Being home & gearing up for Dec. - craft projects and "advent"

- S. looks on as her brother plays

When you see your children learning and growing together, in the warmth and comfort of their own home, how can you *NOT* love it?!

HOMESCHOOLING THOUGHTS:  I sometimes cringe when my oldest walks out to the bus stop for middle school, but I then remind myself that it works well for her and she's happy.  She often rolls her eyes when I still give her "assignments" to do, or direct her to educational sites and games, but she knows that it is what our family is about.  Although she is in public school, I still feel it is my job to play a large role in her learning. 

Her 2 siblings, however, I am hoping will have a much longer bout of homeschooling.  If I put them in school at all, hopefully it will be just for "specials" (gym, art, music, sports, etc) or some subject that I feel would be better served in a different setting.  With any luck, by the time these 2 youngest are old enough to be doing more academic subjects, our local homeschool community will be active and large enough so we can do more cooperative learning.  I know it has been growing a bit in recent years, so hopefully that momentum will keep going!

- K. perfects the fine art of hammering

CRAFTING IDEAS:  With the holidays coming, along with cooler weather, here are a couple of gift ideas for you. This year, I think many of us are doing a more homemade holiday season by neccessity. I like to think that it may also be a return to people appreciating homemade gifts, realizing that there is time, effort and love poured into each gift!

Craft idea #1:  Gourd candles

click to enlarge directions

These candles are fairly easy to make and will make a wonderful gift! They serve double-duty, because if the power goes out, they can be an attractive addition to the candlelight needed to see by. I dug into my MSL archives for this one from Nov 1998.  Click to enlarge.  p.s. Notice that this craft would be a great way to use up old candles! Melt down the little bits of candle that are often so hard to use up and combine with other bits of old candles to make this craft a recycled one.

Craft idea #2:  Fleece hats and mittens

Click to enlarge directions

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Seasonal/Pagan Happenings:  Last, but certainly not least, is the annual countdown to Dec 25th.  In our family, we also celebrate Yule (and maybe next year I'll do a countdown from Samhain to Yule! I just didn't think of it for this year!) as well as an honoring of Dec 25th.  For us, it is an honoring of the spirit of the season of xmas, and what it is supposed to symbolize in terms of "goodwill toward all people", giving and sharing, and spending time with family.  Xmas also tends to occur around the time of the winter solstice, which is when we mark the beginning of the winter (and thankfully the return of the sun - although we won't realize that until many months from now!). 

The winter solstice is the "darkest night".  As such, we'll have our own ritual for that which I'll chat about in a later posting.  For now, I'll talk about an idea for a countdown to Dec 25th, or Yule, whichever you prefer.

Here's a way to recycle those baby food jars (and if you have none, get creative! You can use old yogurt containers or other jars from items like relish).

I think the picture is fairly self explanatory. You can work with the kids to create different tops for the lids to count down the days.  Then fill the containers with little treats.  Ideas for treats include:

Candy, little homemade felt animals/finger puppers/bracelets/etc, love notes to your child....use your imagination!

By the way, you don't need to have a whole army of containers! You can use the same container, and just tape a new number and design onto the lid each day!