It's been another crazy week here-mostly the good kind of crazy. There was lots of baking that didn't go quite as planned-oh we made some memories LOL. When I did the CurrClick's Christmas Around the World post on England I decided that I would have the big boys each choose a country and we would make a traditional Christmas treat from said country.
Fox chose Germany and Hot Chocolate - but not just any hot chocolate, it's rich with dark chocolate and topped with whipped cream and toffee. He will be making that for everyone tomorrow morning. Everyone is really looking forward to it!
Tony chose Russia and Meringue Jam Cookies. Apparently the child had never made Christmas cookies with anyone before. Had I known that before hand I would have had him choose a simpler recipe. Madness ensued, meringue was ruined, but it all tasted good in the end.
Billy chose Japan and Green Tea Cookies. His baking went smoothly but it was finding a recipe with ingredients on hand that caused a problem. Who knew so many Japanese treats call for all kinds of sweet bean pastes? I bet they're better for us than American cookies!
I wish I had taken some photos...but if you could have seen my kitchen...oy! You'd understand why I didn't take photos.
Today we had an exciting trip to the emergency room.Bram got his first stitch - only one. We were having a family get together for Christmas. A community building was rented because the family is too large to fit in any one's house. Bram and a cousin were being silly, wrestling around. They thumped into the wall and the BIG, HEAVY, old fashioned fire extinguisher fell off the wall and came down on Bram's head.
I was terrified, sure that something that heavy had crushed his skull. I felt his head, and it seemed okay. Sitting down, comforting him while he cried "Owie, owie!" I thought I really should take him to the hospital in case he had a concussion. As I second guessed myself he turned his head and I saw there was blood dripping everywhere, all over his head, his shirt, me. So off to the hospital we went. 90 minutes and one stitch later all was well. We just need to check on him every 2 hours tonight to be sure he's okay. And I am so thankful, because it very easily could have been so much worse.
On a funny note - one of the nurses that tended to Bram was from England. I shared everything we had learned about Christmas in England for CurrClick and she was surprised to learn that crackers aren't a Christmas tradition here in America.
Because of the general craziness of life right now, my desire to extend myself some grace and the need to concentrate on Him I will be signing off until January 5th. I'll still be around Twitter and Facebook and PLANNING MORE FOR THE 2:1 CONFERENCE, but I won't be blogging until after the New Year.
This month I've been exploring the fruit of the spirit, kindness. Two weeks ago I shared my in your face experience with kindness. Last week I shared that I felt kindness was a word that simplified the meaning of God's grace. And this week, when I was floundering with schedules and time I decided to extend myself some grace and not worry about posting Fruitful Thursday "on time" - so I'm a day late, and I'm okay with that.
It felt so good to release the pressure I had placed on myself that I had to ask - When was the last time I extended myself some grace? It had been a long time. So I ask you...
When was the last time you extended yourself some grace?
When was the last time you shushed that little voice in your head that tells you you haven't done enough?
Or that you haven't done it well enough?
That you can't do anymore?
That voice, my friends, is the deceiver. He wants to crush our spirit, destroy our self image and rob us of grace. Don't let him. Grant yourself some grace, your husband, your children, your neighbor. Forgive.
But I can't. I'm having such mixed emotions right now. I'm on a personal high because I had a site walk through today for The 2:1 Conference! That was exciting and I can hardly wait to share the details. I'm stoked.
And yet...
My heart is aching for a virtual friend in need of much prayer. Please pray for Dana of Roscommon Acres who lost her 22 month old son this week to a tragic accident. Please read their story and lift them up in prayer.
How was your week? Are you doing fun Christmas projects? I hope so! I hope you're all enjoying this sacred time of year and concentrating on the beauty of reason for the season, Jesus.
I'm afraid we don't have much to share, it was a pitiful week for us academically. We only fit in the 2 Rs, reading and 'rithmetic. There was a little bit of writing, but not much. But I can't complain because we did accomplish our goal. It took all week but we did it. We finished up the books we started from the old curriculum! Now we can move on to Tapestry of Grace. So begins the new adventure!
