Shauna from the Five in a Row boards has posted a helpful learning meme on her blog. Here are my answers. If you want to join in on your blog, please leave me a comment with a link to your answers. Hope someone finds this helpful!
1. Name one thing you do as a parent to encourage your child to love learning.
Read! We read lots and lots of books around here. Thankfully, our children will drop just about anything to come and cuddle up for a story.
2. Name an education-related book you read and enjoyed recently and tell why you liked it.
Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss. I originally read this book over a year ago, but I've been re-reading it recently. Once again, I'm inspired with Mrs. Foss' practical, hands-on ideas for creating an atmosphere and lifestyle of learning in the home.
3. What are your favorite sources for finding learning activities and ideas for projects to do with your kids?
others' blogs, using Google search
4. What learning or educational web sites do you visit regularly?
Homeschool Share
Enchanted Learning
Learning Pages
5. What are some of your family’s favorite educational field trips?
Nature walks at parks, children's museums, farms, zoos
6. Name a few of your family’s favorite educational games or toys.
These may not be considered educational, but they teach my little ones a whole lot about counting, colors, taking turns, criticial thinking, and they even give my 6 year old some reading practice:
Mayberry Monopoly
Uncle Wiggly
Go Fish
"Concentration/Memory" type card games
Sequence for Kids
Bingo games to practice any skill
Checkers
Chess
Rummy
7. What household items have you found educational uses for?
jellybeans, buttons, rocks, shells, cars (for estimating and counting), juice can lids (for making magnetic fishing games), paper towel rolls (for crafts), popsicle sticks (math and crafts), cookie sheets (for using magnetic letters and numbers), shaving cream (for practicing letters)
8. What is your favorite catalog, web site, or store for finding educational toys and games?
Constructive Playthings
Young Explorers
Rainbow Resource
Timberdoodle
9. What is your favorite source for finding inexpensive educational books and other materials?
thrift stores, used book stores, ebay
10. What is your favorite learning find that you came across unexpectedly?
I recently read about a series of books about childhoods of famous composers. I realized that the one about Beethoven was an old book my mother had bought for me as a child because he was my favorite composer. I still remember my excitement when Mama brought home that book from a yard sale and gave it to me. It included the scores for a few of his short piano works, and I immediately chose one that I wanted to learn to play. That book helped to fuel my early love of classical music, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out that my Beethoven book was one in a series called Great Musicians by Opal Wheeler, and most of the series is back in print. A couple of months ago when I went home for a visit, I found my precious book on the bookcase. I must thank my mother who who doesn't like to get rid of books! I plan on purchasing more of the series to use with our composer studies.
11. What is something that you want to learn or have learned how to do as an adult?
Draw and paint! I have always wanted to take an art class. This is the year I plan to do it!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
PDF
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Puppet Shows and Lullabies
Last night we had a couple of really sweet moments at bedtime. (Amazing that my tired memory remembered them until this morning! LOL)
First, as I was getting Sweet Pea ready for bed, I heard Giggly Girl out in the hall saying, "Mom, I got a pwize! (surprise)". Then I heard a little mewing sound and saw one of Sweet Pea's stuffed kitty toys peek it's little head around the corner of her door. Sweet Pea was laughing and giggling as her big sister put on a little puppet show with her stuffed animals. When she was finished, Giggly girl tossed the animals to Sweet Pea so she would have them for nighty-nite time. She has done this several times in the past, and I always forget to write about it. Sometimes the productions are even more elaborate with lots of different animals (always Sweet Pea's favorites) and different voices. Many times she has done this to help calm her little sister when she did not want to have her diaper changed, and I never have to ask Giggly Girl to do it. A simple gift of love from a big sister.
A few minutes later when Superman came in to give Sweet Pea a goodnight hug, he asked if he could rock her and sing to her. So he got up in her rocker, and she climbed up into his lap. He sang "Lullaby, Say Goodnight" to the tune of Brahms' Lullaby, and she was grinning from ear to ear. Very sweet. It made this Mama's heart sing!
First, as I was getting Sweet Pea ready for bed, I heard Giggly Girl out in the hall saying, "Mom, I got a pwize! (surprise)". Then I heard a little mewing sound and saw one of Sweet Pea's stuffed kitty toys peek it's little head around the corner of her door. Sweet Pea was laughing and giggling as her big sister put on a little puppet show with her stuffed animals. When she was finished, Giggly girl tossed the animals to Sweet Pea so she would have them for nighty-nite time. She has done this several times in the past, and I always forget to write about it. Sometimes the productions are even more elaborate with lots of different animals (always Sweet Pea's favorites) and different voices. Many times she has done this to help calm her little sister when she did not want to have her diaper changed, and I never have to ask Giggly Girl to do it. A simple gift of love from a big sister.
A few minutes later when Superman came in to give Sweet Pea a goodnight hug, he asked if he could rock her and sing to her. So he got up in her rocker, and she climbed up into his lap. He sang "Lullaby, Say Goodnight" to the tune of Brahms' Lullaby, and she was grinning from ear to ear. Very sweet. It made this Mama's heart sing!
Friday, December 28, 2007
You might ask...
Why am I blogging about animal classification charts and other miscellaneous topics this week? Mainly because I have several things I've wanted to post on here, and never seem to get around to doing it. So this week, as we're enjoying the warm comfort of just being at home and taking a break from the normal routine, I'm taking some time to post a few tidbits. Most of these are things I want to include in Superman's end-of-year portfolio assessment, and collecting them here helps me to keep them all in one place. If anyone else gleans an idea, then that's great too! I love sharing great ideas that others have shared with me. If it weren't for the willingness of other homeschooling moms to let me glean from their wisdom and experience, these first two years would not have been nearly as enjoyable. It's my prayer that I may be of some help to someone else through this blog.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
It's a Zoo Around Here!
Our children love animals (both real ones and stuffed toys)! So when we started using Five in a Row last year, I was excited about Jane Claire Lambert's idea of making animal cards to use for classification games. You can make your own (or let your children make them) or use pre-made ones. I found some beautiful ones over at Homeschool Share that the ladies there must have put a lot of time into making. I simply printed them on cardstock and laminated them to use with our animal classification board.
I got the idea for this board from the FIAR archives. The board is a tri-fold project board (I found ours at Michael's). I used red and blue cardstock for the two major groups of animals: verterbrates and invertebrates. Then I cut sheet protectors in half to create pockets, which I taped onto each piece of cardstock with double-sided tape. When we encounter a new animal in one of our units/books, we add the card to our collection and stick it in the appropriate pocket. The tri-fold board is nice because I can just fold it up and stick it in a closet or behind a couch. (I like portability!)
