Christmas School

2012-13 School Year–Week Fifteen

Christmas School kicked into full gear this week! We kept working on math (Ladybug finished her kindergarten math workbook…I don’t know what she’s going to do next!), and writing, but everything else we did was Christmas-themed.

On Monday, we learned about Christmas during the Elizabethan period, and made a favorite craft…stained glass Christmas trees. It’s been a few years since we’ve made them, and it was the first time Ladybug got to make one, so it was a lot of fun!

P1210389

Tuesday’s theme as a Georgian/Colonial Christmas. Since we read about the use of pomanders at that time, I got out the cloves and an orange, and we made one  of our own. Bunny and Ladybug have decided we should always have one around, because it smells so good, and I can’t say I disagree with them!

P1210381

Wednesday we learned about Christmas in Victorian times, and how those celebrations influenced how we still celebrate Christmas today. We read The Christmas Bird, which is a Christmas legend explaining how the robin got its red breast. Robins are a popular Christmas decoration in England, maybe because of this legend, or more likely because, during the Victorian era, the postmen wore bright red coats, and people used to call out, “Here comes the robin!” when they saw one. We made a robin craft, as well. I’m pretty proud of this one, because although it was simple, it was my invention. We used brads to make the wings and feet movable, and decided to glue the robins to a blue background to make it look like they’re flying.

P1210413

On Thursday, we moved on to the Edwardian era, which, to be honest, isn’t that much different from the Victorian era. We did enjoy looking at An Edwardian Christmas, which has no words at all. It was amazing what the children could infer from the pictures, and the small details they picked up on! Sometimes, it’s nice to just look at a picture book, and let the illustrations tell the story. We also read about St. Lucia on Thursday, since it was her commemoration day.

We moved into a more modern era today, learning about Christmas during World Wars I and II. We’ve read Christmas in the Trenches pretty much every year that we’ve been homeschooling, and it remains a family favorite. To be honest, I had never even heard of the “Silent Night Truce,” before reading that story, but I think it’s one of the most amazing war-time stories I’ve ever heard. We also read some selections from Letters from Father Christmas. The last letter Tolkien wrote fit in especially well with today’s wartime theme.

Our big craft was making a gingerbread house…only the second time we’ve tried doing so. I was smart this time, and actually read the directions beforehand, so I knew to assemble the house the night before so it could set up before the children tried to decorate it. Turkey, Bunny, and Ladybug had a great time coming up with and implementing designs. It was a very fun, although time-consuming, activity!

P1210546

Next week, we’re only having a few days of school. We’ll be finishing our Christmas in England unit with a look at modern English Christmas celebrations, having our traditional “Nutcracker Day,” where we’ll read the story and watch not one, but two different productions of the ballet (one of them being the Royal Ballet, of course!), and celebrating the first day of winter and having our Christmas tea party. After all that, we’re going to take a vacation for a few weeks…I’m definitely looking forward to that!

Christmas School 2012–Christmas in England

As I mentioned in this year’s Christmas School reading list, our focus this year is on Christmas in England. Our main read-aloud is, of course, A Christmas Carol. In addition to that, I’ve divided our studies up into six basic sections:

  • Christmas in Elizabethan England–This was a tough era to cover, mainly because I couldn’t find a whole lot of information on it. Shakespeare made only a few passing references to Christmas, from what I could find, and they weren’t particularly happy references. I decided that the focus of this lesson would be on the Boar’s Head Festival, since the festival would have been fairly well established by that time. It also ties in well to the festival we attended this year, and we can even use the programs from that festival to guide our discussion of the different parts of the event, in particular, the “Boar’s Head Carol,” as well as “Good King Wenceslas.”
  • A Georgian/Colonial Christmas–In contrast, this is an easy period of time to cover, especially following last year’s “Christmas in American History” lessons. We won’t be looking specifically at England for this lesson, but at how English colonists might have celebrated Christmas in their new homes. The beginning part of Christmas in Williamsburg does and excellent job of showing what an English-American Christmas was like.
  • A Victorian Christmas–There’s so much information here, it’s hard to know where to start! The focus of this lesson, though, will be on the traditions that we still have today that are a reflection of the Victoria era, like decorating Christmas trees, and lavish gift giving. The central focus of this day will be A Christmas Carol, of course, as it’s the perfect Victoria Christmas story. While we’re taking all of our Christmas School this year to read it, we’ll be watching our favorite film version of the story that day (the Muppet version, if you’re wondering!).
  • An Edwardian Christmas–This was the other time period that was a bit of a struggle, because it’s really a short amount of time, and it’s not that different from the Victorian era. The only reason I even made it its own topic was because I found a lovely picture book at the library entitled An Edwardian Christmas. This is the same day we’ll be learning about St. Lucia, though, so it’s OK that we’re a little light on Christmas in England that day!
  • Wartime Christmas–We’ll be looking at Christmas in England during both World Wars…not only directly war-related events (Christmas in the Trenches, the story of the “Silent Night Truce”), but works that were written during, and possibly influenced by, the wars (Letters from Father Christmas and A Child’s Christmas in Wales). Even though we’ll be delving into Santa territory with the Tolkien book, this is especially timely, as Turkey and Bunny have both recently read The Hobbit, and Ryan is reading The Fellowship of the Ring as a family read-aloud in the evenings.
  • Christmas in Modern England–In addition to watching a few of the Queen’s recent Christmas messages, we’ll also be reading a Christmas story starring a favorite character in English children’s books–The Jolly Postman. While I don’t like to bring Santa into our house too much, I like this book because it does introduce a modern British storybook, and because the Jolly Postman stories are clever and well-written.

