Merry Christmas 2023

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From our homeschool to yours, Merry Christmas for 2023! May your wishes come true this holiday season and throughout the rest of the school year!

Merry Christmas

We are staying home for Christmas, enjoying each other, Santa’s gifts, lots of yummy food and maybe a cup of hot cocoa (or two). The day after Christmas we have friends and family over for a festive lunch. Continue reading »


Merry Christmas 2022

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I hope you had a merry Christmas; #merryandbright, as they say in our social media world. We stayed home and enjoyed wrapping gifts for our children on Christmas Eve. When it is -2 F (-16.7 C) outside, you do not feel like going anywhere.

Teens building LEGO kits

Our children building their respective LEGO kits

Now that they are older, our teens give us a list of wishes. One of the wishes is that we also give them something they do not expect or know about. They like to be surprised. Continue reading »


Christmas Program

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If your children take music lessons, at least twice a year they have recitals, programs, and concerts. Typically, in December and in May. The pandemic messed up that routine, of course. We have had to do Zoom recitals at home and skip going to nursing homes. But we kept on going with our lessons and did our best to monitor the progress of our children.

Strings

Playing in church with friends motivates children to practice.

One week before Christmas this year, the kids played violin to accompany our church’s choir for the beautiful “How Great Our Joy” by Craig Courtney. What a piece! Such a refreshing sound from the usual round of Christmas carols. It was only one piece, but a new experience to give them a taste of what it is like to accompany a choir. They enjoyed it and said they would like to do it again if called upon. Continue reading »


Develop Artistic Talent with Holiday DIY Project

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With Christmas coming up soon, it’s a great time for moms to work on DIY projects with their homeschoolers. We shouldn’t get so caught up in teaching our children the alphabet and math that we forget about art. Encouraging kids to be creative and artistic is something all parents should be doing.

Not very artistic yourself? It’s no problem. There are still a lot of fun, easy ways you can help your kids develop their own artistic talent.

Here are some ways you can help your child work on his or her creativity in the coming weeks:

Continue reading »


Mom Monday Week 51 – Merry Christmas!

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This year, I discovered the secret to a peaceful and relaxed December. Are you ready for it? You know, the ONE thing you need to do in order to stay sane through the holiday season, Christmas shopping, and the end of the semester. Drum roll, please… Get sick.

Yes, friends, get sick. If you get sick, the amount of work your family will allow you to do is minimal. Everybody will pitch in a bit here and there. You discover that the whole operation will move on just fine without your efforts. It’s brilliant!

mom monday wk51

I should patent this idea: eat a lot of sweets through November and extra pie at Thanksgiving, so that your immune system gets overwhelmed and completely unable to deal with the viruses going around. And work extra hard through November, too, to the point of exhaustion. That is a sure recipe for sickness in December. And you’re off the hook with the Christmas preparations.  Continue reading »


Advent Calendar Activities

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Advent Calendars come in many shapes and sizes, like Kubla Crafts Stuffed Oh Christmas Tree Fabric Advent Calendar or Wood Advent Tree w/ 24 Storage Drawers -Ready to Paint Unfinished. Homeschoolers love to make their own, too. Sometimes.

This year, I will use this blog post as my Advent Calendar. As we do each activity, I will update this post with a picture or a link. Our Advent Calendar will double as a homeschool record.

Here are our daily Advent Calendar Activities:

1. Put up the Christmas tree.

Daddy and children setting up the Christmas tree

Daddy and children setting up the Christmas tree

2. Decorate the rest of the house.

I bought a simple wreath at the Christmas Store in Pigeon Forge and added things we already had - a bow, a couple of bells and an ornament

I bought a simple wreath at the Christmas Store in Pigeon Forge and added things we already had – a bow, a couple of bells and an ornament.

Wooden Advent Calendar

I had given up on finding the right Advent Calendar for us this year, when I ran into this beauty at Tuesday Morning in Pigeon Forge.

3. Every day sing/learn Christmas carols/hymns. This whole month we sing Christmas hymns at family worship times. My favorite is Adeste Fideles (O, Come, All Ye Faithful). I hope my children can learn it in Latin in a few years.

4. Drive through Gatlinburg at night, to see the lights.

Christmas lights abound in Gatlinburg - Winter Fest is what they call it. It starts in November and ends in March.

Christmas lights abound in Gatlinburg – Winter Fest is what they call it. It starts in November and ends in March.

5. Pick up books about Christmas at the library.

Children reading books on floor

My children got lost in books at the library and just hit the floor.

6. Make Christmas crafts.

LEGO nativity scene - baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, grazing sheep, a donkey, a camel, and an angel

I asked my son to build a LEGO nativity scene. I gave him instructions from a website, but he came up with his own, as he did not have all the right bricks. Please note the angel on the barn. Also, the donkey, camel and two grazing sheep. I intentionally blurred the Holy Family because, well, they look a bit too modern – especially Joseph. But I did not want to buy the LEGO figures with their robes. I wanted my son to build his own and I think he did a fantastic job. Baby Jesus looked really cute.

Children trimming a craft Christmas tree

My children working on a Christmas tree craft at the library, after Story Time. We live in a small, tourist town, so often we are the only ones attending such programs. It’s a pity. The children’s librarian puts together such meaningful programs.

7. Take a nature walk and note object lessons. Update: the weather was rainy and cold. We stayed in and listened to Pandora’s Classical Christmas Station while working on Christmas crafts.

8. Take a family picture.

9. Bake cookies for neighbors. We bake several batches throughout the month.

10. Learn the 12 Days of Christmas song.

11. Point out the 12 Days of Christmas symbols in Pigeon Forge.

12. Make a gingerbread house.

13. Write Christmas cards.

14. Take a nature walk. If we have snow, make a snow man.

15. Bake cookies for neighbors. We bake several batches throughout the month.

16. Make Christmas crafts.

17. Attend a Christmas concert or watch one on TV/youtube. We attended the Sevier County Choral Society concert at the Presbyterian Church in Gatlinburg. I used to sing with this choir before we had children.

18. Bake cookies for ourselves.

19. Get more Christmas books from the library.

20. Make more Christmas crafts.

21. Take a nature walk and/or play in the snow.

22. Bake cookies for neighbors. We bake several batches throughout the month.

23. Start cooking for the big meal. Find ways to let the kids help.

24. Finish cooking while still letting them help.

Hope this gives you some ideas for your homeschool this December. Please leave me a comment below with your celebrations, activities and resources.