You can also use the cards to play sorting games and include very young children by letting them sort into piles such as "fins, feathers, fur". Now that our two-year old is wanting to become more involved in school, I think we'll play this type of game more often and maybe even find a way to incorporate our stuffed animals into the fun!
I got the idea for this board from the FIAR archives. The board is a tri-fold project board (I found ours at Michael's). I used red and blue cardstock for the two major groups of animals: verterbrates and invertebrates. Then I cut sheet protectors in half to create pockets, which I taped onto each piece of cardstock with double-sided tape. When we encounter a new animal in one of our units/books, we add the card to our collection and stick it in the appropriate pocket. The tri-fold board is nice because I can just fold it up and stick it in a closet or behind a couch. (I like portability!)
You can also use the cards to play sorting games and include very young children by letting them sort into piles such as "fins, feathers, fur". Now that our two-year old is wanting to become more involved in school, I think we'll play this type of game more often and maybe even find a way to incorporate our stuffed animals into the fun!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Our Christmas Book Nook
I hope you all enjoyed a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones. We had a fun and relaxing day around here playing with the children and spending time with Grandma and Granddaddy before they head back home.
I wanted to take a moment to share our Christmas reading list. We have read so many wonderful stories in the last two weeks. Some were old favorites; others were new treasures we discovered and will welcome back next Christmas. We're always seeking out good books, so if you have any additional favorites, please feel free to share them!
B Is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet by Isabel Wilner
Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers by Andrew Clements
*Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
*Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck
A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith
*The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
*The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger
*The Friendly Beasts: A Traditional Christmas Carol, illustrated by Sarah Chamberlain
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
*Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Jane Yolen and Tomie dePaola
Harvey Hare's Christmas by Bernadette Watts
*Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie dePaola
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
*The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
Merry Christmas Mom and Dad by Mercer Mayer
*Mouse and Mole and the Christmas Walk by Doug Cushman
On Christmas Eve by Margaret Wise Brown
*Room for A Little One by Martin Waddell
The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale retold by Angela Elwell Hunt
*This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
This is the Star by Joyce Dunbar
*Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate
*indicates books for which I've written short descriptions in previous posts
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
A Gift for our Feathered Friends
I have been looking forward to today's Around the Manger book and activity for several days now because I knew it would be a favorite for the children. First we read "The Legend of the Birds" from Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Jane Yolen and Tomie de Paola. (This is a wonderful Christmas resource filled with stories, songs, and poetry.) "The Legend of the Birds" is a sweet story that tells how the different birds worked together to spread the good news of Christ's birth and of the ways in which they served the baby in the manger.
Afterwards we read Mouse and Mole and the Christmas Walk by Doug Cushman. (Mouse and Mole go for a wintry walk to find the perfect Christmas tree. Instead of chopping it down, they decorate it with special treats they make as Christmas gifts for the birds. We really enjoyed this book.) Then we put together some treats for the birds that visit our feeders. We spread pinecones with peanut butter, rolled them in birdseed, and tied a string to the top. We mixed up some suet balls for our woodpeckers (see recipe below). I also strung some cranberries and popcorn on a string, making two small garlands for the children to hang. Finally, we spread some stale bread with peanut butter and sprinkled some bird seed on top. We chose a little fir tree to decorate and (in the bitter cold and blowing wind) went outside and hung up our goodies. It was almost dark when we finished, so hopefully we'll see some visitors tomorrow morning. Here is the suet recipe and a photo of our finished present for the birds.
Piecrust Suet
Mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup shortening, 1/4 tsp. salt and just enough water to form a ball. There's no need to bake it. Just put the treat out near your seed feeders and watch it disappear. (At least that's what the recipe says! We've never made these, so we'll see if the birds think they're yummy - I'll update later.)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Lambs and Cows
I wanted to take a minute and post some more ornaments we've made as part of our Around the Manger unit.
Last Friday we read The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado, a tender story about a crippled little lamb who feels left out and different from the rest of the flock. He finally realizes that God has a special place for him when he witnesses a very special event.
After our reading we made little lamb ornaments from polymer clay using these directions. I have to take a moment and brag on my 4 and 6 yr. old. These ornaments were a bit more involved than I realized, but they were do-able. However, we worked on them for close to an hour, and Superman and Giggly Girl sat patiently working and shaping their clay and following my directions. They were so proud of their ornaments when they finished. Even though this was not really a "creative" activity (because we were following someone else's model), it was a good exercise in following directions and getting the feel of working with clay. (This was really our first project using clay, and they enjoyed it.)
On Monday we read Who is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate. This is a story about the animals of the stable preparing for their very special guest, Baby Jesus. It uses repetitive language that had my children reading along here and there by the end of the first reading. The cow is featured as he asks, "Who is coming to our house?" So for this book we made cowbell ornaments from small terracotta pots. We loosely followed these directions.
Last Friday we read The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado, a tender story about a crippled little lamb who feels left out and different from the rest of the flock. He finally realizes that God has a special place for him when he witnesses a very special event.
After our reading we made little lamb ornaments from polymer clay using these directions. I have to take a moment and brag on my 4 and 6 yr. old. These ornaments were a bit more involved than I realized, but they were do-able. However, we worked on them for close to an hour, and Superman and Giggly Girl sat patiently working and shaping their clay and following my directions. They were so proud of their ornaments when they finished. Even though this was not really a "creative" activity (because we were following someone else's model), it was a good exercise in following directions and getting the feel of working with clay. (This was really our first project using clay, and they enjoyed it.)
On Monday we read Who is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate. This is a story about the animals of the stable preparing for their very special guest, Baby Jesus. It uses repetitive language that had my children reading along here and there by the end of the first reading. The cow is featured as he asks, "Who is coming to our house?" So for this book we made cowbell ornaments from small terracotta pots. We loosely followed these directions.
That's all for now. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Christmas Lights and Waterslides
Tonight we went to a Holiday Light Festival at a local waterpark. Obviously we didn't wear our swimsuits in the 40 degree weather, but we did go down a waterslide that had been transformed into a toboggan chute! There were pony rides, a petting zoo, a carousel, a hayride tour of lights, and a visit with Santa and his baby reindeer. We even saw a live nativity with sheep, a donkey, and a camel to boot. My parents are here for Christmas, so they were able to go with us (a huge treat for the children). Giggly Girl's and Superman's favorite attraction was the toboggan chute. (They even convinced me to go down it with them!) For Sweet Pea, of course, the animals were the highlight for her. She was tickled pink to be on that pony, and she would have climbed right into the pens with all of the other critters if we had let her.
