The Big Christmas Wrap Up

Here is my mostly wordless wrap up of the big day....

One of my favorite pre-Chrismas activities is setting up the model train with the Hubs. 

Since I was taking pictures, my little photo buff had to get in on the action too.

A family tradition.

He is eating, a gift unto itself. 

I thought about doing the big present unwrapping montage but this really sums it up better... Mom will you stop will all the flash photos.

Dinner

Of course we had a great time with family, this is my favorite pic of the day my nephew the intense reindeer, hamming it up for the camera.

There was also ninja reindeer...



Merry Christmas to all...

Weekly Wrap Up

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Here are some of the highlights of our week of homeschooling:

Zippy finished up Europe this week.  I love that she not only memorizes geography, but then puts that info to work by drawing the map.

Only one more week of Challenge until the Christmas break. Really looking forward to the break.   

Mostly succeeded at doing some homeschool the week with the Little Dude.  This week he played with his fabulous new pattern blocks, which he loves.

What we are reading this week:

I found the Christmas books!  This week's book included

Looking forward:

Next week is chock full of parties, so lots of cookies, Christmas cheer, and even a white elephant gift or two.  I hope your holiday season is going along swimmingly. 

The Big Christmas Round Up

I do hope you had a wonderful Christmas holiday with friends and family.  Here is a round up of all the wonderful moments from the Christmas season.

My husband and I went Greenfield Village's Holiday Nights.  This is always such a lovely experience, reminding me of what the Christmas hope and fellowship is all about.

Then there is the wonderful experiences with family, both mine and my husbands.  The children love to receive gifts from grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, eating delicious food, playing games and just generally having a Christmas-y time.

Christmas Blessings 2013

Weekly Wrap Up - The one with Christmas

This is the big Christmas wrap up. There are a lot of pictures.  Not so many words.  Hey, it is Christmas!

We enjoy time with our extended family in the afternoon

Part of my Christmas gift from the husband was tickets to Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village.  We went the day after Christmas, the day of our first real snowfall, 6.4 inches before the night was done.
It was a delightful evening full of fire, snow, music, and food.

Christmas Blessings

Home for the Holidays

Today is the Monday before Thanksgiving. The next eight weeks will see one season of advent, two anticipating kids,  three major holidays, four possible family gatherings, and five rooms that need to be cleaned and decorated.  I am tired just thinking about all the work.  But I am invigorated too.  I love the holidays.  The joy of it all.  The tumbling down the rabbit hole  of tinsel and lights.  Reflections on faith, forgiveness, generosity and gratitude.  But how will this jumble of busyness and reflection affect homeschooling?

Are you homeschooling through the holidays?

 

Oh, yeah.  One of the fantastic things about homeschooling is not being locked into someone else's calendar.  Taking time to do what is best for student and family.  When Zippy was in school I always looked forward to Christmas vacation.  After months of getting up early, nagging about homework, and making sure lunches were packed the idea of putting down that load for a couple of weeks was bliss.  By the end of vacation, however, the cries of boredom were loud and the arguments frequent.  I foresee this year as something else entirely.  I get to choose when we have time to learn and time to vacation.  I plan to only take off Thanksgiving Day and the week of Christmas, with several light days throughout.  Lessons give structure to our days.  Giving that up entirely for an extended period of time would be as detrimental as a traditional school holiday.  Rather than a vacation I see the "The Holidays" as a time riddled with opportunities for learning. 

But how will this jumble of busyness and reflection affect homeschooling?

