Christmas School

Christmas Crafts–General

In addition to making lots of cool ornamentsover the last few years, we’ve also had fun making other types of crafts. Not everything has worked the way I envisioned, (the wax paper/melted crayon “stars” are an example of that), and some things, even though meant for children, were so involved that I ended up doing most of the work, (the foam nativity, which is why we no longer do foam crafts!). Most of the crafts have been successful, though,  and all have been enjoyed by the children, (even the ones that didn’t turn out as planned), and a few were so popular that they’ve already been repeated, even though this is only (only?!?) our fourth year of homeschooling!

Christmas Wreaths

Handprint Wreath

Tissue Paper Wreath

Christmas Trees

Handprint Tree

“Stained Glass” Tree

Snowflakes

Pipe Cleaner Snowflake with Pom-Pom “Snow”

Q-Tip Snowflake

Another Q-Tip Snowflake

Basic Paper Snowflake

Stars

A variety of stars made with foil, glitter, and crayons

3-D Stars

Wax Paper/Melted Crayon Stars, appearing with limited success

Angels

Handprint Angel

Paper Plate Angel

Other

The ubiquitous paper chain

Stick puppets of different varieties, (wise men shown here)

The dreaded foam nativity scene

Gingerbread House

Mexican lantern from a “Christmas Around the World” lesson

3-D Poinsettia

Christmas Greetings from Around the World

Stamped & Laminated Cardstock Bookmarks 

Santa Lucia Crown and Star Boy Hat

Some Observations on Christmas Throughout American History

While studying Christmas throughout American history in “Christmas School” this year, I learned quite a few things myself.

The lavish Christmas festivities that are the norm today, (lots of decorations, big meals, and an abundance of gifts), have not existed through most of our country’s history. The only time we really seem a similar, (and often more lavish), celebration is around the turn of the century, when a Victorian Christmas was popular in America. During the rest of our country’s history, the celebrations were much smaller, (if they existed at all), either due to choice, or, more often, necessity. The Christmases of our country’s past were also much more religious for Americans as a whole, although the extent that some groups, such as the Puritans, went to to try to keep joy and celebrations out of this holy day were not necessarily any better than today’s secular atmosphere for many Christmas celebrations.

Here’s a summary of Christmas during some of the major time periods in our nation’s history:

  • Colonial (From European Settlement to 1776)–Christmas was not a big deal yet, (even though the “season” lasted for about three weeks), partly due to Puritan influence, and partly because big celebrations had just not caught on. It was really more of a holiday for adults than for children, and there were often dances and parties for adults held during the Christmas season. If gifts were given, they were usually distributed not on Christmas Day, but in the days following, particularly New Year’s. Church was the main focus of Christmas Day, followed by a nice dinner. Also, the holiday was often greeted by…gunfire.
  • The Era of Good Feelings (1817-1825)–This was when America first saw a glimpse of what Christmas would become in the future.  Washington Irving, and his writings, first introduced Americans to Christmas festivities in England, particularly large meals with special Christmas dishes. Clement C. Moore first gave vision to the American idea of St. Nick and his flying reindeer. These kinds of stories and images encouraged people to start having grander celebrations. Different cultural celebrations also began to be seen at this time, as America began to see immigrants from places other than England, and these new Americans brought their old customs and traditions with them.
  • Pioneer/Frontier (Anywhere from about the 1830s to the late 1800s)–While people enjoyed celebrating the holiday more by this point, because so many settlers lived far away from towns with stores, their celebrations were still simple. Stockings were hung and gifts were given, but the gifts were often either practical, (such as a tin cup), or small, (a stick of candy or a penny). Work still had to be done on farms, even on Christmas Day, and many families lived so far from town that they couldn’t attend a church service, but rather had a quiet time of worship and Bible reading at home. The frontier Santa was even a humbly dressed, skinny fellow, often accompanied by a horse or donkey instead of flying reindeer. For people living in more civilized areas in the mid-1800s, however, Christmas was growing in lavishness.
  • Civil War (1860s)–There is a great deal of overlap between this time period and the frontier period. The celebrations reflecting the Civil War period, however, were often in more settled areas of the country. They were still often small celebrations, because families supporting the war effort didn’t have much, and since most families were missing loved ones due to the fighting, they didn’t feel like having big celebrations. Northern families would have seen bigger celebrations than Southern families, because times were not as hard in the North, but the season was still somber. Thomas Nast is famous for his patriotic portrayal of a “Civil War Santa” during this time.
  • Turn of the Century (Early 1900s)–This was the grandest time period for Christmas in our history, aside from the present day. Wealthy families, in particular, spared no expense in decorating their homes, giving gifts, and hosting elaborate dinner parties. The wealthiest of people traveled to Europe on the now-popular steamships to celebrate Christmas, and brought back more European Christmas traditions, such as the sending of Christmas cards. They did share their wealth with the less fortunate, however, by taking food and gifts to places like orphanages during the Christmas season. It was during this time that the fat, jolly, fur-trimmed, modern version of Santa really came into being, in part due to Norman Rockwell, and his artwork which was showcased in the Saturday Evening Post.
  • Great Depression (1930s)–This was a particularly desperate time in American history. People could barely afford to survive, much less celebrate Christmas. If a family was lucky enough to have a tree, (artificial trees were already popular at this time, so they might have had one from a previous Christmas), they probably couldn’t afford the electricity to light it. Families were again facing separation, due to the fact that many men were forced to leave their homes to look for temporary work in other parts of the country. Gifts were usually handmade, and like the celebrations of the turn of the century, charities depended on the donations of wealthy people to help provide for those less fortunate.
  • World War II (1940s)–Because of rationing during the War, American families had to be very creative with their celebrations. Again, this was a time when most families were missing a family member, making the season a bit more somber. There was no rubber available to make toys, so children again had to be satisfied with practical gifts. Sugar was also in short supply, and so families had to be creative with their Christmas baking. Even travel was limited at Christmastime, because of gas rationing, (only three gallons per week!), and “victory speed limits” which were instituted around the country, which made any kind of travel too lengthy to be practical. Despite all of this, it was still a festive time, with families enjoying the warmth of their homes and children dreaming of things they had seen in the Sears Roebuck catalog, often while spending time together around the radio, listening to what became Christmas radio classics.
  • Post World War II–For the most part, in the time following World War II to the present day, Christmas has remained the same. The prosperity following the War allowed people to return to lavish celebrations. Movies and TV replaced radio as a conduit for yearly Christmas entertainment, especially in the way of the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials that most people are familiar with. During this time, Christmas has become more of a secular holiday than a religious one for many people, with members of faiths other than Christianity, and even atheists, celebrating in some way, whether by having a tree in their home, playing Santa Claus, or hosting/attending Christmas parties. Still, Christmas church services remain important, as does the gathering of family and friends to celebrate the season.

Christmas Crafts–Ornaments

Our favorite kind of Christmas craft every year is making Christmas ornaments. These are particularly good, because they’re so keepable, unlike pictures and other paper crafts, which often get wrinkled or torn and have to be thrown away. Over the last few years, we’ve made many different ornaments, some variations on the same theme, but all of them different in some way. They also make great Christmas gifts for special people like grandparents, pastors, and Sunday School teachers!

We’ve done very basic candy cane and wreath ornaments with beads on pipe cleaners…I think every child in America has made one of these at some point!

Glitter ornaments are another standard, and they look so pretty in the lights on the tree:

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Pipe cleaners are useful in so many ways…these came from a pattern I found in a book about Christmas during World War II. Super easy, but the metallic stems make them so sparkly and pretty on the tree!

We’ve made a lot of stars/snowflakes…it can be difficult to tell the difference! Some have come from craft kits, and some are simply done following a pattern, and strung on wire or pipe cleaners.

We’ve made other things from kits, too, including one attempt at foam. I really don’t care for foam projects in general, but the penguins we made did turn out really cute!

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This year, for something new, we made wreath ornaments using buttons. For some reason, the buttons, as opposed to the beads used in years past, were particularly entertaining to the children!

We’ve also made ornaments using bells:

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We even made jointed Nutcracker ornaments. These look really cool, but due to some, uh…teacher error…they didn’t turn out quite as planned. They’re still fun, though, and they’re even posable! Turkey designed his to look like the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker Prince.

Of course, sometimes it’s fun to let children design and create their own ornaments, too!

Next year, I want to make jingle bell ornaments, glitter ball ornaments, and maybe a paper ball ornament, (even though I was terrible at making those as a child!), but after that, I’m out of ideas! That’s OK, though, because other than this year’s wreath, Ladybug hasn’t made any of the other ornaments, so I can just start the whole cycle over again with her!