In addition to these time periods, we’ll also be learning about some Christmas legends from the U.K., including a story from Ireland, and the legend of the robin, which may or may not be English in origin, but is a popular story in that country. We’ll also be looking at and listening to some English Christmas carols. (We will be doing crafts, as always–they just don’t really have anything to do with Christmas in England!) And, of course, we love any excuse to have a tea party, so this time around, we’ll be having a Christmas tea, complete with Christmas cookies, holiday jam on English muffins, and ginger tea.

This will bring a nice end to the very British year we’ve had…then again, we have the birth of the new royal to look forward to next year, so maybe the fun doesn’t have to end!

2012-2013 School Year–Week Fourteen

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

P1210096

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!

P1210088

 

P1210112

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!

The Schoolroom Nativity

I love our schoolroom nativity scene! There are several different ways to display it, including options that allow the wise men to remain hidden until Epiphany. I suppose I could even turn the manger around, so that Baby Jesus doesn’t make an appearance until Christmas Eve. The Bible verses on the backs of the pieces are a nice touch, as well…if you did want to hide different members of the gathering, there’s still something of the Christmas story to look at!

P1210106

P1210121

P1210119

P1210117

Banners for the Time of Christmas

For our first Christmas school craft, we made banners for the time of Christmas. The time of Christmas is broken into three seasons, so we had three banners to make. They were a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too!

The season of Advent (only the first flame is glued to the banner–the rest can be added as Advent progresses):

P1210028

The season of Christmas (to be used for the 12 days of Christmas and the day of the Epiphany):

P1210024

The season of Epiphany (to be used on the days following Epiphany, until the beginning of Lent, as well as the time after Pentecost…all of the green days):

P1210025

We spent a lot of time going through the banner book, choosing designs, colors, and appropriate Scripture verses, deciding where the glitter glue should go, and then putting them together. The whole family got involved! We’ll continue working our way through the church year…we have plans to make banners for Lent and Easter, as well as an Alleluia banner (we already made a red banner). After we’ve made the basic banners, we may move on to specific banners for Holy Week, and other themed banners…we’ll just have to see how it goes. It’s another nice way to tie our church life and home life together!

What We’re Reading–Christmas 2012–Christmas in England

Last year, I shared a list of books we’d be using in “Christmas School.” Some of those books won’t be repeated this year (especially anything American Santa heavy), as the theme is different, and I’ve also added a few books, mainly to go along with this year’s focus on Christmas in England:

  • Letters from Father Christmas–Yes, it’s a Santa book, but it’s also something of a Tolkien classic, and quite timely, as Turkey and Bunny have both recently read The Hobbit.
  • A Child’s Christmas in Wales–This classic will be added to our permanent collection.
  • The Christmas Bird–I haven’t been able to determine if this legend originated in England, or if it’s just popular there, but robins at Christmastime appear to be a British custom.
  • An Edwardian Christmas–This is a tiny little picture book, but the pictures are beautiful, and show what Christmas was like in England at that time.
  • The Oxford Book of Christmas Poems
  • Father Christmas and the Donkey
  • Victorian Christmas–Technically, this book is about Christmas in America, but it shows how England influenced American Christmas celebrations, so decided to include it.
  • Christmas in England
  • A Christmas Carol–A classic that’s been in our family library for years, but is especially appropriate for this year’s English Christmas theme…it will be our main read-aloud.
  • A Christmas Dinner–Another Christmas book by Charles Dickens
  • The Jolly Christmas Postman–Another Santa book, but the Jolly Postman seems to be very popular in England, so it must be included.
  • Christmas in the Trenches–This book was already in our library, but as it focuses on the temporary truce between British and German soldiers during WWI, it has a special place in school this year.
  • The Lion Storyteller Christmas Book–While this anthology has stories from all over the world, it’s printed by a British publisher, so I thought it fit the year’s theme.
  • The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit–Not written by Beatrix Potter herself, but inspired by her farm.
  • How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas–Even though this series is about the origin of the Santa stories, I really like the books. This one focuses primarily on the Puritans in America, as well as the English Parliament’s interference with Christmas celebrations.
  • Christmas in Williamsburg–This is another book that focuses on Christmas in America, but we’ll specifically looking at the colonial period, when America was still under British rule.