Other than that we've been puppy potty training, which has gone well so far.
Next week, in addition to starting the new curriculum, we're going to bake cookies! I am going to have each of the bigguns pick a country. We will then bake a traditional cookie or sweet from each country. My pick is Turkish Delight!
After last week's run in with the kind policeman, I've been thinking quite a bit about kindness. Its significance and true meaning. How to get it, how to give it. And I realized kindness is simply grace. And isn't grace a lovely word? I get a better response when I say to my boys "Extend one another some grace" rather than "Be kind to each other". Just look, LOOK at the definition of grace, including the theological definition. It is long, but so moving.
Kindness ~ the practice or quality of being kind; a kind, considerate, or helpful act
Grace ~
1. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action. 2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment. 3. favor or good will. 4. a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school. 5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace. 6. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity. 7. an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied. 8. Theology . a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of god. b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them. c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces. d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect. 9. moral strength: the grace to perform a duty. 10. a short prayer before or after a meal, in which a blessing is asked and thanks are given. 11. ( usually initial capital letter ) a formal title used in addressing or mentioning a duke, duchess, or archbishop, and formerly also a sovereign (usually prec. by your, his, etc.). 12. Graces, Classical Mythology . the goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae. 13. Music . grace note.
Isn't that lovely? Moving? Beautiful!
Proverbs 22:11 ~ One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend
Ephesians 6:24 ~ Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
2 Corinthians 4:15 ~ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Peter 3:18 ~ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Romans 6:14 ~ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
I am very honored and excited! Christmas Around the World with CurrClick has partnered with myself and nine other homeschool bloggers this week. Each one of us will be giving goodies away during our bloggy event so be sure to check the schedule and stop by each site to learn about Christmas in other countries, enter the giveaways and maybe even make some new friends!
I have been given the opportunity to share about England. I've had a lot of homeschool fun studying how they 'do' Christmas on the other side of the pond, pip pip cheerio!
It seems Christmas in England is much the same as in the US. In fact many of the traditions we hold near and dear, began in England including the use of Mistletoe and sending of Christmas cards! Christmas is the most popular holiday in England and they hold familiar festivities such as special church services, the gathering of extended families, gift exchanges and a traditional Christmas feast. But I did discover a few differences which I would love to see become standard in the US.
The first of which is the Christmas Cracker. These are brightly decorated paper scrolls which usually hold little toys and jokes. Two people pull an end, like a wishbone, the cracker cracks open and the contents are divided.
Next up is Christmas Pudding! I think this may be where the US's Fruit Cake stemmed from. While it doesn't exactly look appetizing, it sounds delicious. Christmas Pudding is an extremely moist and thick "pudding" (though it doesn't have a drop of milk). It is chock full of dried fruits and nuts and has been steamed for several hours or cooked in a pressure cooker. Sometimes they are set to dry and "cure" for a few weeks before serving, this is to enhance the flavor.
Then there is the Royal Christmas Message. Each year Queen Elizabeth addresses her country with a summary of the year and general well wishes.his tradition began in 1932 with King George V and a radio cast. Now I realize we don't have a queen, but I think the idea of our president wishing us well for Christmas hearkens to another age, a simpler time. Wouldn't that be lovely?
Lastly there is the day after Christmas, Boxing Day. I always assumed this referenced the sport of boxing, much the way many Americans are obsessed with football around the holidays. (Stop laughing!) Apparently Boxing Day has nothing to do with boxing at all. This is a day to thank all our hardworking tradesmen like mailmen, delivery personnel, paperboys and the like as well as give to the poor. This tradition started long ago when kind folks, usually those well to do, would "box up" food, clothes and other gifts to distribute to their servants and nearby tradespeople. If Christmas is on a Saturday then Boxing Day is held until Monday.