Third Grade: Christmas School

I won’t be doing my usual weekly updates until after the first of the year, because we’re not using our regular curriculum this month. Instead, we’re doing “Christmas School,” compiled by yours truly.

This year’s approach to Christmas School is a bit different. Ever since we started homeschooling, we’ve done “Christmas Around the World,” and learned about traditions and legends in other countries, sampled some foods from around the world, made some very unique crafts, and attempted to learn to say “Merry Christmas” in other languages. We’ve learned about some new countries every year, and learned about some countries every year, (like Germany, both because of our cultural heritage, and because so many Christmas traditions are German in origin).

This year, because we’re studying American history, we’re learning about Christmas throughout America’s history, starting with the Puritans in the 1600s, (which was not very exciting to learn about!), and going to the present day. We’ll have a special emphasis on Christmas in colonial times, pioneer days, the turn of the century, the Great Depression, and World War II.

I did manage to find plenty of books, both for reading aloud, and for putting in our book basket, (which has actually turned into a bookshelf for this unit, because all of the books wouldn’t fit in the basket!), but coming up with craft projects and recipes has been more difficult. Some of the crafts I decided upon are paper chains, button ornaments, and tissue paper wreaths. We’ll also be learning about some American Christmas carols/hymns, (although there aren’t many), and maybe trying a few new recipes. Movies will be an important part of this year’s Christmas unit, as well, from the American Girl movies,(which depict Christmas at different times through history), to some American Christmas standards, that everyone should see at least once, (the jury is still out on It’s a Wonderful Life, as I’m one of the few Americans who hates that movie!). And, while we always visit St. Charles for the Christmas Traditions festival every year, this year it will be especially helpful to us in looking back at what Christmases past looked like!

This is always a special time of year for our family and for our school. It’s fun to do things differently for a few weeks…as much as I love homeschooling, it can become monotonous, just like anything else can. And the children don’t even realize they’re learning half the time when we’re having Christmas school–they just think it’s fun!

St. Charles Christmas Traditions 2011

Yesterday was our annual pilgrimage to St. Charles, MO, for the annual “Christmas Traditions” festival, which really goes well with our “Christmas throughout American History” theme in school this year.

There’s just nothing I don’t like about this event–I look forward to it all year long!

I love the historic buildings.

I love the decorations.

I love the Christmas characters.

I love looking in the store windows.

It’s just one of my very favorite things. I remember someone at our church, back when Bunny was still a baby, telling me that we had to go. I was dubious, but the following Christmas, we checked it out, and now, we’ve been for the last six years straight. It wouldn’t be Christmas without a trip to St. Charles–I just wish it wasn’t quite so far away, so we could go more than once during the Christmas season!

Christmas on the Hill 2011

Today, for the second year in a row, we went to “Christmas on The Hill.” I think it’s safe to say that this has become a new, yearly, family tradition!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas on The Hill is the nativity walk. All of the shops have nativity scenes in their windows, (some have several!), and many of them are from different places around the world. It’s really interesting to see all of the different styles and sizes, and the children loved going from window to window to find all of them.

Another favorite activity, and one that Bunny specifically wanted to do, is touring St. Ambrose Catholic Church. It is a magnificent building, and everything inside, from the ceiling, to the altar, to the organ, is grand. It was interesting comparing it both to our own church, and the Greek Orthodox Church we toured earlier this year.

As part of The Hill tour, led by Joe DeGregorio, (who also does paid tours of The Hill, by appointment, and tells awesome stories!), we learned some about the history of the neighborhood. I didn’t realize that when the area was first settled, the immigrants from Northern Italy, (the predominant settlers of The Hill), and those from Southern Italy didn’t get along. At all. Their dialects were even so different they had a hard time understanding each other! Those differences were resolved, however, as was evidence by the fact that our tour guide, who was awesome, is of Sicilian descent, and obviously has many friends in the neighborhood.

I also learned about some of the differences between the two groups, including that Northern Italians are more known for cream-based sauces on their food, (my favorite kind of Italian food), while Southern Italians are known for the traditional tomato-based sauces we typically think of when we’re talking about Italian food. Northern Italians are also more similar to Northern Europeans, (like my ancestors), while Southern Italians are the stereo-typical “New York Italians” that are portrayed in movies and television.

As a part of the tour of The Hill, we also got to go in the Italia-America Bocce Club. I’ve always been curious what the inside of that establishment looks like, and I have to say, it was nothing like I imagined, although, to be fair, I really had no idea what a bocce club looked like at all! It seemed like a very fun place to get together with friends and play a game!