 Five ways to incorporate the holidays into homeschooling:

 

1. Community Service  This time of year is full of opportunities to help others.  Giving to others in always a learning experience.  We helped Little Dude's preschool class make up a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child.  Zippy went with the youth of our church to deliver Thanksgiving baskets to a food bank in Detroit.  There are so many opportunities both national organizations and locally to give time, money and compassion to others which is a learning experience which can be far greater than book learning.  
2. Art  Use the holidays as a springboard for art projects.  The turkey feathers Zippy made already have been fun to make and display.  There will be handmade Christmas gifts, cards and ornaments.  (You can find some of my inspiration on my Christmas Pinterest board)
3. Homemaking skills  Practicing hospitality, baking cookies, cleaning, decorating, cooking all go into this holiday season.  Include the child in all aspects of making a home for the holidays. 
4. Math  The real life application of math is so exiting to me.  Zippy will have a certain amount of money that she can use to buy Christmas presents. She will have to make a budget, deciding who she wants to gift this season, what presents she wants to buy and what she wants to make.  
5. Writing  Make the holidays a time of reflection.  Make a gratitude journal for the whole season, not just Thanksgiving.  Sprinkle in writing prompts and projects that directly relate to Christmas, Hanukkah or New Years.  

Christmas Rewind - 9 -

Merry Christmas to All

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Christmas Eve

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Countdown to Christmas - Day 23 - Night

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Countdown to Christmas - Day 18 - Joy

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Christmas Countdown - Day 15 - Gifts

I'm only on chapter 3 but this book has really made me think. 

"I wake to self-hatred.  To the wrestle to get it all done, the relentless anxiety that I am failing.  Always the failing.  I yell at I yell at children, fester with bitterness, forget doctor appointments, lose library books, live selfishly, skip prayer, complain, go to bed late, neglect cleaning the toilets. I live tired."  

Um, yeah.  Did she take a peek in my brain?  In my heart? 

So what do we do? 

According to Ann Voscamp's website 

In One Thousand Gifts: A Dare  to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann strives to find the meaning of life and fully embrace the surprising truth from the final scenes of Jesus’ earthly life.  In the hours before Jesus’ execution, he took bread and gave thanks.  This fresh, heart-wrenching book unveils the long forgotten wonder that through the imitation of Christ’s thankfulness, we too can experience a life of joy.

 Experiencing a life of  joy.  That is a pretty nice Christmas present.  

Christmas Countdown - Day 14 - Drum

 

Zippy drummer girl from the annual school Christmas concert.  

Countdown to Christmas - Day 13 - Angel

Christmas Count Down - Day 12 - Penguin

Yes I did say penguin. 

Several years ago I made a little polymer clay penguin ornament for a friend.  This little guy was my first attempt.  He got a little singed in the baking process.  Now I know there were no penguins at the first Christmas, but I like to put him with the Nativity Scene.  He represents all those outside, all those who are just a little different.  With this little penguin I remember that Jesus came for everyone, even the poor, even the burnt, even those marked with life and even those a little out of place.

Countdown to Christmas - Day 10 - Seek

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Christmas Countdown - Day 10 - Give

I was over at the blog Life Rearranged and met Xander.

Xander is an orphan in Eastern Europe and as Jannett so beautifully says:

Xander is only one of 143 million orphans. Read that number again. Roll it around in your brain. Horrific. And let’s not forget all of the other issues of our broken world. The cancer, the poverty, the dirty water, the child trafficking, the abuse, the wars, the AIDS pandemic, the….name it. I’m tempted to shut down in an overwhelmed panic. Because the truth is, we can’t save the world. We can give and give and advocate and try, and it still won’t be enough. Right? But you know what? It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. It doesn’t mean it’s a good reason to sit back and do nothing. We must try. We must do our part. We must. Do not buy into the lie that your portion does not matter. Do not allow yourself to believe that you cannot make a difference. Do not give yourself permission to throw up your hands in frustration and then cover your eyes with them. Because today my friends, we will do something. It may not be much, but we will do our part because it’s the right thing to do. Because God calls us to do it.

Do you remember the tagline of the Advent Conspiracy?

{Worship Fully.  Spend Less.  Give More.  Love All.}

This is one of the ways that I am giving this year.  It is so simple, yet so profound.  You can give too...

Oh, did I mention...there is a matching grant.  That means $1 is $2, $20 is $40 and $100 is really $200.  Wow! the power of multiplication.  

Please make a donation towards Xander's adoption fund through Reece's Rainbow.

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