CurrClick has graciously put together SIX items for me to give away!! (Click the links below to see more item detail.) In order to win simply leave a comment telling me what you learned about Christmas in England, a Christmas in England fact I didn't include or a personal experience with Christmas in England.Be sure to include your top two prize choices and an email contact or link to a blog with a contact address. Winners will be chosen December 15th. Winners will have one week to send me their mailing address, if I do not receive an address within one week the prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be chosen. COMMENTS ARE NOT LIMITED, ENTER COMMENT AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD LIKE!! Good luck!!
Christmas Copywork by Lilliput Station - PRIZE #1 Let your child learn the true story of Christmas as they practice their writing skills. This file contains fourteen different copywork pages with verses from the KJV Bible and one with a verse from a hymn. Each page is illustrated with black and white drawings and comes with both primary and straight lines.
The Dragon & The Raven: King Alred and the Viking Invasion Henty Audio Book by Jim Hodges Productions - PRIZE #2 Audio Story: The Saxons and Vikings fought many fierce battles in Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries. During the struggle, 23-year-old Alfred ascended the throne and temporarily beat back the pagan hordes and concluded a peace treaty. Following another war in 878, peace was again achieved; the Danish King Guthrum accepted Christianity and withdrew to East Anglia, and Alfred the Great fortified cities, built a navy, codified laws, and revived learning among the Saxons until his death in A.D. 900. The hero is a Saxon thane named Edmund who joins the forces of King Alfred, fighting the Danes on land and in their own element, the sea, in his ship The Dragon. Carried by storms to the shores of Norway, he defeats Sweyn the Viking in single combat, takes part in the siege of Paris on behalf of the Franks, and tracks down his nemesis in order to rescue the Danish maiden he will later marry.
Our Global Village - England by Milliken - PRIZE #3 Bring the world a little closer with these multicultural books. An excellent way for students to appreciate and learn cultural diversity in an exciting hands-on format. Each book explores the history, language, holidays, festivals, customs, legends, foods, creative arts, lifestyles, and games of the title country. A creative alternative to student research reports and a time-saver for teachers since the activities and resource material are contained in one book.
England Picture Activity Cards by The Teacher's Desk.info - PRIZE #4 Learn about England with these picture activity cards. Color photos illustrate various aspects of English life. Topics include animals, food, British vocabulary, London, buildings, landmarks, monuments, castles, palaces, and the government. Quizzes with answer keys, links, and printable activities are included.
Magic Tree House book #44 - A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time by The Teacher's Desk.info - PRIZE #5 Reading comprehension and vocabulary worksheets with activities for the Magic Tree House book #44 - A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time. Includes: reading comprehension worksheets for each chapter, vocabulary worksheets for words found in the book, cursive handwriting/spelling practice pages, simple online research project, book review, Victorian-themed bordered writing pages, coloring pages, mazes, graphics illustrating Victorian life, links, and answer keys
Lewis Carroll Author Study by Oakes Homeschool Consulting - PRIZE #6 A unit study on 19th century English author Lewis Carroll, most known for writing the beloved children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Somebody call the nice men in white coats, I must be crazy.
We've been pretty busy here. This week we concentrated on the three R's while finishing up the read aloud book from the old curriculum. It's called The Shining Company and we've really enjoyed it. This is the first book that we've all really gotten into this year. I've been walking around, generally driving the kids crazy speaking like the characters in the book. "Sit you and watch you, as I prepare the fowl for this nights' feast." Tee Hee.
Next week I plan to begin our new curriculum, Tapestry of Grace. I'm a little nervous jumping into it this time of year with the general craziness of the season. But I'm more excited than anything. I think this will be a great change!
I'm also knee deep in conference planning. Everything is starting to come together and take shape. The 2:1 Conference website will be launching shortly, I AM SO EXCITED!! In the mean time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates! This Tuesday @2_to_1 will be announcing prizes during a CHRISTMAS TWITTER PARTY for the Homeschool Village (Tuesday, Dec. 7th, 9PM EST)!! Join us for a fun hour of Christmas discussion and the chance to win some fun homeschool related prizes.