No visit to Christmas on The Hill would be complete with sampling the salamites, and I finally learned what they are. They’re basically baby salamis, before they’re cured. So, the taste of salami, with the texture of a bratwurst. Delicious!

We stopped at Gelato Di Riso to hear “La Befana” tell her story, and learned a few songs in Italian, including “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” The school children from the area are obviously familiar with Italian, as they sang along with no difficulty. Just another charming aspect of life on The Hill!

The children got to cut soap at the Herbaria. They were shocked to learn that you can use plain old cookie cutters for this purpose, although it certainly wouldn’t work on a regular bar of soap. The store smelled wonderful…like mint and lavender. You can smell the soap from several blocks away!

It’s also fun just to look at all of the different buildings and houses in the neighborhood. The Italian pride is very evident everywhere, which is a nice thing to see.

Much as I feel Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, even though I’m not, when we go to Christmas on The Hill, I feel as though I’m Italian for the day, and I have to admit, it’s a very fun feeling!

What We’re Reading–Christmas 2011–Christmas Throughout American History

“Christmas School” is always an important part of the school year around here. We spend two to three weeks annually, learning about Christmas customs and traditions, reading Christmas books, and making Christmas crafts. Our handwriting, copywork, dictation, and memory work assignments are also always Christmas related, usually in the form of Bible passages. We still do our regular math, as well as Latin review, but pretty much everything else is Christmas-themed.

This year, instead of the focus being on “Christmas Around the World” as it has been for the last three years, we’re looking at “Christmas Through American History,” (since we’re studying American history this year). It has been a little more challenging putting together a book list this time around, because it’s harder to pinpoint specific parts of American history through Christmas literature. I think it’s turned out OK, though, and we’re having a great time reading some fantastic books!

Read-Alouds–Organized by the year in which the story is set and/or the year in which it was written/published.

Nutcracker Read-Alouds

Biblical/Religious Storybooks

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!)

*These books are more Santa-heavy than I would usually allow, but they are either culturally relevant to American history, (such as The Night Before Christmas and Yes, Virginia: There is a Santa Claus, which are poems/stories everyone should be familiar with), or good at telling part of American history, (like How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas, which deals with Christmas in the New World).

Planning Ahead

So, here it is, mid-May, and I’m planning for next school year.

What am I planning, you may ask?

Well, it’s not our third grade curriculum. No, I started thinking about that right after Christmas, and I’ve had my plan pretty solidified for a few months now.

What I’m planning now is our Christmas school for the year.

It’s really not that outlandish, honest. We’ll be starting Christmas school in under seven months, and I need to start brainstorming so it doesn’t take me by surprise. I need a theme, (which I’ve come up with–Christmas in America, through the centuries), and then I need resources, (which I’ve got a start on–using the American Girl series to show what Christmas was like at different points in American history). After that, I have to figure out crafts and field trips, what hymns/carols we might study, any movies/documentaries we’ll want to watch–it’s quite an undertaking.

Now, usually I’d start by thinking about Thanksgiving school at this time of year, and move on to Christmas in June or July. But since we’re using Adventures in My Father’s World for third grade, I don’t really have to worry about Thanksgiving school, as there is a whole week focusing on Thanksgiving built right into the schedule. This frees up my time, so I might as well dive right into Christmas plans.

Maybe it will help offset these unseasonably warm, upper 80 degree days we’ve been having already!

Christmas School–Epiphany

On Thursday I had to take one last opportunity to add a few special activities to our regular school day, before we said goodbye to the Christmas season.

We started the day with stockings. Because we had spent so much time learning about Christmas in Italy (including the La Befana legend), I thought it would be fun to have a few small things in the stockings to wake up to on Epiphany morning, as Epiphany is the traditional Christmas-time gift-giving day in Italy. Plus, I was able to take advantage of the Target after-Christmas clearance, so it was also an inexpensive surprise!

In school, we took a short break from our regular work to make Epiphany stars. I found patterns for four, five, six and eight point stars, and Turkey and Bunny colored some, covered some in foil, and glittered some others. They’re all different, and all so pretty hanging from the ceiling of the schoolroom!

