After Christmas Chat About Christmas cookies and Sunday School Ideas

Grab a cup coffee and join me for a post Christmas chat.   In October we begin playing our Christmas music. I have a Kenny G. cd that I have enjoyed for a long time - I can't believe it still works!  And of course there are a few others we enjoy as well.  The music of Christmas is so beautiful, it just seem like a shame not to enjoy it for longer than just a month. By December we are tiring of our CD's, so I like to turn on our local gospel radio station which is playing lots of Christmas tunes by that time.  We love Christmas music at our house.  In fact, my son and daughter are sounding great on their own keyboard and guitar as they are learning "What Child Is This" and other family favorites.

It's been quiet, but we've taken time to celebrate the coming of Christmas in our home.  We enjoyed hot chocolate with cream on top for movie night.  And both kids prefer candy canes as their favorite Christmas tree decorations.  They like the traditional red and white striped canes better than the newer flavors we have noticed in the dollar store. We made chocolate chip cookies and tried peanut butter thumb print cookies for the first time.  The thumb print cookies were a hit, but I definitely need to tweak my recipe, or maybe what I did to the recipe, as it was a little too dry and crumbly.  Here is a link to Amy Maryon's video where she shares this wonderful , easy Christmas cookie recipe.  If you haven't watched Amy's homemaking videos, you are in for a treat!  She is so energetic and inspiring!  And best of all, I completed my You Version Advent Challenge.  It was 25 days of Bible reading which helped me prepare my heart to celebrate the birth of my Savior.  I read several of the devotionals for the kids Bible Study time.  We enjoyed this free resource very much!

We've been missing going to Sunday school for months now.  But really for longer than that.  Since we moved to our new home about three years ago, our kids have really missed their old Sunday school teachers and classes, so I was excited when I discovered this site mentioned on Youtube.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember who mentioned Sunday School Works in their video, but I sure am thankful for it - thanks again for sharing, whoever you are!

This Sunday we will be studying Simeon and Anna meeting baby Jesus in the temple.  The lesson is well laid out and even includes two crafts.  Several applicable Bible verses are listed, and I think that links to coloring sheets are included. I signed up for the newsletter every Tuesday, so that I  wont forget to gather my supplies for the crafts.

This is a new, polished version of a sight that has been around for a long time.  I've used the older version of this site before, and it was a blessing then.  But now, the site has been updated and renamed apparently.  And it is such a help since we will be doing Sunday school at home at least for the time being. So if you need Bible study resources for your elementary age kids, I think you will be pleased with this site.  

And finally, we enjoyed crafting snowmen this morning and adding in a little Bible journaling to our creations!

Want to know more about what's going on at The Mysterious Bookshelf?  Here's what I am reading in December.  

Book Review: Light On Snow by Anita Shreve

 Light On Snow by Anita Shreve

 If you are looking for a Christmas reading suggestion, this book is for you. 

  I picked it up at the library yesterday and finished it this morning, Saturday.  I just could not put the book down.  The story kept me engaged and I wanted to know what was going to unfold next all the way to the end of the story.

Summary:

A man and his twelve year old daughter go for a winter walk to end their day, but there is much more in store for them on this walk than they ever dreamed.  Their lives intersect with a baby barely clinging to life, abandoned in the snow.  Events begin to spiral for these main characters in the days leading up to Christmas, as they face memories in their past as well as how their actions will affect the future of others.  And into the mix is a raw but beautiful coming of age story.

My Thoughts:

The time frame of the story which occurs a few weeks before Christmas makes this a great novel to choose for Christmas reading.  I know I certainly enjoyed it.  Also, the imagery of the snow sets the stage for the story beautifully.  The snow reflects the light as the title implies, makes a background for blood, serves as a reason for isolation and companionship, and provides a place for healing.  It is an eye opening novel, and I look forward to reading more of Shreve's novels.

Here is a link to Anita Shreve's Light On Snow on Amazon.  This post contains affiliate links.  Any purchases resulting from clicking on these links will result in a small percentage going to the writer of this blog and will probably be used to buy more books or homeschooling curriculum.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Homeschool Morning

We stayed up later than usual, so we enjoyed sleeping late this morning.  I greeted the kids when they tumbled out of bed with a warm breakfast and lighted lamps.  Our family sat together discussing life, eating our breakfast, and enjoying being together before we began the business of our day.  Work began a little later for all of us on this chilly day, but taking time for each other came first.  And  that is my important work - setting the stage for it with warm food and cozy lights.  Pretty dishes and good morning hugs and kisses.  

For more on this topic, check out my review of Sally and Sarah Clarkson's Life Giving Table.

Going Back To Favorite Curriculum

How Is Our Homeschool Year Going?

I love to find ways to save money and be frugal with what I have. I try to use wisely. Maybe I am not always the best at doing this, but I do make an effort. Usually, it works. For instance, watching the grocery sale ads and planning my shopping trips and menus accordingly. Turning out the lights when leaving a room is another way I try to save money. But this time my money saving scheme for homeschool curriculum did not work. I had read of a solution to history and science that sounded wonderful. But for my family and me it did not work.  This idea suggested providing reading material on the coffee table or other prominent areas of the house.  The family who suggested this had children who would pick up the books and read them on their own without any structured guidelines.  In other words, they would read it for the enjoyment of reading.

For pleasure reading, we tend to choose fiction.  Or picture books.  Even poetry.  Not nonfiction, encyclopedia books.  My kids picked up two books from the coffee table twice and the books have never been touched since.

