More Christmas stories!

On Friday we read Christmas Is by Gail Gibbons which talks about lots of Christmas symbols, the Christmas story and Santa Claus. I gave the kids our annual "Santa" talk about how we pretend about Santa (just like we pretend with other toys & figures) but that some kids grow up really believing he's real and to not spoil it for any if their friends.

I had the kids make wreaths out of cardboard & pom poms. They did a great job.

K's is non-traditional Christmas-colored...

...and D's is more traditional Christmas-colored. :o)

They have them hanging on the Christmas tree...I think we need a bigger tree to hold all the decor we've been adding to it this year!

While the kids worked on their wreaths and colored a few Christmas coloring pages, I read to them The Story of Holly & Ivy, too. It was fairly long (for a picture book) but the story was really neat about an orphan girl (Ivy) finding a family and a Christmas doll (Holly).

Monday we took a day off - since most of the schools in our area had a snow day anyway. ;o)

Today the kids opened up box #3 of What God Wants for Christmas and found Joseph inside! Though D & K argued about who it was until I showed D the page in the book that said "JOSEPH" across the top. He was sure it was a wiseman. It's a fun way to "unwrap" the Christmas story over a few weeks. We have 4 more boxes to go!

We read the story, Silver Packages, today. It's based on an actual event called the Santa Train that rides through Appalachia each year delivering presents to boys & girls. The boy in the story really wanted a toy doctor kit, yet each year he had a different toy and something to wear (socks, mittens, a scarf and finally a hat). The presents thrown off the train were wrapped in silver paper (hence, the title of the book :o). When he grew up he became a doctor and returned to his hometown to help the people there. We talked through needs vs. wants again and how it was neat that the boy received what he really needed each year. He also received a toy each year, but it wasn't ever the one he really, really wanted. It was okay...because he eventually received a REAL doctor kit since he became a REAL doctor.

Following a few of the suggestions from here...

D looked up Matthew 6:25 and read it out loud. ("Don't worry about what you eat, wear...") A good reminder that God takes care of our needs just like the little boy in the story had his needs met each year with something to keep him warm.

We looked up the Appalachian Mountains and how we've visited several states where the mountains are located. D thought it was neat he now knows the name of them. ;o)

The kids each made their own picture of what they would want to receive from the Santa Train - if it came to our area. We taped foil to the back of the cardboard so it would "open" like a silver package in the book...

K's was a ring.

D's was a real truck - he wants to drive. Ha!

They also learned how to make paper boys & girls...thanks to a YouTube tutorial! After cutting them out (with just a little Mommy-help) they decorated each of them and hung them on the tree.

K told me she made the girls with glasses just like her...I LOVE the big glasses!D made the boys and taped them in a circle...always thinking one step ahead!

D is blazing through his 2nd grade math workbook. He's loving regrouping/carrying tens & hundreds now! We played a card game today (took out the 10s & 2s) and he would draw 3 cards (ones, tens, hundreds column) and then two more (ones, tens columns) like he was going to add them together. Only he didn't need to give me an answer, just tell me if they required him to regroup/carry the tens or hundreds. He did a great job!

After Christmas, we are returning to where we left off in his HOD (Beyond) book and combining it with holiday books & projects when appropriate. When I told this to J, he just smiled and asked that I stick with something for the rest of the school year. I agree. So I'm going to combine what I love and get the best of both worlds. :o) I know my friend C is laughing at (with) me right now if she's reading this post. ;o)

This school year so far has been a year of learning and second-guessing myself. However, with the way everything else is swirling around me...church activities (AWANA helper, 3/4 grade SS teacher, helping with iGrow 1x a month), taking the kids to ballet & karate each week, co-op (I'll be leading 2 classes in the spring - 5/6 grade energy & puppets), taking care of everything around the house (including the kids :o), driving 2x a week for the chiropractor and D's OT sessions (every other week)...I have to have our school organized & running smoothly without much prep...so that's where HOD comes back into the picture. It spoiled me last year...no planning other than deciding what time we'd begin our school each day. Plus it focuses their hearts on our Savior! :o)