November 28

HAPPY AMERICAN THANKSGIVING!

I am still getting the hang of having Thanksgiving so late in the year… this Thursday in November is still odd to me! First off, almost the middle of the week (not a Monday or Friday????) and then so much closer to Christmas! YIKES.

We had a full on turkey dinner with the fixings… homemade stuffing, gravy… mashed potatoes…

Smaller of 2 turkeys

Homemade peppermint fudge

As Joe and Faithe alternate their Thanksgiving with each of their families this year was their year with Faithe’s family. So we had our family, Nana and Baba and Aunty Judy with Uncle Jim and two of their kids (Robbie and Jessica). 13 in total made for a nice full table.

Of course there was time to play before and after dinner with pumpkin pie for desert.

Pumpkin pie

A full day ended with full kids. We decided not to go out to any of the Black Friday sales. Instead Ken and I planned on making a run out to Target the next day. I have a specific over 6 month long request from Miss  Trinity and can not risk missing the potential sale OR them selling out of those items. Well, and one on one time in a rather low key store (our area seems to not have a massive Target Black Friday rush as compared to Walmart or Kohl’s) with Ken is always a bonus.

Wore Jessica out!

It was definitely a day to be thankful!\

If teacups could talk…

The death of a beloved aunt leads a stumped authoress to inspiration 3 weeks later with the delivery (by a dishy UPS delivery man) of a box from home full of tea cups and saucers. Each one bringing to mind a story shared by her aunt ready and willing to be recorded onto paper. It is here that our stories begin in the novella Tea With Emma (the Teacup Novellas book 1) by Diane Moody.

The first of these stories is centered on a young woman returning from a trip to England with the inspiration to create a Jane Austen tea room in Texas. Her flight home with friend in tow is interrupted by a cranky British man who chastises them for their boisterous speech on the flight home. Maddie and her friend Lanie return to Texas with somewhat disastrous results… including a runaway suitcase and a negligent roommate causing the death of a beloved kitten (Mr. Darcy… so many Jane Austen references).

Tea With Emma brings to light how one’s faith and belief in what’s right and what you are called  to do can change your life. Maddie feels she, like Austen’s Emma is a matchmaker (with the support of God). And like Emma, we see how even the best intentions can cause less than happy results. We see how forgiveness and letting go of a difficult past can alter a person from their very core.

I would suggest Tea with Emma by Diane Moody to anyone who is looking for a light read with a religious context. The characters are engaging and the addition of tea and Jane Austen give this story a lovely flavour. I will definitely be looking for more from this series.

We decided to do this unit just to get the two younger kids thinking about things like proper food, shapes, and just an every day life experience in a different way. We have discussed the food pyramid, drawn out a more balanced meal and talked about coupons. It has been fun and of course we decided to share our resources with you all.

Our books!

• Showdown at the Food Pyramid by Rex Barron HERE
• Good Enough to Eat by Lizzy Rockwell HERE
• Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat HERE
• Grandpa’s Corner Store by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan HERE
• Something Good by Robert Munsch HERE

Our lapbook is from Homeschool Share HERE.

And our shopping list from 123Homeschool4me HERE.