What a fun night to remember!
What a fun night to remember!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Gingerbread Fun!
Here's a peek at our Advent activity for today. First we read Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett and then built gingerbread houses. I would never have attempted this if it weren't for reading about these kits over at Real Learning. We got them at Costco for $9.00. All of the gingerbread is pre-made, and the kit has everything you need to craft a delicious little cottage! The girls and I had lots of fun with this. (Superman chose to put more ornaments on the tree with Grandma. Those two had their own fun going down memory lane with his little box of personal ornaments he's collected over the years. Very sweet!)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Oh, the Weather Outside...
is delightful now, but it started out frightful to say the least. The snow began falling this morning around 8:45 just as I was heading out the door to take Superman and Giggly Girl to church for their Christmas play dress rehearsal. It was so beautiful coming down to form that first blanket of white, and the kids and I enjoyed our 10 minute drive to church. I got to the church and settled them in and then headed back home to do a few things before I had to pick them up at 11:00. As I headed out of the parking lot and down the 2-lane highway, I began to realize that getting home was going to be trickier than I thought. There were no salt trucks or shovels to be seen anywhere and the roads were becoming more difficult to maneuver by the minute. I finally got to our neighborhood and began to climb the curvy hill that is the entrance to our subdivision. This southern girl thought she was going slowly enough, but apparently not. I began to slide toward the right hand side of the road and made a perfectly straight line for a driveway. All would have been well if it had not been for the detail of a mailbox next to the driveway. I tried to miss it, but I really had no control of the car at that point. So, I braced myself and closed my eyes in preparation for impact. And oh, what an impact. I completely mowed over the mailbox, post and all. The silver lining in this is that the mailbox did stop the car, and I didn't go into the ditch on the other side of the driveway. By instinct I reached for my cell phone only to realize that yes, you guessed it, I had left it at home. I went on up to the home to apologize and explain to the owners of the mailbox. Their teenage daughters were home and told me that their parents had just left town for a few days. They called their mother on her cell phone, and she was very kind and understanding. Then I called Kurt, and he bundled up Sweet Pea and came and rescued me. Praise God I didn't have any children with me and that I hit a mailbox rather than another car or a tree or something. By the time Kurt got to me, there were several other cars that had slid off of the road, and it had become nearly impossible to get into or out of our neighborhood. (Where are those salt trucks when you need them?) I did (barely) make it back to church in time to pick up the kids from choir practice.
The rest of our day was fairly calm, and we enjoyed a quiet Saturday being snowed in. My parents arrived this afternoon, and Mama and I made a big pot of steaming vegetable soup. She fried up some yummy cornbread to go with it, and we enjoyed a delicious meal - a perfect ending to what started out as a not-so-perfect day.
The rest of our day was fairly calm, and we enjoyed a quiet Saturday being snowed in. My parents arrived this afternoon, and Mama and I made a big pot of steaming vegetable soup. She fried up some yummy cornbread to go with it, and we enjoyed a delicious meal - a perfect ending to what started out as a not-so-perfect day.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
An Advent Chain
After being out of town for the last two weeks, I felt a bit rushed to get home and get things ready for Christmas. I realized very quickly that it was not all "going to get done". All the normal decorations may not get up, the normal amount of baking won't happen, and I won't be sending out our regular 150 Christmas cards - they will be New Year's Cards more than likely!
All that to say, I really want to focus on the real meaning of Christmas this year with the kids. Yes, we will be going to visit Santa and we've already watched Rudolph and Frosty a time or two, but I want to continue our traditions that focus on Jesus and maybe add a new tradition or two.
This year I made an "Advent Chain". Each day we remove a link and countdown the days until Christmas. On the inside of each link I've written a special activity that we can do together as a family. Some are "fun" things like watching a Christmas movie while sipping hot chocolate. Some are more outwardly focused such as going online to choose our Operation Christmas Child gifts. (This is what Aunt Tara and Uncle Gary request each year for their Christmas gift, and we enjoy choosing a special gift from the Samaritan's Purse catalog.) Below is the photo of our chain. I meant to take a picture before it got so short, although it only had fourteen links to begin with! The kids ask first thing every morning if it's time to take down a link, and I try to hold them off until afternoon because so many of the activities are things I had planned on us doing in the evening (like going to see Christmas lights in our jammies).
A few other activities I put inside the links:
•read Gingerbread Baby and decorate a gingerbread house
•watch a favorite Christmas video
•bake Christmas cookies
•playing a board game
•make apple-cinnamon ornaments
Hope you're enjoying this Advent season!
All that to say, I really want to focus on the real meaning of Christmas this year with the kids. Yes, we will be going to visit Santa and we've already watched Rudolph and Frosty a time or two, but I want to continue our traditions that focus on Jesus and maybe add a new tradition or two.
This year I made an "Advent Chain". Each day we remove a link and countdown the days until Christmas. On the inside of each link I've written a special activity that we can do together as a family. Some are "fun" things like watching a Christmas movie while sipping hot chocolate. Some are more outwardly focused such as going online to choose our Operation Christmas Child gifts. (This is what Aunt Tara and Uncle Gary request each year for their Christmas gift, and we enjoy choosing a special gift from the Samaritan's Purse catalog.) Below is the photo of our chain. I meant to take a picture before it got so short, although it only had fourteen links to begin with! The kids ask first thing every morning if it's time to take down a link, and I try to hold them off until afternoon because so many of the activities are things I had planned on us doing in the evening (like going to see Christmas lights in our jammies).
A few other activities I put inside the links:
•read Gingerbread Baby and decorate a gingerbread house
•watch a favorite Christmas video
•bake Christmas cookies
•playing a board game
•make apple-cinnamon ornaments
Hope you're enjoying this Advent season!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Mary and Joseph
I've gotten a little bit behind with posting each day's book an ornament that we're doing for our Around the Manger unit. On Wednesday we read Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck and illustrated by Felicia Bond. This is a little board book that I believe we've had since Superman was a baby. It's a sweet poem about the animals and other members of the Nativity. We also read a version of The Little Drummer Boy illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. This carol and the old 1970's video version of the story have been favorites of Superman for a couple of years now, so when I saw this at Borders I had to bring it home.
Our ornaments for today were Mary and Joseph made from clothespins. I was never able to find any specific directions for making clothespin dolls, so I kind of learned by trial and error. This is what I came up with. (Warning: I am not a seamstress, so we used a lot of glue! LOL)
1. For each doll I pre-cut (with pinking shears) a rectangle of fabric twice the length of the clothespin.
I cut a small slit in the center so it would slip over the head of the doll.
