Merry Christmas

The month of December is just a blur. It was one of those months when I wonder why we call it homeschooling because we were hardly home.
I believe that each of the following pictures could be a post by themselves, but really, who has the time?

So here is a glimpse of our month.

After watching a Christmas Carol, DS5 dressed up as Jacob Marley.

Visiting the annual Wreath Festival in Westminster, Md. While there, we got to see a free screening of the foreign film Joyuex Noel - a movie about the World War I Christmas Eve truce in 1914.

DD12 and two friends serving lunch at an area soup kitchen.

DD11 Singing a solo at our homeschool group's Christmas Pageant.

Making Addy's mini- sweet potato pies during the week-long American Girl Christmas class I taught from my home.

Receiving a box of fruit from my aunt in Florida.

DD12 and friend at the Christmas pageant. They were also the narrators reading the story of Christ's birth from scripture.

Our homeschool group's Christmas party. I got tons of pictures, but not a single picture of anyone in my family.

We had to go to Wal Mart to get needed groceries the day before a blizzard dumped 18 inches of snow on us. When we went to check out, the lines seemed to go half way to the back of the store. My husband started asking people in line if this was the bread line or the toilet paper line. We were in line to check out for over 45 minutes. (Glad that day is over with.)

Passing the Christmas star to put on top of the tree. I have had this star since 1972.

Hymn sing and dinner at the church we attend. Another event where I got lots of pictures of other people, but none of my family.

DD11 and her good friend making cookies at the Baking Book Club.

In between all of these events, we baked and baked and baked. I baked so many cookies this year it's unbelievable. The house smelled great and it was fun making plates of cookies to give away to friends as gifts.

I am looking forward to having a quiet New Year's.

Hannukah Party

We were unvited to our first Hannukah party ever.

Our host read the story of Hannukah to us, taught us the symbolism of the menorah, and taught us some traditional songs. It was fun and we learned so much.
From a homeschooling perspective, we covered history, literature, world cultures, music, fine arts and math. Yes - math! The kids were asked to figure out how many candles were needed total for the 8 nights of Hannukah.

Traditional latkes were prepared by our hostess and served with sour cream and applesauce. One of the guests asked about the significance of the sour cream and applesause and was told that they have no signigicance except as toppings for the latkes. By the way - the food was delicious!

Our hostess also made sure there were enough menorahs so that each guest had an opportunity to light a candle or two. As we lit the candles, her daughter recited a blessing in Hebrew then in English. It was the 6th night of Hannukah.

Learning the dreidle game.

An American Girl Christmas - Day #4

An American Girl Christmas
based on the books from Pleasant Company Publications.

This past week (Monday to Thursday), I taught a class called "An American Girl Christmas". The plan was to focus on a different American Girl each day. We learned a little about the time period, did writing activities, studied paintings from the time period, sang a couple of songs, and completed some handicrafts. The youngest girl in my class was 7 years old, while the oldest was 12.

Most of the activities that I used were from books published by Pleasant Company. I was able to find some at my local library and others were found at Amazon. At the bottom of this post I will put links for all of the books I used.

Here is a summary for today.

Thursday - Molly 1944

Copywork

"They had their traditional Christmas Eve supper of scrambled eggs, bacon, hot chocolate, and cinnamon toast before they hung their stockings on the mantle. Mom read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" just as Dad read it every year."

Music Study

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Picture Study

Christmas Homecoming by Norman Rockwell 1948

Snack

Popcorn (made the old fashioned way on top of the stove - not in a microwave)

Movie

We watched "Molly- An American Girl on the Homefront"

We talked about what a big deal it was for a girl like Molly to go to the movies.

Although we didn't watch the whole movie, my goal was for the girls to see the Christmas section of the movie. They did get to see part of the movie, but we ran out of time.

An American Girl Christmas - Day #3

An American Girl Christmas
based on the books from Pleasant Company Publications.

This past week (Monday to Thursday), I taught a class called "An American Girl Christmas". The plan was to focus on a different American Girl each day. We learned a little about the time period, did writing activities, studied paintings from the time period, sang a couple of songs, and completed some handicrafts. The youngest girl in my class was 7 years old, while the oldest was 12.

