a letter he received from George Washington) died with his eyes on a painting of Jesus that hung on his bedroom wall.

The same author wrote the biography of Washington that Uncle Rick recorded. Throughout the book, he quotes Scripture (yes, children’s authors used to do that) and emphasizes George’s exceptional and carefully developed character qualities. He closes the book with an exhortation to his young readers to emulate the character of Washington throughout their lives. Don’t waste too much admiration, he says, on Napoleon who was also a great military leader of the time. Napoleon went to war for his own glory. Washington would rather have stayed home and been a farmer at Mt. Vernon, but was called upon four times by his country and always answered the call.

Boys will be men. They need men worthy of the name, and women too, to whom to look for a picture of greatness. In our day of small men casting long shadows, it’s worth the trouble for parents to find heroes, past and present who will challenge their sons to become the men our society needs to lead us back to the way of our fathers.

~Rick Boyer

More Resources:
Heroes- Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Character for Life

Part 3- What Do You Do With BOYS?

The Young Stallions: Boys and Sibling Rivalry

It’s no secret that boys quarrel with both their brothers and their sisters. Most of the issues that cause or enhance sibling conflicts apply regardless of the sex of the combatants. In my presentation, Raising Cain Without Killing Abel (available on CD or DVD), I discuss several cases of sibling rivalry in Scripture and what parents can do about the causes of it. In all those cases, it’s plain that the issues involved could easily cause conflict between siblings whether they were of the same or opposite sexes. Briefly, here are a few examples:

Cain and Abel, Genesis Chapter 4: The root is an unresolved conflict between Cain and God. Cain tries to deal with God on his own terms, is rejected and takes out his bitterness on Abel.

Jacob and Esau, Genesis Chapters 25 and 27: There are several root problems here. First, Jacob actually wrongs Esau by catching him in a moment of weakness and persuading him to sell his birthright for one meal. It’s a genuine offense. Then, Jacob steals the firstborn blessing by deceiving his father. This situation is made worse by mother Rachel, who favors Jacob and encourages his duplicity. So parental favoritism and Rachel’s evasion of her husbands’s authority come into play. She warns her son Jacob to flee to Haran “for a few days” until his brother’s anger subsides, but as far as we know, she never saw her boy again.

Rachel and Leah, Genesis Chapter 30: The root is Rachel’s self-rejection over her barren condition. Verse 1 says, “Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister…” Persons with a sense of inferiority will find a multitude of different issues on which to compare themselves unfavorably with others, whether in appearance, talents, or other abilities. In Rachel’s case, it found its outlet in the area of childbearing, but self-rejection will express itself one way or another, and a child who suffers from it will express it toward siblings of either sex. Inferiority feelings are so common to young people that I made it the theme of my first novel, a boy-and-dog story called The Runt.

Joseph and his brothers, Genesis Chapter 37: Parental favoritism shows itself again, as Jacob betrays his partiality to Joseph by presenting him with a princely tunic that his brothers can scarcely fail to notice. Then, Joseph has two dreams indicating that he will one day rule over his brothers and his parents. Apparently pride is the root cause, as Joseph lacks the discretion to keep his dreams to himself. Would sisters have responded any better than his brothers did?

The greedy brother in Luke Chapter 12: A man asks Jesus to settle a conflict with a brother over the family inheritance. Jesus refuses to resolve the issue because He knows the man’s root problem is not the inheritance itself but a materialistic value system (greed). So He immediately launches into a parable to illustrate His point.

Parental favoritism, jealously, self-rejection, greed. These things can obviously cause problems between brothers and sisters as easily as brothers and brothers.

But it’s interesting to notice that in all these case studies, the conflict recorded was between siblings of like gender, and that all but one were between brothers. Researchers have also noted that sibling conflicts are more frequent and severe between siblings of a common sex. It stands to reason; little girls would more likely fight over a baby doll and boys over a favorite fire truck or BB gun. Few boys would fight with Sis over a doll.