2. I cut a small rectangle (maybe 2 or 3 inches) for Mary's headpiece (maybe 1 1/2 inches for Joseph's). Then I cut a tiny slit in the center of these and ran a piece of twine through and knotted it so that the knot would be on the underside of the head piece. I anchored the knot to the fabric with a dot of glue.
3. I had the children slip the large rectangle over the clothespin to make the robe. Then they ran a strip of glue down the front and back of the pin and pressed the cloth down. (We did the front and let it dry; then we did the back.)
4. Then they spread glue on the top, back, and sides of the head and kind of molded the headpieces to form around the heads. Make sure the knot is on the underneath side next to the clothespin. (Since there was more fabric in Mary's veil, we had to do some folding and gluing of pleats in the back of hers.)
5. Then they drew on faces with magic marker, and we tied them on the tree.
We had fun making these little dolls. Superman wants to make some that are wise men. (Maybe we'll save that for Epiphany. I know that our tree will certainly still be up then!)
Have a lovely weekend!
Our ornaments for today were Mary and Joseph made from clothespins. I was never able to find any specific directions for making clothespin dolls, so I kind of learned by trial and error. This is what I came up with. (Warning: I am not a seamstress, so we used a lot of glue! LOL)
1. For each doll I pre-cut (with pinking shears) a rectangle of fabric twice the length of the clothespin.
I cut a small slit in the center so it would slip over the head of the doll.
2. I cut a small rectangle (maybe 2 or 3 inches) for Mary's headpiece (maybe 1 1/2 inches for Joseph's). Then I cut a tiny slit in the center of these and ran a piece of twine through and knotted it so that the knot would be on the underside of the head piece. I anchored the knot to the fabric with a dot of glue.
3. I had the children slip the large rectangle over the clothespin to make the robe. Then they ran a strip of glue down the front and back of the pin and pressed the cloth down. (We did the front and let it dry; then we did the back.)
4. Then they spread glue on the top, back, and sides of the head and kind of molded the headpieces to form around the heads. Make sure the knot is on the underneath side next to the clothespin. (Since there was more fabric in Mary's veil, we had to do some folding and gluing of pleats in the back of hers.)
5. Then they drew on faces with magic marker, and we tied them on the tree.
We had fun making these little dolls. Superman wants to make some that are wise men. (Maybe we'll save that for Epiphany. I know that our tree will certainly still be up then!)
Have a lovely weekend!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Crafting Amidst Chaos
We returned from our vacation three days ago. Our house is a disaster. Just imagine many piles of laundry waiting to be either washed, dried, folded, or put away. My wonderful husband has a couple of days of vacation left and is doing his best to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping for me, get the tree up, and decorate the outside of the house. He's doing those things because they need to be done, but also because he knows that I really wanted to be able to do some special Advent activities with the children this week and carry on (as much as is possible) with the 3R's since we didn't do a lot of that while traveling. Thank you, Honey!
Yesterday we began our "Around the Manger" unit by reading Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. This is a very sweet rendition of the Nativity story - I'd like to purchase this one for our library. We continued with The Friendly Beasts illustrated by Sarah Chamberlain. I searched everywhere for the Tomie de Paola version and couldn't find it, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the illustrations in our version. We've also enjoyed listening to this carol on A Classical Kids Christmas. We talked about how special all of God's creation is to Him and read Psalm 148 which talks about all creatures (including the animals) praising their Creator. After lunch and putting Sweet Pea down for her nap, we read This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten. We really enjoyed the repetitive rhymes and beautiful illustrations in this book. I ordered it even though I had not heard of it because I was looking for a book about the stable for our unit. I am so pleased that I found it.
After our reading we began our first ornament. (If you read my original post about this Christmas unit, I was undecided about the ornaments for Days 1 and 2. Here's what I finally came up with.) We used mini-popsicle sticks to make Baby Jesus in the manger. We glued 3 sticks together to form the outline of the manger, glued on the yellow card stock for a backing, and then glued on Baby Jesus. His body is 1 stick wrapped in white felt and secured with glue (Note: I learned the hard way that felt does not adhere well with glue. Next time I'll use some type of thin cotton fabric.) His head is just light brown construction paper on which the children drew a face. Then we glued on some raffia for the hay. I think these turned out pretty cute!
So far, so good. He's making much progress, and we've had two wonderful afternoons of reading Christmas books and crafting ornaments. (And we even had time to bake some cookies together yesterday to take to our new next door neighbors. This was Sweet Pea's first time baking with us. She was a pro with the hand-held mixer!)
Yesterday we began our "Around the Manger" unit by reading Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. This is a very sweet rendition of the Nativity story - I'd like to purchase this one for our library. We continued with The Friendly Beasts illustrated by Sarah Chamberlain. I searched everywhere for the Tomie de Paola version and couldn't find it, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the illustrations in our version. We've also enjoyed listening to this carol on A Classical Kids Christmas. We talked about how special all of God's creation is to Him and read Psalm 148 which talks about all creatures (including the animals) praising their Creator. After lunch and putting Sweet Pea down for her nap, we read This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten. We really enjoyed the repetitive rhymes and beautiful illustrations in this book. I ordered it even though I had not heard of it because I was looking for a book about the stable for our unit. I am so pleased that I found it.
After our reading we began our first ornament. (If you read my original post about this Christmas unit, I was undecided about the ornaments for Days 1 and 2. Here's what I finally came up with.) We used mini-popsicle sticks to make Baby Jesus in the manger. We glued 3 sticks together to form the outline of the manger, glued on the yellow card stock for a backing, and then glued on Baby Jesus. His body is 1 stick wrapped in white felt and secured with glue (Note: I learned the hard way that felt does not adhere well with glue. Next time I'll use some type of thin cotton fabric.) His head is just light brown construction paper on which the children drew a face. Then we glued on some raffia for the hay. I think these turned out pretty cute!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Disney World!
I’m writing this as we return home from vacation. We’ve had a wonderful time visiting family in Florida and Georgia, and as I mentioned in my last post, we also went to Disney World! This all came about at the last minute when a dear friend offered us the use of their timeshare in Orlando for the week after Thanksgiving. It had a wonderful water park that the kids enjoyed, and we were only ten minutes from Disney. Thank you, Rob and Laurie!
Since the children had never been to Disney and have wanted to go for quite some time, they were ecstatic when we told them where we were going. The excitement grew with each mile as we traveled down I-75, making a stop at my parents’ home in Ga. for the night and then heading to Orlando the next day.