Most of the activities that I used were from books published by Pleasant Company. I was able to find some at my local library and others were found at Amazon. At the bottom of this post I will put links for all of the books I used.

Here is a summary of today.

Wednesday - Addy 1874

Copywork

"When it was time to go back for dessert, Addy ignored all the cakes and pies and headed straight for Momma's sweet-potato pudding in the shining black skillet. As she savored each smooth sweet bite, she thought about Poppa, Sam and Esther."

Picture Study

The Underground Railroad by Charles T Webber; 1893

Craft - Picture Quilt

We looked at picture a picture quilt made by Harriet Powers in 1886. We discussed who she was and tried to identify as many Bible stories as we could from her quilt. Then the girls designed a quilt block using construction paper. The older girls did a great job with this, but I think the younger girls had a hard time understanding what to do. I should have finished one myself so they could see what the assingment was.

Cooking activity

Addy's Mini Sweet Potato Pies

Taken from the American Girls Party Book

Music study
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow

One of the advantages of homeschooling is that all ages can participate. My son who is 5 came into the room off and on to see what we were doing. Sometimes he would sit and do the activity with us. The nice part is that he was invited in - not by me, but by the girls who were participating. They pulled up a chair and asked him to be a part of what we were doing.

An American Girl Christmas - Day #2

An American Girl Christmas
based on the books from Pleasant Company Publications.

This past week (Monday to Thursday), I taught a class called "An American Girl Christmas". The plan was to focus on a different American Girl each day. We learned a little about the time period, did writing activities, studied paintings from the time period, sang a couple of songs, and completed some handicrafts. The youngest girl in my class was 7 years old, while the oldest was 12.

Most of the activities that I used were from books published by Pleasant Company. I was able to find some at my local library and others were found at Amazon. At the bottom of this post I will put links for all of the books I used.

Here is a summary of today.

Tuesday - Josefina 1824

Copywork - "Christmas Eve was called "la Noche buena" - the good night. And this Christmas Eve felt like a very good night to Josefina. Nina was hers to love and care for at last."

Picture Study -Las Posadas 2000 by Carmen Lomas Garza

We discussed Las Posadas and what happens. This picture was especially nice because it is so colorful and is modern.

Craft

Decorated a hair comb with rinestone jewels. This idea came from Just Call Me Jammin. She has some great ideas of activities to do with the American Girls books.

Made a memory book as explained in the American Girls Club Handbook.

Music Study

We listened to the songs from Josefina's time from the American Girls Christmas CD.

Snack

Hot chocolate and cookies

An American Girl Christmas - Day #1

An American Girl Christmas
based on the books from Pleasant Company Publications.

This past week (Monday to Thursday), I taught a class called "An American Girl Christmas". The plan was to focus on a different American Girl each day. We learned a little about the time period, did writing activities, studied paintings from the time period, sang a couple of songs, and completed some handicrafts. The youngest girl in my class was 7 years old, while the oldest was 12.

Most of the activities that I used were from books published by Pleasant Company. I was able to find some at my local library and others were found at Amazon. At the bottom of this post I will put links for all of the books I used.

Here is a summary of today.

Monday Feliticy - 1774

Copywork - "Felicity stood on a stool to lift the ark down from its high shelf. The ark was a special toy they brougnt down only at Christmastide. All three children loved to play with the wooden boat and the small painted animals that went inside. Now they sat at mother's feet, happily lining the animals up in pairs."

Picture Study

Sewing project - Pincusion (Found in Felicity's Craft Book)

This was a worthwhile project. It took a long time to finish, but the pincusions came out beautifully and the girls really enjoyed working on them.

Music Study

Deck the Halls

Snack

I made a pound cake ahead of time and called it a Twelfth Night Cake. I did bake a bean into it and we had a girl who was "Queen of the Day".

Resources for today:

Serving Others

Through love, serve one another. Galatians 5:13

Something I have wanted to do for years was to serve at a soup kitchen.
Last night, I told the kids we would be going to serve others in the morning. At that time, I couldn't tell how they felt about it.