Still, sibling rivalry between brothers is…well, special. I have six sons and eight daughters so I’ve had plenty of opportunity to observe.

For one thing, it’s more likely to develop into physical violence, as with Cain and Abel. Boys have more of a natural tendency to express themselves physically. They are designed to be protectors of the female sex and nature has given them both a sensitivity to the needs of girls and a disposition to fight when it seems in order. This easily gets out of hand in the immature days of boyhood and violence sometimes flares when it is entirely inappropriate.

Boys are also designed to be leaders. That may not be politically correct, but it’s fact. God has designed the sexes to be equal, but definitely not interchangeable. Boys are growing into men and men are charged with responsibility for leadership in the home, the church and the government. So, when boys grow up together, all consciously or unconsciously trying to assert their leadership with their increasing maturity, they are more likely to irritate each other than their sisters. By the same token, this can also lead to conflicts with Dad as the boys try to balance their loyalty to him with their innate need to stretch their wings and make some of their own decisions. There is only room for one lead stallion in the herd, but the young colts must have the chance to prepare for leadership. Consequently, they may occasionally buck the authority of the senior stallion, but they are much more likely to fight with each other than with him—or with their sisters.

Trendy parents who have tried to raise boys to act like girls or girls to act like boys have created a lot of frustration for themselves. That’s what happens when we adopt the assumptions of the secular world rather than doing it God’s way. That’s why we need to study what God’s Word has to say on the topic. The current cultural war against masculinity, with its denigration of manhood and fatherhood has certainly infiltrated the church. But it doesn’t have to infiltrate your family. So remember that boys are growing into men and they must flex their muscles sometimes. That doesn’t mean they should be allowed to jettison self control or to be rude, boorish or violent. It does mean that they need special challenges and responsibilities. They need mountains to climb, fortresses to conquer, causes to champion. They need the opportunity to slay dragons.

Boys will be boys and they need to be. Because someday, boys will be men.

~Rick Boyer

Part 2- What Do You Do With BOYS?

Homeschooling Boys

I started out my homeschooling adventure with 4 boys, before we had any girls. We ended up with 6 boys in all and 8 girls. As each child is different, so it goes with boys. My first born son was very self-motivated, loved to set his own goals and beat them and devoured books. My second son, however was very different. He was a hands-on learner and books didn't hold much interest just for him in the early years. He was too busy. He grew up to be an extremely competent, coordinated boy who could learn to do anything... from building to playing the piano.
I've had the quiet, compliant type; the extremely distractible but cheerful; the steady and playful type; the logical, thoughtful learner; as well as the struggling learner.

One of my sons would often start the "school day" with a griping attitude. I learned that just tickling him, playing around a bit helped to lighten his attitude and he was usually then ready to buckle down and get it done. Looking back, i think he was thinking of all the things he'd rather be doing than schoolwork.

My REALLY distractible son needed me to often sit near him and keep him on track. It ws so easy for him to think of anything but schoolwork. It's not that he even disliked it. He was just so distractible. No noise or conversation or interruption of any kind escaped him. I needed to be there and remind him what to focus on at the time. He had to be shown.

I also had one who would have been 'labeled' something in schools. He was brilliant, but just not on the timetable schools prescribe.

With all my children, I let them progress at their own rate in each subject, but this son just couldn't grasp reading. The skill of decoding sounds with all the exceptions in the English language caused him one day to say, "Maw, the guy who wrote the English language had a pencil in one hand and a jug in the other."! I read his history, science, and literature to him. He was very quick to learn everything but that one skill of decoding letters. When it finallly clicked he was about 14 years old, and from then on you would never know he had been "slow' to read. He actually then was able to read very complicated subject matter!

So- all that to say, each has been a different type of learner, but some things about teaching boys have been pretty consistent.