Initially we were going to just spend one day at the Magic Kingdom, but after getting several opinions from friends on the FIAR boards, we decided to also attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party, which really amounted to almost a 2nd whole day for us at the park. I am so glad that we did this. The kids’ eyes just lit up as they took in all of the beautiful Christmas decorations, fireworks, and the Christmas parade. One of their favorite things was meeting the various Disney characters and getting their pictures and autographs.
We were able to do a character lunch at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends, which was a highlight of the trip. We’ve been big Pooh fans around here for several years,. Last year Superman and I read The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh together as our afternoon read-aloud, so these characters have become cherished friends of ours. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyeore each came around to the individual tables and greeted the children, giving out hugs and autographs. They also did a little parade around the restaurant with all of the children, and Superman and Giggly Girl got to be right behind Pooh for that. We took some great pictures, one of which might be our family Christmas card this year. I think this lunch was mine and Kurt’s absolute favorite part of the whole vacation. Just seeing the looks of wonder and delight on our children’s faces and watching them hold their little arms up for hugs from that “silly old bear” and his friends - this was the highlight for us.
The absolute favorite ride for all three children were the Indy race cars - they begged to ride this again and again. Other favorites were It’s a Small World (I love this ride!), face painting (Giggly Girl was a cutie of a tiger), meeting Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (one of Sweet Pea’s favorites), and the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor where Superman got to be in the show! The only thing that was not looked upon favorably by the children was the “bad guy” float in the afternoon parade. They wanted nothing to do with Captain Hook as he walked over to them or with the various evil queens, wicked witches, and not-so-nice stepmothers that were showcased on that float!
Another thing the kids were fascinated with was Cinderella’s Castle. It has sparked so much interest in the subject that I think we’ll consider a unit on royalty and castles this winter. We also enjoyed one of the advantages of home school this week. After arriving in Orlando we learned that the week after Thanksgiving is Disney’s least crowded week! This proved true for us, as the longest line we waited in was maybe 25 or 30 minutes. That’s a good thing when you have a 2, 4, and 6 yr. old in tow! I can’t imagine now ever going back at any other time of year. Oh, and one more thing - I really benefited from The Unofficial Guide to Disney World (thank you, Diane). It really helped us plan our days and fit in what was important to us.
Below are some photos from our “magical” trip - Enjoy!
Since the children had never been to Disney and have wanted to go for quite some time, they were ecstatic when we told them where we were going. The excitement grew with each mile as we traveled down I-75, making a stop at my parents’ home in Ga. for the night and then heading to Orlando the next day.
Initially we were going to just spend one day at the Magic Kingdom, but after getting several opinions from friends on the FIAR boards, we decided to also attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party, which really amounted to almost a 2nd whole day for us at the park. I am so glad that we did this. The kids’ eyes just lit up as they took in all of the beautiful Christmas decorations, fireworks, and the Christmas parade. One of their favorite things was meeting the various Disney characters and getting their pictures and autographs.
We were able to do a character lunch at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends, which was a highlight of the trip. We’ve been big Pooh fans around here for several years,. Last year Superman and I read The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh together as our afternoon read-aloud, so these characters have become cherished friends of ours. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyeore each came around to the individual tables and greeted the children, giving out hugs and autographs. They also did a little parade around the restaurant with all of the children, and Superman and Giggly Girl got to be right behind Pooh for that. We took some great pictures, one of which might be our family Christmas card this year. I think this lunch was mine and Kurt’s absolute favorite part of the whole vacation. Just seeing the looks of wonder and delight on our children’s faces and watching them hold their little arms up for hugs from that “silly old bear” and his friends - this was the highlight for us.
The absolute favorite ride for all three children were the Indy race cars - they begged to ride this again and again. Other favorites were It’s a Small World (I love this ride!), face painting (Giggly Girl was a cutie of a tiger), meeting Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (one of Sweet Pea’s favorites), and the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor where Superman got to be in the show! The only thing that was not looked upon favorably by the children was the “bad guy” float in the afternoon parade. They wanted nothing to do with Captain Hook as he walked over to them or with the various evil queens, wicked witches, and not-so-nice stepmothers that were showcased on that float!
Another thing the kids were fascinated with was Cinderella’s Castle. It has sparked so much interest in the subject that I think we’ll consider a unit on royalty and castles this winter. We also enjoyed one of the advantages of home school this week. After arriving in Orlando we learned that the week after Thanksgiving is Disney’s least crowded week! This proved true for us, as the longest line we waited in was maybe 25 or 30 minutes. That’s a good thing when you have a 2, 4, and 6 yr. old in tow! I can’t imagine now ever going back at any other time of year. Oh, and one more thing - I really benefited from The Unofficial Guide to Disney World (thank you, Diane). It really helped us plan our days and fit in what was important to us.
Below are some photos from our “magical” trip - Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Christmas Plans - Finally!
I’ve wanted to post our Christmas plans for quite a while now, but I haven’t had wireless access since we’ve been on vacation. (See next post about our Disney trip!)
Since we are taking a week off this week, I wanted to still have something somewhat structured going on the week prior to Christmas - a unit that would really help us to focus on Christ’s birth. I have also wanted to do a farm animals unit this year but just haven’t figured out where I would fit it in. Sooo…we’re going to do a unit on the animals of the Nativity. We'll call it Around the Manger. I got the idea for doing a unit like this over at By Sun and Candlelight. Thank you, Dawn, for the inspiration! It has been incredibly fun to put this together. I began by searching for picture books about the animals who were possibly present at the manger. I was surprised at how many books there are that tell the Christmas story from an animal’s perspective. There are a couple that I didn’t include simply because I could not find them at the library or the bookstore: The Friendly Beasts by Tomie de Paola and A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith. I’ve read good reviews of both of these, so I hope to find them before we finish our unit.
One of the main things we’ll be doing is making a Christmas tree ornament for each book that we read. I love having ornaments handmade by the kids to hang on our tree. We usually make several in the weeks leading up to Christmas - some to keep and some to give away. This year I thought it would be fun to make ornaments that tell the story of the Nativity and hang them on a small tree. When we’re finished each child will have their own “Nativity Tree” for their rooms. (In case you’re wondering why we don’t just make a regular Nativity set, it’s because last year Superman and Giggly Girl wanted a tree for their room, and I also felt the ornaments had a better chance of not getting lost if they were showcased on a tree rather than on the top of a dresser!)
