Creating a Christmas Notebook

For a season that is draped in tradition, Christmas often has a way of making everyone feel a little frazzled and foggy-brained, especially moms. And while there are definitely many extras added onto the month of December--parties to attend, treats to bake, gifts to wrap, decorations to put up--most of the hubbub that happens around the holidays is routine. The to-dos happen every year at exactly the same time in exactly the same way.

30 Best Thanksgiving Picture Books

With Thanksgiving nearly here, I've got my book basket filled and overflowing with some of our most favorite seasonal living books. Some of these are about the first Thanksgiving that took place 400 years ago and the rest are about how Americans have celebrated the day ever since. Many of the titles are thoughtful. Others are silly. But they are all treasured family favorites that my kids and I have enjoyed for years.

10 Reformation Day Activities for Christian Families

Written by Krista Smith.

As a kid, I always looked forward to Halloween. The candy. The costumes. My last time trick-or-treating was when I was 16. (Insert the blush of red cheeks here.)  I don’t know why the six of us way-too-old-and-tall to be out trick-or-treating went that night, but we did. Not surprising, there were several people who turned us away with a shameful glance and a reproachful, “Aren't you guys too old for this?” I blame Liz. She was 6’2” and wearing a giant ape costume with a purple bra strapped to it.

Christmas-schooling Plans for 2020

Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2020 is, of course, pandemic. Shocking, I know. The thought of being stuck at home for the tenth month in a row because of that particular word, and during the Christmas season, no less, has wrapped my holiday plans in monochromatic colors. Not to mention the fact that the nation is still shrouded in a blanket of political unrest.

Pondering All These Things in My Heart: 3 Simple Thoughts on Christmas Traditions

Written by Talvi McCuskey.

'Tis the season--that wonderful time of year when we can excitedly point our children to the truth of the gospel and celebrate with them. 

Top Faith-Building Christmas Gifts for Kids

In our house, we call them Myrrh gifts.
If you know the history of myrrh--its purpose and value in the ancient world--you know exactly why we've chosen this name.

Myrrh is fragrant. It's medicinal. In fact, it was myrrh that was mixed with vinegar and offered up to Jesus while he was being crucified. Today, myrrh can be found in most antiseptics and healing salves.

Like most Biblical oils, it's currently high on the price list of most MLM essential oil companies, and for good reason. From before Christ to the present day, there's always been quite a social demand for its healing properties.

Adventschooling Plans for 2019

Celebrating Advent in a new-to-us home in a new-to-us city brings about mixed feelings. On the one hand, the reason for the season has not changed, our appreciation for a cradled King has not lessened, and our desire to focus our hearts on His birth and all that it has brought to the world has not wavered. But on the other, a new place means that we'll be celebrating all of these things with new people.

Will we bring unrealistic expectations of past Christmases into this one?
Will our new friends understand and value our traditions and make room for us in theirs?

Is Your Christmas Tethered & Anchored?

Written by Jessica.

Last year around this time, I purchased some Christmas songbooks so that our family would have the words to all our favorite Christmas carols and hymns. I knew the first verses to most of them, but my husband and children didn’t. Since it’s sometimes difficult to hear all of the words in songs just by listening, especially when the language is formal or old-fashioned, I thought it would help everyone to have the words in print to refer to. I didn’t realize that I was starting a new family Christmas tradition.

5 Great Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Written by Chelsea Gonzales.

It's almost March 17th! And you know what that means: time to dress in green, head to parades and festivals, and whip up green treats to share with family and friends.

Many people like to join in the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, of course, but I often wonder how many of those folks actually know the story behind St. Patrick's Day? How many of those wearing “Kiss me, I’m Irish” t-shirts truly know anything about their Irish culture?

A Repurposed Christmas Tree for Nature Study

Written by Jessica.

It is just one week until Christmas Day, and right now the family Christmas tree is a gathering place for many. In our house, we cozy up on the couch and read with tree lights aglow as we count down to Christmas.

The foot of the tree is everyone’s favorite spot to play or do schoolwork in December. It’s a place for sharing family memories; my children never tire of pointing to the ornaments and asking to hear the story behind each one. During Christmas week, branches, heavy-laden with the decorations of years past, provide a backdrop for our family’s celebrations.

How to Homeschool While Traveling for the Holidays

Written by Chelsea Gonzales.

"Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go."