One thing is that boys have lots of energy, even the laid back one, like Tuck. Almost every day, my son Tuck, who is 16 now, will ask me if he can take a break to go outside and jump on the trampoline to wake himself and his brain up. IT WORKS! It is extremely hard for boys to sit still for long periods of time. They just function better if you break up their time with exercise. Even when they were very little, I would let them stop studies and play with play dough if it was raining outside. They would make cows with their molds and then proceed to "butcher" them with their plastic knives. They just needed to do something active. I remember them quoting their Scripture verses while sometimes standing on their heads or pacing around the room!

The activity helped them to think.

For preschoolers it is best to have maybe two or three 10 or 15 minute periods of book type study- broken up by active periods, than trying to do 20-30 minutes of concentrated book time.

Another thing about boys is their competitive spirit. I always tried to channel that into breaking their own time record or goal rather than letting them compare themselves to their siblings. They were each created so uniquely that some subjects came naturally to one that were a struggle for another. Therefore, comparing themselves to their siblings is like comparing apples to oranges. If one child has strengths in a certain area, he can cooperate by helping his brother in that area. Maybe his brother has another area he can help him in and to cooperate in finishing so they can both be free sooner to get on to the afternoon's pursuits- which in our family were those areas of interest each had at the time, maybe building bookcases or a bird house or grafting a tree, etc.

Boys need to learn to appreciate each other's strengths without feeling inferior, and forbear each other's weaknesses to carry out God's plan for each. They combine forces to accomplish special projects they have in mind to explore.

Boys also tend to be inquisitive. I think it's part of God's plan for man being the leader. They aren't afraid to set off in a new direction. I tried not to squelch this trait, but just direct it in safe boundaries. We want our boys to have a love of learning and exploring. They just need to be taught to have discretion as they do it. Our son Tim was so interested in how things worked. We gave him broken appliances such as blow dryers, tape recorders, curling irons, toasters, mixers, etc. when they broke. We figured if he could figure out to fix it, fine, if not, nothing is lost anyway. He amazingly often fixed them and soon had people from church bringing him their broken stuff to see if he could fix it as well.

Boys also need motivation for buckling down to learn. We would often have our sons, for handwriting, write to Senators, Congressman, letters to the editor, etc. Instead of fruitless exercises in writing, give them something important to write! We even had them write letters of gratefulness to folks who'd impacted their life, letters to a chamber of Commerce in a town we planned to visit to find out what historical sites were available, etc. Our boys wrote to the president and received responses. I remember our son Rick wrote to Ted Kennedy and shared with him the plan of salvation. Whatever you are teaching them, whether it be handwriting or math or science or history, let them know why it's important and why they need to spend time learning the skill of excellence in pursuing it. If you can't give them a reason, reevaluate and see if it really is worth their time expenditure after all!

Teach your sons to be question askers, not question answerers, as the government schools do . We need to raise thinkers, not responders. Real men think and lead and guide others down right paths. Let your son know that God had prepared him to be a leader.

More next week.....

~Marilyn

Part 1- What Do You Do With BOYS?

Raising Boys

I grew up in a family of girls, never having much close exposure to boys. When Rick and I started our family, sure enough we had the first boy grandchild for both sets of our parents. I remember thinking- Wow, what do I do with a boy? As a matter of fact, we had 4 little boys in a row, all 18 months apart form each other! When our oldest son was just 3 months old, we began attending a Sunday school class in which the teacher talked about internalizing Scripture. This was something so new to me, being a new Christian myself. I sat there like a sponge, eagerly soaking up the practical Bible teaching and then trying to find a way to communicate the Scriptural priniciples I was learning to my new little son.

I began to hang Bible verses all around his room and our living room and started learning what character was and looked for fun ways to teach it to my little boys. I shall be eternally grateful for that class because it channeled my focus to what I believe should be a priority in the training of little boys and little girls as well! As I look back, I see that God takes open hearts and blesses them even if they are ignorant, but seeking to do right.