I planned nine days of books and activities, but it will probably take us longer than that to complete all of the ornaments. (We take our time when crafting around here!) I’d also like to do a little devotional based on the book of the day, and I’ve included some ideas for history, geography, science, etc. (There is no way we'll get to all of this, but there's always next year!)
Here are the books we’ll be reading:
Luke 2:1-20 (The Christmas Story)
This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
Who is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate
The Donkey’s Dream by Barbara Berger
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell
Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Jane Yolen & Tomie de Paola (We’ll read “The Legend of the Birds” and “The Littlest Camel.” This is a wonderful Christmas resource of stories, songs, recipes, etc. Right now I’m using the library’s copy, but I’ll definitely purchase this to use in the future.)
Day 1
Read: Christmas Story from Luke 2. We’ll use the flannel graph because it’s one of our favorite ways to do Bible stories.
Ornament: We’ll use old-fashioned clothespins to make Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I’m still working out the details on this one, but here is a cute example of how to make a clothespin ornament (scroll down a bit).
Bible/Devotional: Read John 3:16. Why was Jesus born? Talk about how much God loves us and cares for us that He would send His only Son to be our Savior.
Geography: Locate modern day Bethlehem on the world map. Talk about what it was like there when Jesus was born. Talk about deserts and show some pictures of what Bethlehem looks like today.
Day 2:
Read: This is the Stable
Ornament: We will attempt to make a little stable out of popsicle sticks. I haven’t tried to do a mock up yet, so if it appears that this will be too tedious a craft, I’ll have to figure out an alternative. Any ideas out there?
Bible/Devotional: What do you think the stable was like? Think about the barns we have visited. What are some of the sights, sounds, smells that you can remember? Talk about the fact that Jesus came to be our King. In what kind of place do you think a king would be born? How is this different from a stable? Why do you think God chose for Jesus to be born in a stable instead of a palace?
History: Talk about what a stable was like during this time period. (I’ve read some differing opinions on this subject. Some scholars believe it could have been a cave just outside of town reserved for the sheep that would be sacrificed in the temple. Others say that it was common for families to use the bottom floor of their homes as shelter for their animals, and that they even had a stone manger in this room. Families lived and slept in the upper rooms. I’m still researching this, so I don’t know if we’ll broach this topic or not yet.)
Science: Which animals do you think might have been in the stable when Jesus was born?
Field Trip: At some point during our unit, I’d like to take a field trip to a working farm where we can go inside of a barn and try to get an idea of what it might have been like inside the stable where Jesus was born. Even though the structure itself will be different, at least our senses can experience some of the same surroundings that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph might have experienced. This would be a good day for this trip, but we’ll fit it in where we can.
Go-along: If we have time, we’ll read This is the Star, which has a repetitive story structure similar to that of This is the Stable. Animals are also part of this story line. This would be a great day to bake star-shaped cookies!
Day 3
Read: Who is Coming to Our House?
Ornament: With this book, we’ll begin to highlight one animal for each day. Today’s animal is the cow, so we’ll make a cowbell ornament from a small flower pot. Here is an example. We’ll probably paint them either brown or white with black spots.
Bible/Devotional: In this story the animals are all busy working in the barn to make it ready for Baby Jesus’ arrival. Read Colossians 3:23. Talk about doing everything as if we’re doing it for Jesus - taking pride in our work and doing our best for Him.
History: Talk about the types of work the animals of the stable might have been used for in Jesus’ day. (ex. sheep - sacrifices; donkeys - transportation; cows - milk, food)
Science: Make a classification card for the cow and sort onto our classification board. Since we already have most of these animals on our board from our Before FIAR books, we’ll include a fact on each of these cards mentioning what the animal was used for in Jesus’ day. If we have time, we might read a non-fiction picture book about cows.
Day 4
Read: The Donkey’s Dream
Bible/Devotional: In this story the donkey dreams about the load he is carrying to Bethlehem. The author uses symbols in the donkey’s dream to represent Mary, but we’ll choose a couple of these (the fountain, the rose, and Heaven) and discuss them in the context of Jesus.
Ornament: I’ll cutout donkey outlines from grey felt and let the kids glue on the ears, face, and a colorful blanket for his back.
Geography: Locate Nazareth on the map. Talk about how far it is from Bethlehem and how long the trip would have taken, what it would have been like to travel by donkey, how tiring it must have been, etc. Talk about why they had to make the trip (Caesar ordering a census, taxing, etc.)
Science: Make a classification card for the donkey and add to our board.
Field trip: We have a farm nearby that raises donkeys and miniature horses, so we might try to visit there.
Day 5
Read: The Crippled Lamb
Bible/Devotional: How did it make the lamb feel when the others made fun of him? Have you ever felt this way? God made us all wonderfully unique with different talents and abilities. Because the lamb had to stay behind in the stable, and because he wanted to help the mother and baby, he was able to give baby Jesus the gift of warmth. Look what he would have missed out on if he had been able to travel with the rest of the sheep! This would also be a good opportunity to discuss our reactions to people who may look or do things differently from us. We've already talked about this quite a bit, because Grammy is in a wheelchair, but this book offers another gentle opportunity for this discussion.
Ornament: Today we’re going to make a sheep from sculpey clay. We’ve never used this art medium before, but I think the kids will love it!
Science: Make an animal classification card for the sheep and place on board. Discuss possible uses for sheep during Jesus’ day (wool, sacrifices, food)
Day 6
Read: Room for a Little One
Bible/Devotional: Read Revelation 3:20. Talk about making room in our hearts for Jesus and inviting Him in.
Ornament: Take a mason jar lid. Separate the ring and the lid. We’ll google a picture of an ox, print it out, glue it on the lid portion. Then we’ll decorate the ring with buttons, beads, ribbon, glitter, etc. Tie a ribbon hanger around the ring, then glue the lid into the ring.
History: Place the birth of Jesus on our timeline.
Science: Talk about oxen, look at some pictures, and make a classification card for our board. This is an animal we are not that familiar with, so we’ll try to spend a bit more time looking at pictures, etc.
Day 7
Read: “The Legend of the Birds” from Hark! A Christmas Sampler
Bible/Devotional: Talk about how the bird was willing to sacrifice her own comfort for that of Baby Jesus. What do we have that we could give or do for Jesus? When we sacrifice something for Jesus (gifts, talents, time, money) that is a way we can worship Him. Read verses about all creation, including animals, praising and worshipping God (Rev. 5:8-13/Ps. 148)
We might also focus on how much God cares for the animals and everything He created. (Matt. 10:29; Psalm 50:10-11). If He cares that much about animals, think how much more He cares about you!