As I deep cleaned the house during Thanksgiving break, I mentally assessed how our school year was going.  I was forced to admit, as I dusted the science and history books, with a shake of my head and a chuckle, that our curriculum did not seem to be working.

And as I tackled the organization of the utility room later that day, I considered our Language Arts and Math.  While arranging the canning jars, I was pleased to admit the children were learning lots in those areas.  They were stretched.  But then I sighed because I had to admit they were learning a lot at the expense of a ton of preparation on my part.  I paused for a second in my vigorous pre-Thanksgiving sweeping and mopping as I remembered that I had been concerned that I might not be able to stay ahead of them in laying out the lessons and preparing.  And now I had to admit that I was falling behind.  And I admitted that I was mentally tired of trying to keep up with the planning and preparing.

What to do?

Our kids enjoyed ACE Curriculum in the past.  However, for me the grass had always seemed greener on the OTHER side and the lure of "less expense" and more reading had drawn me away from the curriculum, but now I see that more structure, for us - for our family, does equal more reading.

When I asked the kids about returning to the ACE curriculum, they smiled.  BIG smiles.  And I thanked the Lord...  Some decisions are hard to make, but this one was easy.

Fast Forward to the First Day of Using ACE Again:

Each pace begins with a character quality and definition. Each day the kids have a Bible verse  for each subject to read and memorize that goes along with the character quality.  By the end of the three week division of work, called a PACE, the student is to have the Bible verse memorized.  We are excited to return to this structured, organized way of memorizing scripture and learning about character.  Following a plan gets it done!  

Which reminds me of FLYLADY!  But that is for another post!

Final Thoughts

When we bowed our heads at the Thanksgiving table, I counted another blessing.  I knew exactly what we would be doing in our homeschool.  It was all planned!

 Want to know more about ACE homeschooling?  Check out this video from Andrea Mills.

What I Am Reading: Common Place Entry For Pilgrims Inn

 

After receiving my lovely copy of Pilgrim's Inn in the mail, I have read to about the middle of chapter three.  I have found the experience similar to peeling back the layers of a sweet onion. Each character has so many facets of themselves. They are not simple people.  For instance, just when I think Grandmother is practically a saint for the way she heroically handled the war, I am confronted with the rather controlling side of her nature.  Nadine must follow Grandmother's detailed plan for securing a nanny after she discovers that Grandmother  arranged the meeting in the first place.  After this revelation, I am not sure what to think of Grandmother and I feel sympathy for the clearly non-domestic Nadine.  And to think that I did not care Nadine just a few pages before!  What is happening?  I guess I will have to continue reading to find out...

Quotes From Pilgrim's Inn by Elizabeth Goudge:

"There was nothing of desperation in the firm hold she kept upon her beauty;  it was rather that she appeared to be taking good care of something entrusted to her care, but did not seem to regard it as an integral part of her."

"It had been her opinion that in wartime old people were a great nuisance, and the best thing they could do was to keep, at whatever cost, a tranquil exterior, and get on with their knitting.  She was too humble a woman to assess her wartime activity at its true value."

Do you think you would enjoy Elizabeth Goudge's Pilgrim's Inn?  I was introduced to her through a great book about books which I discussed in my previous post here.  I'm always on the look out for great reads, and this book does not disappoint.  You'll find more information in this post.

And Something Else I'm Excited About...

Homeschooling?  We are going back to a curriculum we used previously after a year long switch.  I plan to do a longer blog about it soon, but meanwhile, here is some information about the curriculum we are excited to switch back to.  

This post contains affiliate links.  Any purchases resulting from clicking on these links will result in a small percentage going to the writer of this blog and will probably be used to buy more books or homeschooling curriculum.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Mail and Christmas Reading

 What We Have Been Reading and Listening To In Our Home 

Happy Mail

Our mail is slow right now.  It was a long time before my package arrived in the mail, so you can imagine how excited I was to find my very own copy of Pilgrim's Inn in great shape.  It's a lovely green antique that will look lovely on the bookshelf - after I read it, of course.

So far, I've made it to chapter three and I'm loving her lively, realistic descriptions of the characters in the story.  Sally's conversation with David Eliot shows who she is beautifully.  In other words, as of right now, I'm loving Goudge's writing style and cannot wait to read more.

Sarah Clarkson recommended Pilgrim's Inn in A Book Girl.  I'm so glad I read Sarah's book about reading books.  She gives so many great suggestions, including this one!

Update:  December Homeschool Reading

We gathered together with steaming mugs, Christmas lights twinkling, and A Christmas Carol read aloud on librivox.  It is so full of those moments that allow us to dig deeper and discuss with our kids the true meaning of Christmas.  Not to mention, it is a great story.  Dickens is a master of creating the moods of each episode in his tale, so that the reader is just drawn into the story, watching the events unfold alongside the old Scrooge.  Oh, how we loved ringing in the Christmas season with this book!  I highly recommend it for older and middle school age children.

Need Ideas for December Homeschooling?

I found many helpful ideas from Aimee at The Sweet Spot Homeschool:

https://youtu.be/0jLISPtNJu0 

Coming Soon:

Exciting Homeschool Changes:  We Are Going Back To ACE Homeschool Curriculum!

I hope to update on this change soon.  Meanwhile check out Andrea Mill's blog for helpful information about the curriculum.

Andrea Mills Video on ACE

This post contains affiliate links.  Any purchases resulting from clicking on these links will result in a small percentage going to the writer of this blog and will probably be used to buy more books or homeschooling curriculum.  Thanks for taking a peek!