First of all, Scripture and character training should be priorities in training little ones. Rick recorded the book of Proverbs for our kids and stopped and explained difficult words and told example stories to help the boys remember.... and remember they do even to this day! It was one of the best things we did to build a godly focus in our kids. Playing the recordings at bed time and naptime, they learned tons of Scripture without even trying! This was something we did for years. It didn't take very long before you could start a verse anywhere in the Proverbs and they could finish it. Rick then began recording other portions of Scripture for them as well. (we offer several similar Scripture Recordings at the Learning Parent)

During the day, we began focusing on character training. I would read to them from books such as A Child's Book of Character Building to teach them what godly character meant. I asked God to show me creative ways to teach it to them, Many of the specific ways I achieved this are found in Fun Projects for Hands-on Character Building. We began having the kids do these projects and used the finished products to teach them God's Word on a daily basis. (Two more recent, but great resources for little boys are God's Wisdom for Little Boys and A Little Boy After God's Own Heart.)

I found that little boys are very busy and need lots of opportunity to run, jump, and romp. Dad seemed to bring this out in them. During the day often they would sit and listen to Mom read stories and do fun projects, but when Dad came home in the evening they were inspired to get rid of any energy left after their busy day. They loved to run and jump on him, wrestling around, screaming and making lots of general racket- a bit much for Mommy's tastes, but I began to realize they needed that physical romping with Dad and each other.

Early on, we involved our little boys in learning to do chores....work in the garden, help Daddy fix stuff that broke, and generally be involved in serving each other and others. This all helped to build within them a strong work ethic. Each had daily chores from 3 years old on, within reason of course. (more info in Building a Work Ethic in your Children) We chose not to involve our boys in lots of outside activities, play dates, etc. with kids their own age, but instead to train them to be responsible first of all in the atmosphere of their home. As they grew older, we would lead them in projects of service to others in the church and community, instead of focusing on artificial activities to please themselves. Our family grew fairly quickly and opportunities to serve in the context of the family were plentiful.

Boys need to be busy! Learning to be productive helpers builds within them a sense of being needed and the character of responsibility.

It is when your sons are little that you begin to build godly discipline into their lives. It is while little boys are small that we teach them to have a respect for girls and women and the elderly folks. Little boys need to learn that God has special requirements for them to learn to be useful and how to develop skill in making wise choices, and looking for needs that others may have they that they can learn to be of service to.

Boys need to be encouraged to try new things,experiments, building, etc. As our boys reached, say, 7 or 8 years of age we would supply them with wood and nails and let them try building things- bookcases, birdhouses, chicken houses, etc. Boys need the freedom to try and if something fails, that in itself is a valuable learning experience. Our sons would try experiments with plants, ways to train their animals, creative ways to do things. I remember 6 year old Tim mowing with Dad's supervision. He was a natural from an early age. We gave him the freedom to try to fix things that would break. Even folks at church would bring him their broken blow dryers, mixers, etc. If he could fix it, he earned a few dollars. If not, he earned some valuable experience. We even let them try things we knew wouldn't work, like keeping plants in the dark or planting "soup" as four year old Rickey tried once.

Little boys are messy, noisy, and yet they have a charm of their own. I remember my boys spending hours in our garden after all the crops had been gathered in, creating towns with churches, homes, post offices, stores, roads. They had hours of fun and would come in very dirty, but it was a healthy kind of play. We did not raise our boys with a TV or video games. They had lots of great books, puzzles, tools, trucks, and materials to learn, explore and create. Artificial entertainments were few and what we learned was that they learned to think creatively. It's too easy to plop down and WATCH something, but if it's not an option, wow, the mind begins to think and explore and a whole world of learning is opened up to them.

I loved raising my boys and I still love my boys. What is wonderful now is to see how they still love their family and are each other's best friends.

During this series on Raising Boys, we'll address homeschooling boys, how to deal with sibling rivalry in boys, and what to consider in raising teen age boys.

If you are struggling with the special challenges of raising boys, just remember, you are investing your time in raising tomorrow's leaders. As I look back on my time of raising boys and now have four adult aged sons, I see how God perfectly designed the character traits and personalities into each one to prepare them for the role he had planned for them to assume when they would become adults. More next time!.........

~Marilyn

We’re linked up to: Women Living Well & Raising Homemakers