Christmas stockings are a long held tradition in the West household. Of all the gifts around the Christmas tree, it seems the stockings are the most anticipated - which is why we save them until the very last. I remember feeling the same way as a little girl. There's just something extra special about finding the tiny treasures inside that small space! While we always purchase little things like toothbrushes, floss, mints, chocolate, gloves, pencils and the like to fill our stockings, I don't want them to be all practicality. I also don't want them to be filled with junk that will find a trash can within 5.2 days (or hours...sometimes minutes.) Over the years, I've found some ... Read More
Creative Homeschooling in December
Homeschooling in December can be rough. We all need a bit of a break from the monotony of the regular homeschooling schedule, don't we? Some people choose to take the entire month off to focus on the preparations of Christmas and turning the hearts of their children toward the One that Christmas is all about. I've found several ways over the years to accomplish both homeschooling and Christmas preparations - all turning the hearts of my children toward Christ. Creative Homeschooling in December In this post, I've rounded up all those homeschooling in December ideas from the last several years for you. I hope you find something that will be just perfect for your Christmas ... Read More
A Grinch Birthday Party
What a fun 7th birthday celebration we had for my little Christmas man. Grinchy green was everywhere thanks to the wonderful ideas I found on Pinterest. Even if you don't have a December birthday babe in your house, these ideas would be great for a lighthearted gathering this Christmas season or a fun book/movie night. (This post contains affiliate links.) The cake, designed by my beautiful momma, was meant to look a bit skewed. It's the snowy Mount Crumpit where the Grinch lives. We used two cake mixes in three different sized pans to build the mountain base. The cake was covered with white icing that was piled on thick and choppy to make it look like snow. The tree atop the ... Read More
The Tale of Three Trees: Nature Walk (Free Printable)
(This post contains affiliate links and links to my products.) The Book Tale of Three Trees is one of my very favorite picture books ever. I know, I know - I have a lot of favorites. In my defense, there are some REALLY great picture books out there! This book tells the story of three trees who each had a dream for their future. The first two trees believe their dreams are about to be fulfilled when the woodcutters come to harvest them. The third tree, on the other hand, believes its dreams are dashed when the woodcutters come because it only wanted to stand straight and tall and point to its Creator forever. In the end, none of the three trees get exactly what they wished ... Read More
Holiday and Seasonal Post Round-Up
Each school year, we love to add exciting lessons that encourage a love for special days and seasons. Over the years, I've posted about bunches of holiday and seasonal lessons and gathered them all together here for a quick reference. If these ideas aren't enough, be sure to check out my Pinterest page that overflows with more ideas! Autumn Pumpkin School Chromatography with Leaves Preschool Leaf Study Fun with Leaves Early Fall Nature Studies October Creation Club: Trees The Study of a Twig Finding Fruits and Nuts Spider Nature Study Isn't as Bad as It Sounds Candy Math and Science Thanksgiving Cranberry Science with Living Literature Thanksgiving Living ... Read More
Winter Homeschooling
Winter: long days, anxious kids, homeschool monotony? No way! At least it doesn't have to be that way. There's lots to do to keep your homeschool vibrant in the winter! This post rounds-up the the best of my winter learning ideas for you. You really can enjoy the cold, gray days! Nature Study Fresh air, sunshine and exercise are just as important during the winter months as they are the rest of the year. Why not enjoy some nature study? There's more to study than you might think! Literature What better time to snuggle up with some living literature than winter? Of course, you don't have to read only winter-themed books, but I've compiled a list of some ... Read More
Candy Math: Double Mints
It's time for candy math again! Through Pinterest, I happened upon a site called First Grade Wow that has the cutest suggestions for holiday-themed ideas just perfect for my little 1st grader. Many of these candy math ideas were inspired by her Double Mint Math post - and some even use her brilliant free printables that you can find at the bottom of her post. Doubling with Mints We've been learning a lot about even and odd numbers lately. It helps so much to use manipulatives to build numbers to determine whether they are even or odd. "Does every piece have a partner? Then the number is even!" We've spent many fun moments throwing a ball back and forth to quiz each other on skip ... Read More
Cranberry Science
This post contains affiliate links. Cranberry Science I love using literature to kick-off lessons. These science lessons about cranberries were inspired by all three of the books below, as well as Karmamatopoeia's It's Cran-Tastic post. Exploring Cranberries: Hands-On Science I always try to encourage my 1st grader to explore new things on his own terms before I make too many directed suggestions. Some of the discoveries he made on his own were the differences in cranberries of various ripeness, how colorful the juices are and all the wonder to be found inside. Eli loves microscopes (and always has.) I let him make a slide of the cranberry flesh and he drew a ... Read More
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey and Activity Ideas
(This post contains affiliate links.) Hearts Changed One of our family favorite Christmas books is The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski. It's a story of love, loss, gruffness and a healing heart through the kindness of people and the powerful meaning of Christmas. We never get tired of pulling this book off our shelf for a cozy read-aloud each December. A Fun Book Activity The main character, Jonathan Toomey, is a gruff woodcarver who is excellent at his craft. Over time, he shares his craft with a very willing little boy. This was the perfect time to introduce my littlest guy to the art of carving - soap carving, that is. All it takes is a bar of ... Read More
Christmas School
Make December Homeschooling Different By December, we all need a bit of a break from the monotony of the regular homeschooling schedule, don't we? Some people choose to take the entire month off to focus on the preparations of Christmas and turning the hearts of their children toward the One that Christmas is all about. I've found several ways over the years to accomplish both homeschooling and Christmas preparations - all turning the hearts of my children toward Christ. Christmas Schooling In this post, I'm going to round up all those ideas from the last several years for you. I hope you find something that will be just perfect for your December homeschooling! A Month of Nature ... Read More