Simple. Sane. Sacred: Homeschooling around the holidays

Thinking on this this year:  How to have a simple, sane....sacred Christmas.

I just love that thought.
I makes me heave a huge sigh of relief.

Things can get so crazy in December.

And just as we kick of this season of celebrating, it's hard not to get caught up in the frenzy that fills the air the day after we are being so thankful for all we have.
I want our home to be a place of peace....and fun!!
We love Christmas.....but I want us to keep our perspective and remember the reason we are celebrating anyway.
That always strips away the need to overdo, overspend.....all the overkill!!
Keeping it simple this year, and here are some thoughts about keeping the homeschooling meaningful but not overwhelming in December!!

When my children were younger, this didn't seem to be as overwhelming to me as it has become now that we have more students in our homeschool with a broader range of ages and needs.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my to-do list gets longer and longer every day.
Not only are there the regular daily activities of washing and folding laundry, meal planning, meal preparation, care of sick children, lesson planning, and homeschooling, but throw in making gift lists, making gifts, trekking to the post office and mailing said gifts, extra choir/music rehearsals, wrapping gifts, planning Advent themed activities, and a plethora of extra Christmas dinners/gatherings to prepare for!
It can make one Mama lose the "joy of Christmas" and her mind real quick!!

But over time, I've learned that slowing down and simplifying make this time of year much more enjoyable for our entire family.
This December, I'm just keeping the children up with bare bones schooling......think "readin', writin' and 'rithmetic."
They are all involved with their individual choirs at church and have solos to memorize and speaking parts to learn for their Christmas programs.  Don't forget those extra rehearsals I mentioned earlier.
I count that as "Fine Arts."

In the next week or so, we'll be busy making all the goodies we usually make every year for gifts for all their friends and teachers {at church}.
You can click here to get a glimpse of crafts we have done in the past.
I count that as "Arts and Crafts," "Math," {figuring out how many of each we need to make}and "Family and Consumer Sciences."

This year, I want to get each of my children involved in creating and writing a Christmas letter complete with pictures.
I count that as "Creative Writing."

I love to read stories from "A Little House Christmas" while the children are working on seat work.
I count that as "History."

One of our favorite family traditions is going here!!
It just really brings to life for the children what was going on during the time Christ was born.
I count that as "Bible History."

There are so many other ways you can be creative in incorporating homeschool into what is already available in your community at Christmas time.  It's what makes memories!!

The article below addresses this topic even further, and was so encouraging to me!!

Creative Homeschooling in December

How Christmas Makes Me A Better Parent

This year, I've been intentionally looking and listening for Christmas.
Don't get me wrong here.
I don't mean all the lights, and frantic shopping, and long lines at the mall, and getting.
I mean... the giving.
I want to know how to communicate to my babies the truth about Christmas.
Why the virgin birth is miraculous and was essential to their salvation.
Why God's willingness to wrap Himself in human skin makes any difference to my daily living.
And I found something the other day.
In a devotional I was reading.
It challenged me to read 1 Corinthians 13 in a way I had never done before.
I've read that passage of scripture at least 2,345 times (well, something like that.)
I've memorized it at some point in my early years.
But the devotional challenged me to read verses 4-8 and to substitute "Jesus" for the word "love."
I read verses 1-3 the same way:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,

but do not have Jesus,

I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy,

and know all mysteries and all knowledge;

and if I have all faith, 

so as to remove all mountains,

but do not have Jesus,

I am nothing.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor,

and If I deliver my body to be burned,

but do not have Jesus,

it profits me nothing.

Jesus is patient.

Jesus is kind,

and is not jealous.

Jesus does not brag

and is not arrogant,

does not act unbecomingly;

Jesus does not seek His own,

is not provoked,

does not take into account a wrong suffered,

Jesus does not rejoice in unrighteousness,

but rejoices with the truth.

Jesus bears all things,

Jesus believes all things,

Jesus hopes all things,

Jesus endures all things.

Jesus never fails"

~1 Corinthians 13: 1-8a (NASB)

Shouldn't my greatest mentor as a parent be the One who came to this earth to reveal what true love looks like?

What if my name were put in the places where I put Jesus name in the above scriptures?  

What would that look like to my children?

Would my children agree with that passage then?

"For God so loved (Brenda) that He gave..."

~John 3:16

"The one who does not love does not know God,

for God is love."

1 John 4:8

**Repost from the archives**

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Much has been going around our house in the last two weeks!!
It has been difficult to stay on top of just the normal, everyday, regular responsibilities, much less the unplanned interruptions!
I've had an unexpected visit to the doctor for what turned out to be a HERNIA! {say what?}
It's not serious or requiring surgery right away, but I just couldn't figure out what the enormous lump
was under my skin way down in a weird place.
My children were excited that I had something in common with our local favorite baseball player, Josh Hamilton!!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, that it wasn't what I feared it might be and really isn't a big deal.