We dug out our La Befana stick puppets, and Turkey and Bunny took turns telling the legend. It was really interesting to hear how they embellished the story, and just how different their stories were from each other. They both did a really good job of remembering the story, which was good, since it’s already been over a month since we read the legend in the first place! Time sure does go by fast, especially at Christmastime!

We finished the Epiphany segment of our school day by reading The Visit of the Wise Men. This is a nice book from CPH–the story isn’t anything new, but the illustrations are beautiful. I also appreciate that the book gives a fairly realistic look at what kind of men the wise men were (not kings!). It was also a good springboard for discussion about how Epiphany reminds us that Jesus came for *all* people, not only the Jews. I appreciate any Christmas book that doesn’t gloss over the reason baby Jesus was born, but reminds readers (even children), that the Baby in the manger is the same Man who died for each one of us.

Advent Resources

Advent is my very favorite time of year. Despite all the busyness, I also have a great sense of peace, possibly because we force ourselves to slow down every day, make sure our prayer time is intentional, and make sure we’re focusing on the real reason for the season. I love the anticipation, the preparation. Even though I love Christmas, and all the decorations and activities, (and take part in them during the season of Advent), I love Advent even more–the watching and the waiting.

The center of our Advent observances every year is the Advent Wreath. We light the appropriate candles each night at our family prayer time, and for some reason, that candlelight helps us focus more. I am always sad to put the wreath away every year, because it is such a special time, and one of the things I look forward to most as Advent approaches.

Another important part of our Advent ritual every year are the story books written by Arnold Ytreeide. Jotham’s Journey, Bartholomew’s Passage and Tabitha’s Travels are interwoven stories, and each is broken down into daily Advent readings. In addition to the daily stories, there is also a brief devotion written for each day. To be honest, I can take or leave the devotional parts (although I usually do read them, but occasionally with some censorship), but the stories are excellent. They are very real, and filled with action and emotion, and excellent cliff-hangers. Although I read them with *my* children, they really are meant for a slightly older audience–probably beginning around age 8 or 10, depending on the child. But there is really no upper limit for age of enjoyment–I look forward to our daily readings, and often find myself peeking ahead to see what will happen next!

This year, for the first time, we have a Jesse Tree. I remember doing this once or twice when I was a child, and I think it’s a cool idea. There are books and kits out there that you can buy, to complete your tree, but I simply cut a tree out of poster board, and printed the ornaments and readings from a website that was offering them for free. The children look forward to seeing what the ornament is for each day, and hearing the accompanying Bible verse, as well as an explanation for how that verse points to Christ. Even Moose and Ladybug participate in this–they can hang the ornaments, and they get great joy out of counting the ornaments every day!

Another thing we’re doing for the first time this year is an Advent Calendar. I had many of these growing up, particularly once I was in High School and selling them for German Club. Many Advent Calendars are secular (think of the cardboard, winter decorated ones filled with chocolate), and that doesn’t really bother me–I think that again, the important thing is the counting down, the anticipation of Christ’s coming. To be honest, ours is secular–a Lego Advent calendar. But that suits our family quite well, so it works.

Devotion books can also be helpful during Advent (as well as other times). One I like is Celebrate Jesus! At Christmas, which was published by CPH. As far as I know, it’s no longer in print, but I’m sure it can still be found. Every day includes a hymn, some Advent, but not all, as well as a Nativity building activity. What I really like about this book is that it goes all the way to Epiphany–it’s nice to have a resource that doesn’t end abruptly on Christmas Eve, when there is still the whole season of Christmas ahead of us!

The ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel, (yes, from The Facts of Life), is another good resource. I don’t use all of the suggestions and activities in this book, but it’s a great place to go if you’re looking for a special idea to add to your Advent celebration. There are fun games and activities, teachable moments, science experiments, recipes, and stories explaining some of our Christmas traditions.

Getting Ready for Christmas is a fun activity book to use with young children as you count down the days until Christmas. Each activity also incorporates a Bible verse and a prayer, and the illustrations are very cute. The back cover even has a lift-the-flap Advent countdown built right into it! It’s perfect for little hands.

The Very First Christmas isn’t technically an Advent resource, but we often read this story toward the end of Advent, in preparation for Christmas. I love The Very First… series, and this book is no exception. It begins with a modern-day boy wanting to know a story about real people, not the typical myths you hear around Christmastime, and so his parents tell him the whole Christmas story.

There are so many wonderful way to prepare our hearts for Advent–every year I look forward to choosing what we’ll use, and how we’ll use this season to prepare!