Ornament: Some of my favorite ornaments from childhood are some wooden cutouts of animals that my mother and I painted together. So for today we’ll paint wooden bird cutouts (robin redbreasts, of course!)
Language Arts/Types of literature: We’ll talk about what a legend is and how it is different from non-fiction (ex. The Bible)
Science: We’ll add a classification card for the robin.
Nature Study: We’ll make some pinecone bird feeders (spread pinecone with peanut butter and roll in birdseed), string some popcorn and fruit pieces and decorate a small tree for our birds outside our dining room window.
Then we’ll observe any birds who stop by for a snack. Hopefully we’ll see some robins, and if we do, I’d like to snap a digital photo of one and have the kids draw it in their nature journals.
Cooking: I found a couple of simple recipes for homemade suet cakes in my Birds and Blooms magazine. I think we’ll try our hand at making some of these treats for our feathered friends and then hang them out on our special Christmas tree for the birds
Go-Along: Tonight for one of our bedtime stories we’ll read Jingle, the Christmas Clown by Tomie de Paola. It is another story about some animals who gave of themselves for God’s glory. They weren’t present at the manger. Rather, they were a group of circus animals who, along with their friend Jingle the clown, performed their circus act on Christmas Eve for the people of a small, destitute Italian village. (This is such a sweet story.)
Day 8 (I might save today’s activities for Epiphany, Jan. 6, when we’ll focus on the wise men.)
Read: “The Littlest Camel” from Hark! A Christmas Sampler
Go-Along: The Story of the Three Wise Men by Tomie de Paola
Bible/Devotional: Read Luke 2:1-15, the visit of the wise men. Talk about their gifts for Jesus and think of some gifts we can give to Jesus.
Ornament: Glass balls. We’ll google a picture of a camel, cut it out, and insert into a plain glass ball. We’ll also insert some shiny beads, colorful raffia, etc. and tie with a pretty ribbon hanger.
Science: Add a classification card for the camel. Read a book about camels, look at pictures, etc. since this is somewhat of a new animal for us.
Cooking: Bake a king’s cake.
Day 9
Read: Again read the Christmas story from Luke 2. The kids like to do a play of the Christmas story for their grandparents on Christmas Eve each year, so perhaps we’ll use today as a “dress rehearsal” and act it out.
Ornament: Finish up any unfinished ornaments.
Field Trip: We’ll visit a living Nativity at a local church.
Other Ideas:
Scripture Memory: Luke 2:1-20
Vocabulary: census, tax, inn/innkeeper, eider, legend, stable, manger
Music: Learn and sing “The Friendly Beasts.”
Since we are taking a week off this week, I wanted to still have something somewhat structured going on the week prior to Christmas - a unit that would really help us to focus on Christ’s birth. I have also wanted to do a farm animals unit this year but just haven’t figured out where I would fit it in. Sooo…we’re going to do a unit on the animals of the Nativity. We'll call it Around the Manger. I got the idea for doing a unit like this over at By Sun and Candlelight. Thank you, Dawn, for the inspiration! It has been incredibly fun to put this together. I began by searching for picture books about the animals who were possibly present at the manger. I was surprised at how many books there are that tell the Christmas story from an animal’s perspective. There are a couple that I didn’t include simply because I could not find them at the library or the bookstore: The Friendly Beasts by Tomie de Paola and A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith. I’ve read good reviews of both of these, so I hope to find them before we finish our unit.
One of the main things we’ll be doing is making a Christmas tree ornament for each book that we read. I love having ornaments handmade by the kids to hang on our tree. We usually make several in the weeks leading up to Christmas - some to keep and some to give away. This year I thought it would be fun to make ornaments that tell the story of the Nativity and hang them on a small tree. When we’re finished each child will have their own “Nativity Tree” for their rooms. (In case you’re wondering why we don’t just make a regular Nativity set, it’s because last year Superman and Giggly Girl wanted a tree for their room, and I also felt the ornaments had a better chance of not getting lost if they were showcased on a tree rather than on the top of a dresser!)
I planned nine days of books and activities, but it will probably take us longer than that to complete all of the ornaments. (We take our time when crafting around here!) I’d also like to do a little devotional based on the book of the day, and I’ve included some ideas for history, geography, science, etc. (There is no way we'll get to all of this, but there's always next year!)
Here are the books we’ll be reading:
Luke 2:1-20 (The Christmas Story)
This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
Who is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate
The Donkey’s Dream by Barbara Berger
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell
Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Jane Yolen & Tomie de Paola (We’ll read “The Legend of the Birds” and “The Littlest Camel.” This is a wonderful Christmas resource of stories, songs, recipes, etc. Right now I’m using the library’s copy, but I’ll definitely purchase this to use in the future.)
Day 1
Read: Christmas Story from Luke 2. We’ll use the flannel graph because it’s one of our favorite ways to do Bible stories.
Ornament: We’ll use old-fashioned clothespins to make Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I’m still working out the details on this one, but here is a cute example of how to make a clothespin ornament (scroll down a bit).
Bible/Devotional: Read John 3:16. Why was Jesus born? Talk about how much God loves us and cares for us that He would send His only Son to be our Savior.
Geography: Locate modern day Bethlehem on the world map. Talk about what it was like there when Jesus was born. Talk about deserts and show some pictures of what Bethlehem looks like today.
Day 2:
Read: This is the Stable
Ornament: We will attempt to make a little stable out of popsicle sticks. I haven’t tried to do a mock up yet, so if it appears that this will be too tedious a craft, I’ll have to figure out an alternative. Any ideas out there?
Bible/Devotional: What do you think the stable was like? Think about the barns we have visited. What are some of the sights, sounds, smells that you can remember? Talk about the fact that Jesus came to be our King. In what kind of place do you think a king would be born? How is this different from a stable? Why do you think God chose for Jesus to be born in a stable instead of a palace?
History: Talk about what a stable was like during this time period. (I’ve read some differing opinions on this subject. Some scholars believe it could have been a cave just outside of town reserved for the sheep that would be sacrificed in the temple. Others say that it was common for families to use the bottom floor of their homes as shelter for their animals, and that they even had a stone manger in this room. Families lived and slept in the upper rooms. I’m still researching this, so I don’t know if we’ll broach this topic or not yet.)
Science: Which animals do you think might have been in the stable when Jesus was born?
Field Trip: At some point during our unit, I’d like to take a field trip to a working farm where we can go inside of a barn and try to get an idea of what it might have been like inside the stable where Jesus was born. Even though the structure itself will be different, at least our senses can experience some of the same surroundings that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph might have experienced. This would be a good day for this trip, but we’ll fit it in where we can.