We’ll also be using our book basket time to read all of the other many Christmas books we love!

The Boar’s Head Festival

The boar’s head in hand bear I
bedecked with bays and rosemary.
And I pray you my masters, be merry,
Quot estis in convivio.
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

The boar’s head, as I understand,
Is the bravest dish in all the land.
When thus bedecked with a gay garland,
Let us servere cantico.
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

Our steward has provided this
In honor of the King of Bliss;
Which on this day to be served is,
In Regimensi atrio.
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

The mightiest hunter of them all
We honor in this festal hall
Born of a humble virgin mild,
Heaven’s King became a helpless Child.
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

He hunted down through earth and hell
The swart boar death until it fell.
This mighty deed for us was done.
Therefore sing we in unison:
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

Let not this boar’s head cause alarm,
The huntsman drew his power to harm.
So death, which still appears so grim,
Has yielded all its power to Him!
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

On Friday night, we had the opportunity to attend a performance of the Boar’s Head Festival, at Peace Lutheran Church in St. Louis. It’s been 12 years since I’ve gotten to go to the festival (at a different church), so I was very excited to refresh my memory about it, and to take the children, and see their reactions. (I wasn’t disappointed!) It also fit in well with our “Christmas in England” theme for Christmas School this year.

All of the children loved it, even Chickadee. There was so much to watch and listen to, and even though we were sitting in the back, because of all of the activity in the aisles of the church, they had plenty to look at. There was dancing and various musical performances (including a bagpiper, trumpets, and madrigals), and entertainment from a court jester (hilarious!), in addition to the presentation of the feast, the yule log, the wassailers, and the nativity story at the end.

If you’ve never been to a Boar’s Head Festival before, here’s a rough outline:

The Courtly Story

  • The Coming of the Yule Sprite
  • The Approach of the Herald Banners
  • Procession of the Beefeaters
  • The Boar’s Head Procession
  • Court Entertainment
  • The Yule Log Procession
  • The Wassailers

The Christmas Story

  • Mary and Joseph Approach the Inn
  • The Apparition
  • The Shepherds
  • The Adoration of the Wise Men
  • The Christ Light

After the festival was over, we got to head over to the gym and enjoy cookies, punch, and wassail. And take pictures of the performers. The lighting wasn’t great, so my pictures aren’t as good as I hoped, but they still give a general idea of what the evening was like.

A wise man and the jester…what an odd pairing!

P1200703

A monk:

P1200679

The Beefeaters (Turkey loved seeing them!):

P1200682

The baker:

P1200687

A bagpiper (minus his tall fur hat):

P1200686

Lords and ladies aplenty:

P1200710

P1200719

And, of course, good King Wenceslas himself:

P1200695

The costumes were detailed and beautiful:

P1200691

And the props were excellent, as well:

P1200698

P1200692

Of course, the star of the performance–the Boar’s Head:

P1200688

The children decided that their favorite part of the evening was the singing of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” as acted out by the jesters. I have to say, I agree…it was hilarious.

It did run a little long, which was too bad, because the part that became “boring” was the nativity story at the end. But everything before that was enjoyed by everyone (especially when the servers came through with cookies for the audience during the feast!). I’m glad we made time in our busy pre-Christmas schedule to attend!

God bless our fam’lies here at peace
Wherever they may be!
Those who wander, those at home,
In Christ are one with Thee:
Love and joy come to you
And to you your wassail too.
And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

Christmas on The Hill 2012

It’s hard to believe that Christmas on The Hill has already come and gone, but as always, it was fun!

P1200937

The Nativity Walk is my favorite part of Christmastime on The Hill.

P1200932

This was my favorite Nativity scene.

P1200904

The detail on the pieces was amazing!

P1200907

The buildings all look so festive at this time of year!

P1200926

P1200953

And I’ve never seen such a festive horse…it didn’t just have bells and bows, it had antlers and a red nose!

P1200871

Even its feet were decorated!

