Search Results for: homeschoolers advent

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan

Or Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun as they say in Turkey, or Joyeux Noel as they say in France, or Feliz Navidad as they say in Spanish speaking countries, or Merry Christmas as we say here. (In case you’re wondering, the title is in Mandarin.) Learning how families celebrate Christmas all over the world is in and of itself an educational experience. This is one of the most interesting and fascinating things that we do all year. As a result of “visiting” a few countries around Christmas time each year, we have incorporated a few other traditions into our … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: Community Service

I’m one of those people who believes strongly that before people should graduate from high school they should be required to do community service hours. I believe this so strongly that in our household, community service begins in kindergarten. My son is required to do two ‘projects’ a year (he is in kindergarten) and my daughter does something every other month–she is in second grade. Why Community Service? We do community service because it is a tangible way to teach compassion and empathy and thankfulness. One of my daughter’s first Christmas projects was to bring food to a homeless shelter. … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: The BIG Shopping Day

Some people say that we are certifiably insane, but we do all of our Christmas shopping in one day. That doesn’t sound so bad until you consider that we’re buying presents for 7 nieces and nephews, 5 of our own children, several friends in church, and of course we help our kids give gifts to each other. When we’re all done, we have a van full of presents, exhausted kids, and a whole night of wrapping ahead of us! There are a variety of reasons we do it this way but none of them have to do with homeschooling so … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: Gingerbread Structures

In just two hours, we will be on our way to our home schooling co-op for a lesson in physics (compliments of my husband) and the fine art of gingerbread making. Well, technically we’re using graham crackers. . .but we’re using real frosting and we’re using real candy to build a winter wonderland of gingerbread structures. Maybe it’s just me, because we live in a city with tons of bridges, but the study of structure has fascinated me. It actually started to fascinate my highly observant son who noted that most bridges are made out of triangles–which is true. This … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

I had just written a blog about studying the North Pole and as I was talking about it with my husband who should walk in buy my night owl son? His newest fascination with life and literature is Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express. He can be heard walking down the hallways singing some version of the hot chocolate song from the popular movie. So it only came naturally that as I thought about today’s activity, I should write about The Polar Express. Preschool: Dramatic Play Get a large refrigerator box or several medium sized boxes and make yourselves a … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: The North Pole

While your kids are writing those wish lists out for Santa, take some time to visit the North Pole. . .via the web that is. Go ahead–make your hot chocolate, sit back, relax, and spend some time learning about the very interesting Arctic circle. I have to tell you that as I was writing this article, I was so fascinated by the things I found that it took me twice as long to write it. I kept stopping and reading and stopping some more. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. Our first stop in our Arctic … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: Christmas Science

Those who know my family well, know us as “the science people”. When we worked at a private school, we ran the science fairs. In fact, it was a science fair for homeschoolers that got us started in running a home schooling support group. My husband especially, is known for his fine command of explaining physics to preschoolers. So if you knew us well, you would not be shocked that we actually have Christmas themed science. I hope you enjoy these links, tidbits, questions and ideas about science and Christmas. NORAD tracks Santa Clause You undoubtedly have heard that Norad … Continue reading →

The Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar: Holiday Books to Treasure

Do you celebrate Advent? For those of you who might not know what Advent is, it is the 24 days preceding Christmas. For Christians it is a time of reflection and anticipation building up towards the birth of Christ. So I thought we would take a little time each day building up towards Christmas to talk about what you might do this year to incorporate holiday celebrations into your home schooling. I don’t know about your kids and your household but there are two things that happen in my household around Christmas time. The first is that visions of home … Continue reading →

The Advent Calendar Deals are Back!

December is an excellent month to find interesting deals, offers, and freebies. Several different companies put together an “advent calendar” of sorts, where one special deal is offered each day. They start on the first day of December. Here’s a quick list of where to find “advent calendar” deals! Starbucks is doing “12 Days of Gifting”. They started on December 1, 2012. To find the deals, visit the Starbucks website every day. Each day will have a new deal on stuff from Starbucks. Caribou Coffee is doing “20 Deals for 20 Days”. They started on December 1, 2012. Every day, … Continue reading →

Interviews with Homeschoolers: Karen Loutzenhizer, Part One

Today I’m talking with Karen Loutzenhiser, a homeschooling mom from Utah who took time out to chat with me about her homeschooling journey. Karen, how did you know that homeschooling was the right choice for you? I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl, and the only thing that could top that career in my heart and mind was being a mommy. By the time I got my degree in education, I already had two kids in tow. I knew that they were my absolute joy and my #1 priority. Why would I drop my … Continue reading →