This morning when it was time to go, they all seemed eager.

I did prep them on the way there about the type of people they might see and that we are to serve everyone there with love - no matter what. They seemed to understand.

There was something for all of us to do. (Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures until close to the end.)

I served soup. (My basic life philosophy is that food equals love. What better way to show love than through a hot bowl of soup on a chilly day.)
DD12 served sandwiches and applesauce, and she dried dishes and wiped down tables and chairs.
DD11 mainly helped with dishes.
DS5 stacked crackers for me. It surprises me sometimes how someone so young is so eager and willing to serve. The task I gave him was to count out 4 crackers to a stack and set them on the table next to me so all I had to do was to reach over and grab a stack to set on people's trays. He was attentive to the task and stuck with me the entire 45 minutes. After lunch was served and everyone left, he helped to wipe down tables and chairs and he squeegied the dish washing area.

It was a joy to me to have the opportunity to serve others and to give the opportunity to my children.











Later this afternoon, DD11 told me that she can't wait to go back and do it again.

I encourage others to seek out such opportunities for their families. The rewards are great.

According to Pennsylvania homeschool law, we are required to cover civics. Part of civics is volunteerism. A side benefit of an activity like this is that you can place it in your portfolio under civics. We aren't just learning about what a volunteer is, we are actually doing it. What could be better?

Thanksgiving Travels to Tennessee

We have arrived in Tennessee to spend time with my husband's family this Thanksgiving. We are having a great time going out and exploring the surrounding area near Fayetteville, Tennessee. Fayetteville itself is a great little town. There are no metered parking spaces and when you step into the shops you are usually greeted by a very friendly shop owner with a charming southern drawl.

Although the girls forgot to bring along their math and language arts books like I requested, learning continues. (It never really stops as far as I'm concerned.)

The same old stories that are told to the children about their parents are a vital part of history that will stick with them for years to come.

Part of the family bonding includes an eccentric aunt recording a video of all the cousins to be sent to The Kalembo Mission in Africa. (Talk about a geography lesson!)

Yesterday we visited the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. The tour included a lot of information that helps us to cover American history - America in the 1800's to prohibition and beyond.

The distillery itself provides an excellent example of work ethic and not taking shortcuts to manufacture your product.

Some pictures:

A quote from Mr. Jack Daniels.

Picture taken outside the cave that contains the natural spring that Jack Daniels used to make his product. The picture doesn't do justice to the beauty that surrounded us.

Visiting the souvenier shops in Lynchburg.

Reason I Home Educate My Children #1

I am always telling my children to think. When they hear something, no matter what it is, they should always question, "Does that make sense?" Even if it makes sense, it's not necessarily right.

DD12 just did a science experiment from Jay Wile's Exploring Creation with General Science. In the experiment she proves that heavier objects drop faster than lighter objects. She dropped a sheet of paper and a book. Of course, the book hit the ground first.
In the very next experiment, she found that the conculsion of the first experiment wasn't correct by dropping several other items from a flat sheet of paper, to a paper clip, to a rock, to a book to a crumpled up sheet of paper.

These two experiments are just one example of what I am talking about. There are so many issues in the world today that "prove" themselves to be true at face value. Many members of our society will accept a given "fact", not question further and just go with the crowd.

I want my children to grow up to be thinkers. They may not know everything there is to know (Who can know everything?), but thinkers have the ability to seek information about what they need to know.

Middle Ages - The Four "Alls"

There were:
"the peasants who worked for all,
priests who prayed for all,
knights who fought for all,
and kings who ruled all."

The above quote and following activity can be found in Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-on Activities to Experience the Middle Ages by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell.



We are enjoying our studies of the Middle Ages.

As we are working through the curriculum from Winter Promise called Quest for the Middle Ages, we found this activity that took about a week to complete. Each day we read about one of the "four alls" and completed a section of a shadow box of it. DD10 is really into this project and DS5 was only interested in making a knight scene that you see above. The book suggests using shoe boxes, but I felt a shadow box would be easier to display for a longer time.



DD10 made all of her figures out of clay except for some pigs in her peasant scene.

The peasant who worked for all.




