Tag Archive | Christmas card

November, Over 6 Months Later…

November isn’t nearly so busy up in Canada… this American Thanksgiving thing takes getting used to and we have not gotten there yet. I am not a Black Friday shopping person… that is WAY too close to Christmas for my comfort. BUT we do try to cover something about it each year in our homeschool curriculum.

What is funny is that when I do these blog entries looking back at these months long gone I try to think about the month before I look at the pictures on the camera and our phone… November… well beyond Thanksgiving… well I drew a total blank… November, fall, I am pretty sure Nana and Baba took a trip… maybe… crochet, I know I did a lot of that (but when don’t I?)… we had to have homeschooled… crafted some I am sure… but concrete things… well darn you November, you just didn’t stick on the brain!

These flew off to Canada for a group of little girls to enjoy.

These flew off to Canada for a group of little girls to enjoy.

Oh wait! Remembrance Day… I mean Veteran’s Day… Though I wear my poppy and called it the former… don’t forget that. We did a mini unit on it that month. I do love the In Flander’s Fields poem (and not just because a Canadian wrote it).

Let’s see… we played in the snow… at the end of the month.DSCN1303[1]

DSCN1305[1]IMAG1490We did Home Depot.DSCN1280[1]

We were thankful with our gratitude turkey feathers.DSCN1306[1]

Echo got her inner artist going.DSCN1284[1]

DSCN1296[1]Trinity and Emanuel helped me make handmade Christmas cards.DSCN1302[1]

We managed to make it to a craft at the Lakeshore educational store. IMAG1368

We started our Christmas decorating with a mini tree in the basement. DSCN1292[1]

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And put the large one up in the dining area for a lovely Christmas glow.IMG_20151123_011129

We made a trip to the Lego store at Mall of America. The kids love playing with the blocks they have out for use. DSCN1297[1]

IMAG1466Of course we set up our advent calendars. Echo got her very own paper chain countdown that she helped me put together.DSCN1309[1]

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We had company over. Cousin Robbie one night, the Schwartz family another.IMAG1337

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We made a visit over to Robbie’s house too where Aunty Judy introduced us to their turtle.IMG_20151121_152326

And had a homeschool field trip to a newspaper for the twins! IMAG1390

Of course we did some shopping and with decorations at Walmart and cute little ones at Sam’s.. I took pictures. I think all in all we did good last November!!IMAG1494

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Our Christmas Resources for 2014 in Brief

We covered Christmas in a new way… we found some lapbooks and some mini units and worked our way through some interesting topics. I feel like I should include some of the links and a brief overview of what we used:

  • The history of Wassailing…. this was a booklet topic in our lapbook series and something that we had never discussed. You can find a good link HERE. Most of these are from the site WhyChristmas.com
  • The history of the Christmas Cracker. We had these one year at my mom’s and they were a hit. You can find this one HERE.
  • Holly (and Ivy). Greens and their part in Christmas is actually rather interesting. Read some more HERE.
  • Christmas presents. Why do we give presents? HERE
  • Just what DO kids leave for Santa around the world? This was an especially fun one for the boys who laughed at some of the ideas. We may just have to leave something different out next Christmas ourselves! This article is from the site Mother Nature Network HERE.
  • Christmas in Sweden. This was a suggestion from our lapbook… the diversity of other Christmases is amazing and one I think we need to focus on more. Our own traditions are fun but to implement some others… could be an adventure! Back to the WhyChristmas.com site HERE.
  • The history of the Nativity plays. Why are they so popular and universal? HERE
  • Saint Nicholas Day in Europe. Another unique tradition. Link thanks to TimeAndDate.com HERE.
  • Mince Pies, a British tradition. Link thanks to Project Britain HERE.
  • The history of Christmas Cards… I don’t know why but I enjoy these histories of ideas. And Christmas Cards was interesting. Link thanks to WhyChristmas.com HERE.
  • The history of Christmas Stockings thanks to ChristmasWithLove.com HERE.
  • We had to go to Wiki for a couple topics… Christmas Trees (HERE) and the Star of Bethelehem (HERE).

Useful materials:

  • Christmas Symbols… a lapbook you can purchase from Currclick HERE.
  • I could not find out Candy Cane unity that we originally purchased from Currclick up for download but this lapbook from Homeschool Share looks like a fun one that we will have to try out for ourselves another year. HERE

I know this is super brief compared to other entries but I especially wanted to share the webpages we found with all the somewhat obscure knowledge the kids found entertaining! For books… well sky is the limit! We do have our family favourites of course but there is so much out there that is informational at the libraries! IMAG0641

This entry was posted on 29/04/2015, in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

Good-bye 2012… Hello 2013

December 31-January 1

Anyone who has been following this blog for any length of time will probably realize that 2012 has not been the easiest or the hardest year but it has been a year to remember. Everything from a move to Minnesota to heart surgery and all the ups and downs in between. I am sure I  could list good and bad but really I figure the best way to phrase it would be the way a friend on Facebook has said – I just hope that the BEST day of 2012 is my worst of 2013. And since there have been some amazing days… well it should be an amazing year.

Amazing

Our last day of 2012 was spent mostly at home. Gabriella and Zachary had slept over so they were here until after 2pm. Of course that meant the kids were excited and wild and having an absolute blast. After all, there are all those still new toys to play with.

Ken and I did run out briefly for RC cola and Paranorman from the red box. We actually had to go to 3 different red boxes to find it. It is a great movie, though not one I would let the kids watch.

But first, ice cream before bed

My final completion of 2012 – A slipper… gotta figure out how to ensure the second will match…

Slipper

New Years itself, the moment of midnight came and went and we actually were too caught up in the other movie (the new Total Recall) to notice until TWO minutes after! Good for a giggle at least.

Chinese!

Oh, and there was one more card before the year change. A beautiful one from our dear friend in Europe – Josephine!

Such a lovely card! Thank you!

Our 1st was another indoor day. BUT I did have the kids do a few worksheets that I found on Activity Village. Their New Year’s selection always grows a little each year. I had each of the boys come up with 3 goals to accomplish for the year and of course had some colouring pages as well. This also marks the start of my time to search out what we will do for Chinese New Year. This will be my first year really on our own and celebrating so it is going to be a bit more work and a little more lonely. It will be the year of the snake! Any and all suggestions would be appreciated!

Goals recorded

I am actually planning out January and the beginning of February right now… I don’t get too far ahead right now as items are still boxed up and we don’t have everything at hand. A little more work on a nightly basis for me, but I feel like we ARE progressing.

I started Ken and my jar for the year. I saw this on pintrest… you have a jar where you record everything GOOD that happens for the year. I figure if I have a jar full or good memories and happenings the bad things that inevitably happen in a year will be put in a better perspective!

I promise a better picture later once I decorate the jar

The boys have tried out their new board game. It seems to be a pretty big hit… Ingenious.

Budding gamers

Of course we ENDED our first day of 2013 with a sick baby… and I mean SICK, but all in all.. I am ready for a new year with new beginnings!

Poor little one