Holidays and Holy Days in Our Homeschool

It's been a while since I updated this blog. I got sick last month, and since then, our homeschool schedule has been absolutely irregular (well, our daily schedule in general, to be honest!) I've also officially resigned from my old "job" (I like to see it as a calling more than a job), and now have a new one, which still allows me to work from home most days (more on my new job in another post) - starting next year.

Although we've been on "holiday" mode for quite some time now (I'm ashamed to say, since way before  Advent even started!), I do hope that the kids have learned a few things from our (somewhat) daily routine of:
- Morning prayers
- Reading the Bible or Bible stories together (these days, the kids have mostly been doing this with their Papa, since he's been on leave from work) - including the stories from our Advent Calendar book set

After reading each mini-book from "The Story of Christmas" the kids hang it on our "Advent" tree.

- Free play

- The occasional worksheet or activity pages for Tim (mostly from the book below)

This is usually used for preschool, but can also be used for Kindergarten. We plan to get the Kindergarten copy for Tim soon though. :-)

- Watching educational TV shows or DVDs (oh, yes, we let our kids watch TV! And I'm trying not to feel guilty about it! In fairness, they, especially Tim, seem to have learned quite a few things from what they watch). For CHRISTmas-themed videos that focus on sharing and the true meaning of Christmas, we used these:

Watching these videos with the kids made me cry! Honestly! ;-) They both have such wonderful messages!

- More free play
- Read-aloud time (for Advent, we are using our Advent Books)

I selected books from their Christ-centered/Christian book collection and wrapped them by day. We started reading books from each "package" on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

- Watering their mung (or monggo) bean plants

- The occasional introduction of a saint (we did St. Nicholas for December)
- On non-rainy days, time to play outside. If not, indoor "exercise" time (again, mostly with their Papa) using our Xavix set (which we bought last year during a clearance sale)
- More recently, sensory play using our Nativity sensory bin (inspired by this post from Catholic Icing!)

- Evening prayers (for Advent, we've been using the Jesse Tree, and it has been such a blessing!)

Also, we've been blessed to have:
- More visits with extended family members and friends (like their Lolo Bishop)
- (On Saturday afternoons starting November 27) Kindermusik classes with Teacher Suzette and Friends (more on this latest greatest blessing later!)

Right now, what I want to focus on though is CHRISTmas (tomorrow!), and the birthday party we're planning for Jesus. After that, we plan to add "The 12 Days/Decades of Christmas" to our daily schedule i.e. we'll be praying a decade of the Holy Rosary on each day of Christmas, starting Christmas Day all the way to the Feast of the Epiphany. Why only a decade? Well, even if Tim and Rysse are kind of used to praying the whole Rosary with us (especially during our missionary days in Timor), I've noticed they are still very restless (especially Rysse now) when we have "long" prayers (15-20 minutes). This, to me, is understandable, as I know a lot of adults (myself included) who sometimes can't sit still in prayer for that long either! :-)

During the 12 Days of Christmas, I also hope to do the following "projects" with the kids (and their Papa of course):
1. Project "Love":
- Sort through our clothes and toys and other things for stuff that can be donated to the victims of Typhoon Sendong
- Make "I Love You and Thank God for You" cards for family and friends
- Make a "Love Letter" for Jesus to be offered up with their love offering (money saved in an offering box) at Mass on New Year's Day (The Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God)

2. Project Faith:
- Explore the real meaning behind the 12 Days of Christmas song, and explain it in a way the kids can understand
- Read more Bible stories and memorize John 3:16
- Learn at least two Christmas and/or Marian hymns (like "Away In A Manger" - though Tim LOVES "Angels We Have Heard On High" especially the "Gloria" part)
- Have at least ONE session of Making Music, Praying Twice before the Feast of the Epiphany
- Have a lesson each about Mary as the Mother of God (here and here) about the Three Wise Men (ideas from here, here, here)
- Attend our ROCKERs January meet

3. Project Hope:
- Revisit  Create our family's vision and mission statement (including our homeschool statement of philosophy, or something like that)
- Make a drawing / collage of our vision and mission statement - art project for the whole family
- Bring hope to other people in need (visit an orphanage, home for the aged, or physically challenged)

Please do pray for us that we'll be able to do all these! Especially since I'll be working the days after CHRISTmas! ;-)

Here's to a blessed, bountiful, beautiful CHRISTmas for us all, and a peaceful, prosperous New Year! :-)