P1200875

Of course, we listened to La Befana tell her story.

P1200884

We also stumbled across some sort of flash mob…it was very entertaining!

P1200912

I love the Italian pride that is everywhere!

P1200865

P1200921

P1200924

And the fact that the center of it all is St. Ambrose Catholic Church.

P1200943

P1200956

I have a favorite house on The Hill.

P1200963

I love that space under the stairs that’s just perfect for a Nativity scene!

P1200961

It’s nice to see local businesses get such good support from the crowds.

P1200910

Quite a few of the buildings on The Hill have these green bricks…I wonder if there’s some kind of story behind them?

P1200930

No trip to The Hill would be complete without a stop at Amighetti’s!

P1200952

Another fun (and windy!), day in December on The Hill!

P1200940

What We’re Reading–Christmas

Last year, I posted a list of books we read for our “Christmas in American History” unit. I decided to re-organize that list of books, removing some that we don’t normally read, and adding a few new ones for this year. Later, I’ll be creating a seperate list, which will contain the books we’re using this year for “Christmas in England,” but won’t necessarily use on a yearly basis.

Biblical/Religious Storybooks

Christmas in America

Nutcracker Read-Alouds

Book Basket Books–(These are any Christmas books we happened to have in the house, some from past “Christmas Around the World” units, and some from previous curriculum, or just for fun!)

Winter Books (As long as winter begins during the Christmas season, I’ll include the books we always read on the first day of winter)

Preparing for Advent

It’s sounds kind of funny to talk about preparing for a season of preparation, doesn’t it? But, Advent is almost here, and prepare we must!

Last year, I shared our daily Jesse Tree readings. A Jesse Tree, for those who don’t know, is a kind of a family tree for Jesus. It doesn’t include only His biological relatives, however…it also includes those people, prophets, and fulfilled prophecies closely associated with the Christmas story. There were twenty-eight readings last year, because Advent was as long as it can possibly be. This year, Advent is short, so a few readings must be left out, (which ones to exclude is at the discretion of the reader). Here are all twenty-eight topics one convenient location:

In addition to the Jesse Tree readings, I’m also adding readings for the “O Antiphons” in the evenings leading up to Christmas Eve, as well as a “Jesse Tree Extension“–readings for the 12 Days of Christmas, with corresponding ornaments that will go on the Jesse Tree with the Advent and Antiphon ornaments. I’m very excited about these two additions to our Advent/Christmas routine!

If you haven’t purchased your Advent candles for the year yet, there’s still time! We light our candles before we say the “Prayer at the Close of the Day” from Lutheran Service Book, but I know some families that light them during dinner, or at another time during the day. We also sing a verse from “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” at this time. I always take my Advent wreath into the store with me when I buy the candles, because even though the tapers all look the same, there are minor differences in their diameter, which can make them hard to fit into a specific wreath. I recommend that you choose your Advent candles based on the colors used in your church…we used to use purple candles at home, but since our church uses blue,we’ve switched over, and it’s nice to have that continuity between church and home.

There are also several church year commemorations that take place during the season of Advent. We always remember St. Nicholas (in addition to reading about the real man, we also decorate our Christmas tree on December sixth), and St. Lucia ( in our home, we celebrate this day with lussekattes and Lucia Brides and Star Boys, in addition to reading about Santa Lucia), and the last few years, we’ve added Ambrose of Milan (known for penning the Advent hymn “Savior of the Nations, Come”), as well. This usually involves reading a book about the life of the Saint, and/or discussing his or her history, and how God used that person to spread the Gospel. Sometimes we do an additional activity, like opening stockings on St. Nicholas Day, visiting a church named for Ambrose on December seventh, and  making St. Lucia crowns and Star Boy hats on December 13. In addition to these, there are dates set aside during Advent for Noah, St. Andrew, John of Damascus, Daniel and the Three Young Men, Adam and Eve, Katharina von Bora Luther, and St. Thomas (a great time to visit elderly members of your congregation, particularly those who are shut-ins).

I also can’t wait to start our daily Advent readings. This year, we’re back at the beginning of the trilogy with Jotham’s Journey by Arnold Ytreeide. But, there are two other books in the series to look forward to: Bartholomew’s Passage and Tabitha’s Travels. There are other books that count down the days to Christmas, too…some with more secular stories, and some that simply count down the days in December, instead of the actual days of Advent. I like the Jotham trilogy because they both tie into the Bible story, and because they’re meant to be read every day in Advent, no matter how long or short it is.

Advent is my very favorite time of year. I love the solemnity, the anticipation, the getting ready. What are your favorite Advent traditions?