Go-along: If we have time, we’ll read This is the Star, which has a repetitive story structure similar to that of This is the Stable. Animals are also part of this story line. This would be a great day to bake star-shaped cookies!
Day 3
Read: Who is Coming to Our House?
Ornament: With this book, we’ll begin to highlight one animal for each day. Today’s animal is the cow, so we’ll make a cowbell ornament from a small flower pot. Here is an example. We’ll probably paint them either brown or white with black spots.
Bible/Devotional: In this story the animals are all busy working in the barn to make it ready for Baby Jesus’ arrival. Read Colossians 3:23. Talk about doing everything as if we’re doing it for Jesus - taking pride in our work and doing our best for Him.
History: Talk about the types of work the animals of the stable might have been used for in Jesus’ day. (ex. sheep - sacrifices; donkeys - transportation; cows - milk, food)
Science: Make a classification card for the cow and sort onto our classification board. Since we already have most of these animals on our board from our Before FIAR books, we’ll include a fact on each of these cards mentioning what the animal was used for in Jesus’ day. If we have time, we might read a non-fiction picture book about cows.
Day 4
Read: The Donkey’s Dream
Bible/Devotional: In this story the donkey dreams about the load he is carrying to Bethlehem. The author uses symbols in the donkey’s dream to represent Mary, but we’ll choose a couple of these (the fountain, the rose, and Heaven) and discuss them in the context of Jesus.
Ornament: I’ll cutout donkey outlines from grey felt and let the kids glue on the ears, face, and a colorful blanket for his back.
Geography: Locate Nazareth on the map. Talk about how far it is from Bethlehem and how long the trip would have taken, what it would have been like to travel by donkey, how tiring it must have been, etc. Talk about why they had to make the trip (Caesar ordering a census, taxing, etc.)
Science: Make a classification card for the donkey and add to our board.
Field trip: We have a farm nearby that raises donkeys and miniature horses, so we might try to visit there.
Day 5
Read: The Crippled Lamb
Bible/Devotional: How did it make the lamb feel when the others made fun of him? Have you ever felt this way? God made us all wonderfully unique with different talents and abilities. Because the lamb had to stay behind in the stable, and because he wanted to help the mother and baby, he was able to give baby Jesus the gift of warmth. Look what he would have missed out on if he had been able to travel with the rest of the sheep! This would also be a good opportunity to discuss our reactions to people who may look or do things differently from us. We've already talked about this quite a bit, because Grammy is in a wheelchair, but this book offers another gentle opportunity for this discussion.
Ornament: Today we’re going to make a sheep from sculpey clay. We’ve never used this art medium before, but I think the kids will love it!
Science: Make an animal classification card for the sheep and place on board. Discuss possible uses for sheep during Jesus’ day (wool, sacrifices, food)
Day 6
Read: Room for a Little One
Bible/Devotional: Read Revelation 3:20. Talk about making room in our hearts for Jesus and inviting Him in.
Ornament: Take a mason jar lid. Separate the ring and the lid. We’ll google a picture of an ox, print it out, glue it on the lid portion. Then we’ll decorate the ring with buttons, beads, ribbon, glitter, etc. Tie a ribbon hanger around the ring, then glue the lid into the ring.
History: Place the birth of Jesus on our timeline.
Science: Talk about oxen, look at some pictures, and make a classification card for our board. This is an animal we are not that familiar with, so we’ll try to spend a bit more time looking at pictures, etc.
Day 7
Read: “The Legend of the Birds” from Hark! A Christmas Sampler
Bible/Devotional: Talk about how the bird was willing to sacrifice her own comfort for that of Baby Jesus. What do we have that we could give or do for Jesus? When we sacrifice something for Jesus (gifts, talents, time, money) that is a way we can worship Him. Read verses about all creation, including animals, praising and worshipping God (Rev. 5:8-13/Ps. 148)
We might also focus on how much God cares for the animals and everything He created. (Matt. 10:29; Psalm 50:10-11). If He cares that much about animals, think how much more He cares about you!
Ornament: Some of my favorite ornaments from childhood are some wooden cutouts of animals that my mother and I painted together. So for today we’ll paint wooden bird cutouts (robin redbreasts, of course!)
Language Arts/Types of literature: We’ll talk about what a legend is and how it is different from non-fiction (ex. The Bible)
Science: We’ll add a classification card for the robin.
Nature Study: We’ll make some pinecone bird feeders (spread pinecone with peanut butter and roll in birdseed), string some popcorn and fruit pieces and decorate a small tree for our birds outside our dining room window.
Then we’ll observe any birds who stop by for a snack. Hopefully we’ll see some robins, and if we do, I’d like to snap a digital photo of one and have the kids draw it in their nature journals.
Cooking: I found a couple of simple recipes for homemade suet cakes in my Birds and Blooms magazine. I think we’ll try our hand at making some of these treats for our feathered friends and then hang them out on our special Christmas tree for the birds
Go-Along: Tonight for one of our bedtime stories we’ll read Jingle, the Christmas Clown by Tomie de Paola. It is another story about some animals who gave of themselves for God’s glory. They weren’t present at the manger. Rather, they were a group of circus animals who, along with their friend Jingle the clown, performed their circus act on Christmas Eve for the people of a small, destitute Italian village. (This is such a sweet story.)
Day 8 (I might save today’s activities for Epiphany, Jan. 6, when we’ll focus on the wise men.)
Read: “The Littlest Camel” from Hark! A Christmas Sampler
Go-Along: The Story of the Three Wise Men by Tomie de Paola
Bible/Devotional: Read Luke 2:1-15, the visit of the wise men. Talk about their gifts for Jesus and think of some gifts we can give to Jesus.
Ornament: Glass balls. We’ll google a picture of a camel, cut it out, and insert into a plain glass ball. We’ll also insert some shiny beads, colorful raffia, etc. and tie with a pretty ribbon hanger.
Science: Add a classification card for the camel. Read a book about camels, look at pictures, etc. since this is somewhat of a new animal for us.
Cooking: Bake a king’s cake.
Day 9
Read: Again read the Christmas story from Luke 2. The kids like to do a play of the Christmas story for their grandparents on Christmas Eve each year, so perhaps we’ll use today as a “dress rehearsal” and act it out.
Ornament: Finish up any unfinished ornaments.
Field Trip: We’ll visit a living Nativity at a local church.
Other Ideas:
Scripture Memory: Luke 2:1-20
Vocabulary: census, tax, inn/innkeeper, eider, legend, stable, manger
Music: Learn and sing “The Friendly Beasts.”
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