One of the many perks of homeschooling is that you and I get to set our own school year. We're not tethered to the strict calendar of the "professionals" up the street. We can visit grandma--and whoever else we want--anytime we want.

Even so, time spent going from this family get together to that one can sometimes be a bit of a strain on our short-term learning plans. If we're being really honest, it can often make us feel guilty, as if all that time spent in the car traveling here and there is a waste.

The Best Gifts for Your Reluctant Reader

It's time I made a confession. I'm a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of mom.* My time is finite, but my tasks are great. Besides that, I have a limited storehouse of energy and finances. I need to make every drop of both count.

So, when it comes to gift-giving at Christmas, I am very intentional. As I've mentioned before, my husband and I have a long-standing pattern of giving three very specific types of gifts.

Three gifts. That's it.

Some would say that's not nearly enough--that we're bordering on Scrooge territory by restricting our kids' gifts to just these three things. But, we've found our tradition to be just about perfect, especially because, as I said, we squeeze as much use out of each of those three gifts as we can.

Mega List of Thanksgiving Unit Study Ideas

Every year on Thanksgiving, I place five kernels of corn on each plate. They are to represent the meager beginnings of our nation's history--a time when seven times as many graves were dug as houses were built. The kernels remind us of one particularly harsh season when each impoverished Pilgrim of Plimoth (or Plymouth as we spell it today) was said to have lived off of a ration of five bits of corn a day.

Homeschooling After the Holidays {because Christmas break can't last for ever}

Written by Jessica.

Christmas is just a handful of days away, and whether you’ve been preparing for it since the Christmas-in-July sales or you’re a last minute kind of gal, chances are you’re knee deep in all things Christmas right now. In less than two weeks, though, all the wonder of this season will be behind us and we’ll be standing squarely in a fresh new year. And with that, comes getting back to homeschooling.

15 Kid-friendly New Year's Eve Activities

This past year has been a great one, hasn't it? I'd love to sit and reminisce with you--to talk about all the highs and lows, and the ordinary bits that fell in between. But alas, 2018 is rolling in hot like an out-of-control freight train. It's time to turn the page, whether we like it or not.

Before we cue the cut-off music and shove 2017 off the stage, though, let's take a time-out to celebrate and send it off in style.

20+ Nativity Books That Tell the Real Story

Contrary to the popular Christmas carol, three kings did not visit a newborn Jesus in Bethlehem. While Scripture refers to them as magi, or wise men, it gives no indication that they were kings. Instead, it refers to them as educated men who came from the East, possibly the direction of Babylon or Persia. Some theologians speculate that they were from a similar order of philosophers and foreign priests as those in Daniel's day. They were obviously interested in signs of the heavens and were willing to travel a great distance to follow the clues given in the stars and the Old Testament (specifically Numbers 24:17) to find a child who was "born King of the Jews."

Pieces of the Promise: a family Easter tradition

I'll have to admit, it's so easy to do Christmas well. With its bright lights, holiday parties, and Advent traditions, Christmas is a month-long celebration. But the truth is, the Savior's birth is only one half of the story. Our hope would not be complete without Easter...without the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. I don't want to amplify one part of Redemption's story and not the other. So, for the past five-or-so years, I've been on a quest to do Easter well... to make it as tradition-filled as Christmas.

Pine Bough Wreath Print Tutorial

Written by Jessica.

This fun-to-make art project incorporates two items from nature that signify winter in all its loveliness: pine boughs and pinecones. The stamped wreath can be made in traditional reds and greens to display at home or to be gifted to a loved one, just in time for Christmas. Already had your fill of Christmas art projects? No problem! It can also be made with winter colors, all ready to brighten the walls during the cold and bare months ahead.

Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches on Sweet Brown Bread

Written by Beth Hautala of Eat Write Repeat.

I remember being five, maybe six, padding barefoot down the stairs at my grandparent’s lake house sometime after I’d been put to bed. It was post-Thanksgiving celebrations, which meant all of the adults, or nearly all, were draped over various articles of furniture, drowsing. Save for Grandpa, who was busy in the kitchen.

Curbing Entitlement During a Season of Excess

The "entitlement epidemic" isn't just another trite expression flung around on morning talk shows. It's not just sarcastic Baby Boomer banter. It is the sad reality of our current culture. From lack of responsibility, to lack of empathy, to overabundance of stuff, 21st-century kids are proving to be s.p.o.i.l.e.d. like no other generation of American kids before them.