Priests who prayed for all.




Knights who fought for all. (The background is a stone picture she printed from the computer.)





The king who ruled all. (This section is incomplete as DD10 is having difficulty in making a person kneeling to be knighted.)



DS 5's completed project can be seen at the beginning of this post.

Pet Memorial

Our beloved guinea pig died last night. It has been especially hard on DD10.

She loved the little piggy way before she ever got her.

DD10 wanted a guinea pig. I am not a pet person. I have a hard enough time taking care of my husband and three children, I am not interested in adding the responsibility of a pet to my daily tasks.

I told DD10 that if this is what she wanted, she had to do the research by getting a notebook and answering the following questions:

How much do they cost?

What do they eat and how much does that cost?

What kind of living arrangements to they need?

Do they require supplements?



I also made it clear to her that she had to use her money to pay for this thing and to buy it's bedding and food for the entirety of it's stay with us.

There were many more questions, but DD10 did her research and filled her notebook. Once the notebook was filled, I told her that if we were patient, we could probably get a free guinea pig from somewhere. Sure enough, one came available in the local paper. We also got a free cage.

So we brought Mina home. My daughter took care of that piggy like it were her child. She scrubbed the cage once (sometimes twice) a week, fed her, cared for her, geave her treats at Christmas, and so on.

She even kept Psalm 36:6 printed on her cage.

We woke up this morning to find that Mina went to be with God. It was heartbreaking to tell her that the guinea pig was gone. She sobbed all day and there was nothing I could do to take the pain away.

Encouragement in Tough Times

So many things going on in our little lives right now. With the financial distruption to our lives in the beginning of August, things are finally starting to smooth out. By that I mean that hubby and I are at peace with it all. It is far from over, but we are at peace knowing God is in control and only has our ultimate best interest in mind.

Things I have found to be an encouragement at this time:

Books
The Bible - I am reading the book of James and it starts out "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
Our Daily Bread for Persoanl and Family Devotions

Songs
Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns
Revelation Song by Philips, Craig & Dean
Our Great God by Todd Agnew

Friends - For the first time in my life, I feel I have people around me who aren't quick to judge, but will instead pray with me and for me despite their own struggles at this time. I pray for them, too as the act of praying for others invokes hope.

Apple Picking

Personal note: In our household we are facing a financial crisis. I hear that many others are facing these tough economic times and that we are not alone. That's little consolation when faced with a stack of bills and a paycheck that falls short every other week leaving many bills unpaid and not knowing what will happen in the next couple of months.
In the midst of this, I feel so blessed. Blessed to have opportunities like we had today to be able to go and be with friends and forget our troubles for a little while. God is good. He tells us not to worry and that He has everything under control.
Today's entry is about blessing. The blessing of friends, the blessing of educational experiences, and the blessing of fresh food. (Apples taste so good when just picked!)
I probably should have made the kids bring their nature notebooks or art journals and had them sketch some apples or an apple tree. However, that wasn't in the forefront of my mind. My goal was just to get there. Thank God I did.

We went on a field trip with our homeschool group to pick apples at a local orchard. It is good for our kids' souls to get out in the sunshine and fresh air. Even more important sometimes is how good it is for the moms to get together. We were there for 3 hours today and I didn't want to leave. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by the moms who are in our group and today I was really feeling it. I just didn't want to leave.

Our visit started with a wagon ride from the market to the orchard.

Each row of trees was a different type of apple. DS5 really loves Granny Smiths and we were able to find some.

His friend joined us and we had a great time exploring the orchard for the perfect apple.

Somehow DS5 and two of his best friends ended up with Star Wars figurines. I'm not exactly sure how to tie that in with apple picking. The picture was cute, so I included it here anyway.

I told these two to act like they like each other for the picture. This was the best I could get out of them.

We all enjoyed our bag lunches then headed to the petting zoo.

I thought this was a neat picture of my dear friend getting pictures of her kids.

And another dear friend trying to get coordinated to get on the wagon to go back.

I wish I could convey to all of those who were there today how much I love them and feel blessed by them - even if we talked for only a few seconds.

It was probably more that God knew just what I needed today and put me right there.