This was a much better week…of course, Christmas School tends to have that effect on people!

For the most part, we followed our regular schedule this week, with Christmas activities added in. We did suspend our normal history and science activities, however, in favor of Christmas history, and the Magic School Bus, respectively. This was partly due to the nature of Christmas School, and partly due to some schedule difficulties this week, including a funeral and a well baby exam that I had to work around. This week also saw us beginning our Jesse Tree readings in place of our regular religion lessons, and of course, those will continue through Christmas Eve.

Spelling and grammar both had review lessons this week, so that’s the last we’ll see of those two subjects before our break. We also finished one read-aloud, Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!, and started another, A Christmas Carol, which we’ll finish next week. Jotham’s Journey is another read-aloud that was added this week…much like the Jesse Tree, it’s something we’ll do every day until the end of Advent. We will continue with our regular math lessons next week, as well as writing, but everything else will be Christmas-focused!

Christmas School this week also involved three craft days, two of which were dedicated to making ornaments, both for our home tree, and as gifts. We made both jingle bell wreaths, and paper balls. The paper ball ornaments almost ended in total disaster, but I managed to salvage them by using the materials to make a different kind of ornament. It may not have been our original plan, but I think they turned out OK! I’m about out of original ornament ideas, now, so unless inspiration strikes in the next year (or I find some cool craft kits!), I may have to start recycling some of my ornament projects!

We also made banners for the time of Christmas, that will be hung in our school room. This is part of an ongoing project we’re working on, with the goal of having a liturgically appropriate banner for each season of the church year. We’re enjoying making them…I just can’t figure out why it took me so long to come up with this idea!

Next week, the fun really begins, as we delve into what an English Christmas has looked like and become over the course of the last several centuries, and work on some additional Christmas crafts. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!