Life is busy!

It has been a while :)

My eldest turned 16 on Monday!  She and her friends dressed up in formals and masks and paraded around a wonderful little shopping town all day!  I made my sister go up with us to keep me company.

Then Tuesday I took my boys to a zoo that is a couple of hours away and we had a blast getting to see animals, touch animals and learn more about animals.  It was great to spend the day with just the boys.

I am exhausted from my two days of running around :)  And next week we're suppose to start back up with school and I am not ready!

Homeschool Freebie of the Day

We love homeschool freebie of the day!  They have a wonderful American Revolution notebook and lapbook as well as a Johnny Tremain Unit Study that they are giving away TODAY only!  Hurry over to get yours.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

The weekend of February 12 through 15 is the The Great Backyard Bird Count.  We have done this for several years and we love it.  You just count birds in your yard, park, or other area for 15 minutes at a time.  You can do it several times in the day, once a day, or just one day over the weekend.  Then you log it onto their website and see what others have seen in their area.  It is great for children learning to make charts, adding, catagorizing, and such.  Try it out this year!  Have fun!

Snow Day or No Snow Day...

My children tried to convince me since the public schools were off of school, they should be also.  I agreed to a delayed start and everyone headed out to play in the white wonder falling from the heavens to cheer everyone.  They had such a wonderful time sledding and playing in the snow.  After their schoolwork was finished, they headed out again.  We also made snow ice cream - which they loved :)

So what did you do on your Snow Day?  Did you do school today as well as play or did you focus on enjoying the blessings of the day?  Please share your thoughts with us.

Remembrance Press Giveaway!

Remembrance Press is having a giving away two shopping sprees!  Just share a family tradition.  We love traditions at this time of year.  We would love to know what you do as well.

Advent Season

We have been busy with Christmas preparations.  I am trying something a little different this year for our Christmas study.  In the past we've studied the Names of Christ, the Christmas symbols, the Jesse Tree - but this year I decided to try my own hand at it.  It is very much student-led.

Every Sunday in our house is family day and this past Sunday we decorated the tree.  We tried to go cut one down but the place we went didn't have anything we felt was worth the price we were asking.  I really would have liked to have had that as part of our lesson.  Oh well.  Then through the week we've discussed where the tradition of the tree came from, what does it mean, what kind of tree is usually used - which leads to a botany lesson.  That sort of thing.

Next Sunday we are making cookies.  I plan on us talking about different food traditions for Christmas around the world (we are studying world geography this year).

I also plan on a week as Christ is Light of the World.  We are going to make candles, discuss the meaning of the phrase, how other countries view the Christ Child/Nativity.  This week's studying will combine this week's and next week's craft project.

The last Sunday I plan on us making a Nativity, but I haven't worked that one out all the way yet.

I pray that your Christmas season is full of His joy and Light!

The Advent Season

We started a few years ago reading Bartholomew's Passage.  We had obtained it from a small bookstore not knowing it was part of a wonderful series.  When we went looking for the other two books in the series, we were dismayed to discover that the entire series was out of print.

Much to our joy they began printing them again last year, starting with Jotham's Journey.  This year the second book in the series has been re-released - Bartholomew's Passage.  These are wonderful stories that intertwine with each other.  Each character makes a brief appearance in the other books, exciting the children that they meet again someone they know.  They meet up with a man who helps them connect to their families, and to the Christ child.  There are questions and thoughts to ponder as you read each day.  My children were disappointed at the end of each days reading, as it usually ended in a cliff-hanger :)

I must warn you that there is some violence involved, so if your children are sensitive you may want to read through the day's reading prior to reading aloud.  I can't wait until next year's release of Tabitha's Travels.  I hope you enjoy these journeys as much as my family has.