winter bliss

Hiya! Remember me? Despite my lack of posting, I am still here and homeschooling the girls! Let's see if I can give you a speedy update - we celebrated Thanksgiving with our families, moved back to Georgia, celebrated Christmas and Gracelyn's 7th birthday. Whew! It has been non-stop, but we are so glad to be back home near our families and friends!

Since things were crazy, I decided to buy a couple more packs from TpT to use during the holidays. This is what we used during the month of December -

teacher bits and bobs

doodle bugs teachings

We also made an elf out of cardstock and I had the girls fill out an elf application that I got from The First Grade Parade ~ she is so clever! We made a santa with a torn beard and wrote a letter to santa that I got from Teacher Bits and Bobs.

This is what we are using for January -

teacher bits and bobs

I couldn't wait to share these adorable puffy snowmen we made out of shaving cream and school glue. It was so easy and they really do dry puffy! If you are interested in doing these snowmen, just mix equal parts of school glue and shaving cream together. I had the kids draw their snowman with a pencil on the blue paper first and then fill in the body with the mixture. We used orange cardstock for the noses and black cardstock for the hats, eyes, and buttons. (I used my hole punch to punch the eyes and buttons.) The arms are toothpicks and the scarves are ribbons. Everything will dry onto the snowman so there isn't any need for glue.

I'll be posting more frequently now that we are somewhat settled and in a routine again! I have lots more winter-y activities to share with you guys!

christmas 2010

The christmas story has been read from the Bible. Baby Jesus was placed in our manger early this morning. Cookies and milk were left out for santa. Reindeer food was sprinked all over the driveway. The stockings were hung and filled. The gifts have been opened and are being played with. The turkey is roasting in the oven. The yummiest mac and cheese casserole is all prepared and waiting to warm in the oven. The rain has stopped falling outside. And, we are all still in our pjs and santa is taking a nap!

I feel alittle like Mary probably did as she "pondered all of these things in her heart".

The kids have declared that this was the best christmas ever. And I would have to agree!

reindeer food!

Don't forget to feed the reindeer tonight!

kids' nativity set

Last year after seeing this nativity set at my friend's house, I got one for my children. They love playing with it and I don't have to worry about them breaking any of the pieces.

This year, I have heard them retelling the story of Christmas in their own words and it warms my heart to know that they know and understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Matt hides baby Jesus and on Christmas morning he places baby Jesus in the manger in front of Mary and Joseph, or as my son says, Jo-fess!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

The tree is up and there is a strong evergreen smell in the air! The lights are strung and we've been singing christmas songs for the past week or so! Today, I gave each child there own bag of homemade ornaments that we made last year to hang anywhere on the tree. It was so sweet to hear the girls remembering when we made the ornaments together. As they pulled their ornaments out, I loved hearing their oohhs and awws! I hope these memories will be happy ones for them, because they are for me!

This is what we made last year:










Now, I'm on the lookout for more ornaments to make this year! If you know of any, let me know!