Homeschooling has been enormously stressful in the last two weeks as well.
So much so that I called a school that deals ONLY with ADHD and Dyslexic children right here in our town that I never knew existed!!
After talking with the school administrator about what goes on every single day around here, she very discerningly suggested that my son may need his medication {to help him have better control of his ADHD}
adjusted.
After considering this, I think she is probably right.
So I've made an appointment to see his doctor this next week!!

Thank you, Lord God, for putting that brand new billboard right in my path to find that school, and for the lovely lady I spoke to who spoke to me with such wisdom and grace and compassion!

I also had the most delightful opportunity to take my second born daughter on her overnight "Girls night out with Mom."
The one where we discuss all about marriage and what God has designed for us within the bounds of marriage.
I will talk about this more in detail in another blog.

Thank you, Jehovah Jireh, for my precious daughter and that we enjoyed each other's company so much!!

I even took a huge risk and hosted a friend's "31" party.
When I had only 2 or 3 children, I did those kind of parties ALL the time.
That was back when Mary Kay, and Pampered Chef, and Tupperware, and Premiere Jewelry, and Home Interiors were the popular home-based businesses.
Anyway, space in our home has become slowly squeezed down to almost nothing, so I haven't hosted a party like that in years!!
It was a lot of work to make enough space for 7 ladies, plus snacks, and room for product display.
{Not to mention figuring out a plan for the husband and 4 of the children!}
But it was just so much fun, and I really enjoyed the time all my lady friends!!

Thank you, Jesus, for the lovely, lovely friends you have brought into my life and have enriched my life in so many ways!!

So here we are at Thanksgiving Day!
I have so very much to be thankful for!!
I hope you feel that way too.
Even if everything is a struggle for you right now, God is good.

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom,

neither shall fruit be in the vines;

the labor of the olive shall fail,

and the fields shall yield no meat; 

the flock shall be cut off the from the fold,

and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet, I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation."

Habakkuk 3:17, 18

Happy 4th of July!!

Seriously?

Are we REALLY in the month of July already?

Celebrating one of my favorite holidays together?

One of our very favorite traditions is attending our home town's 

4th of July Parade.

It's always a ton of fun!!

What are your favorite family traditions for this mid-summer holiday?

We're also swimming,

enjoying a late all-american lunch of:

hamburgers,

corn-on-the-cob,

potato salad,

watermelon,

doritos,

and a special

"Red, White, and Blue" dessert!!

We'll cap off the night with fireworks at our local park,

sitting with other police families at the police station!!

I love our country,

and don't take for granted the immense struggles that took place,

and lives that were given

for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Happy Birthday, America!

Reflecting on the "Holy Days"

I have to confess.
One of my favorite holidays is Easter.
For me, as a born-again believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, it is the most important day to remember!!
True, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sin is important and was necessary for my atonement.
But without Christ's resurrection, His power over even death manifested, how could we believe anything else He said?
His resurrection was completion of the work He came to do here on earth for me!!

Today marks the beginning of the 40 day period prior to the death of Christ known as "the Holy Days" or "Lent."
My church does not typically recognize this time nor do anything particular to practice it, but in my personal life, I do like to reflect on the days of Jesus leading up to His horrific death, and to prepare my heart for rejoicing that He exercised His power over sin and death, and now lives again in Heaven ever interceding on my behalf to our Father Elohim!

During this time I want to lead my children through scriptures that teach us of the days preceding His sacrifice and to meditate on what it means to give up our comforts to be empty and receptive of Jesus Christ and His work for us.

Maybe some day, I'll have the time to create my own devotionals and meaningful activities for families to walk through, but for now, I'll share some things that others have put together that are available today:

Why even DO Lent?

by Ann Voskamp

Journey through the Holy Days

A lovely set of daily devotionals and activities appropriate for children that you can print out!

Lenten Lights

 8 devotionals to follow weekly or as a daily devotional during Holy Week

What does your family do together to remember the ultimate sacrifice for you, and the consequential victory that Jesus Christ won over the power that death has on the human body?

Celebrating the love....especially today!!

We started our day with pink chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream and syrup!!

There were "goodie bags" hidden around the house for a scavenger hunt.

Garrett was very serious about this little treat!!

With all the unusual amounts of sugar in their diets today,

we just had to take advantage of the 70 degree temperatures outside and have some fun at the park!!

We capped off our celebration tonight with this yummy homemade dessert after dinner!!

So easy to put together at home and waaaaaaay less expensive!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!