And if life, homeschooling, a curriculum change, holiday preparation, twitter parties and planning a conference wasn't enough, I must be crazy because we got a puppy!! Meet Monroe, the newest member of our family. He is a 4 month (almost) old pug. We've only had him for a little over 24 hours but so far he is so laid back, sweet, a complete snuggle bunny and is doing really well with potty training. I love him!!
My goodness, this has been a whirlwind of a week. I completely lost track of the days! I guess the holiday season is truly upon me. But I didn't want to let another day go by without sharing my experience with kindness. I love when someone smacks me upside the head with unexpected kindness. It makes me want to pay it forward.
I ran a lot of errands this week. My van's inspection was expired, it had been expired for a long time but I never made getting the inspection a priority. So I was irritated but not surprised to see flashing lights in my rear view mirror one afternoon. Hello Police Man.
Even though I knew I was wrong and would accept the looming ticket with a smile, while the officer ran my license and registration I sat in my van and grumbled all kinds of unkind, self-centered thoughts. "Figures. Just what I need, to spend more money. This just had to happen before Christmas. Stinking officer probably has some ticket quota to fill before the end of the year."
I received an instant attitude adjustment when the officer returned to my vehicle and said "I'm going to let you go with a warning." That was it. No lecture, no nasty look, he just handed me my documents and left.
Kindness ~ the practice or quality of being kind; a kind, considerate, or helpful act
During this busy holiday season, when so many are stressed about money, short on time, receiving layoffs and pink slips, missing family members who've passed or are serving our country, please tr to practice a little extra kindness.
It doesn't have to be a big gesture, smile when you want to frown, hold the door for someone, forfeit the parking space to the oncoming car...it truly is the little things that make the difference.
Job 10:12 ~ You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.
It can be maddening slinking up aisles and aisles (and aisles!) of toys trying to figure out WHAT to get for that special someone. This year I've had the pleasure to review several items I feel would make great Christmas presents. I hope this list will give you some ideas and keep you from wasting pescious time aisle-hopping since all of these items are available online!
-Rokenbok Toys - These are my IT toys for Christmas. If you have kids who like to construct, demolish or play with remote control toys, these are a must! At first glance, I realize they look expensive, but I cannot stress enough how sturdy and durable these toys are. I was very impressed with the construction, they can stand up to even the rough hands of my three year old. He absolutely loved these toys and has spent hours (really, hours!) playing in happy fascination. My teens loved them too! They would each wait for their turn to try the Rokenbok toys out and even requested a Rokenbok city for Christmas. I had to laugh when the 15 year old whined "Why does Bram (age 3) get such cool toys?!?" This from a boy who has several gaming systems and his own laptop. We have the Preschool Blocks, Power Sweeper, Construction Action Set and to plan to add more. Please check them out, I promise you won't be disappointed! I wonder if they have an affiliate program, maybe I could earn our next purchase :)
-Swords for Wii- This video game, rated T for teen, is a really great choice for families! It has to be rated T due to weapons and some violence (it is about swords after all) but it is very tame when it comes to gritty violence, blood or gore. It's more sport than cut 'em up. My teen boys ages 15, 14 and 13 gave this game the thumbs up. They enjoyed the action, level progression and the different opponents to battle. I was happy because it wasn't gory or in any way inappropriate and to top it all off it's well priced at around $30.00! However, I do feel the need to ad that if your child is used to playing gritty fighting games like Call of Duty, this game may be too tam for them. On the flip side, if you have a younger child this game is probably appropriate for ages 7+ even though it's rated T. It really is a good, clean, skills game-use your best judgement as a parent.
-Digital Keychain from Wholesale Keychains- This is a really thoughtful but easy gift! Simply load a slideshow of photos on the digital keychain and you'll have a wonderful gift for grandparents, long distance relatives and anyone really. It's inexpensive too! Ranging from about $10-$15 you can easily afford enough for everyone on your gift list. And for about $6 you can engrave the backs also, wouldn't that be a sweet touch? And since they're so lightweight, it won't cost an arm and a leg to ship it to its recipient. I know my parents would appreciate a gift that could go with them anywhere AND allow them to show off the grandkids anytime, anywhere.
