{This and That} :: December 1st

Hello friends! Are you enjoying the start of December? With Thanksgiving past, Advent present, and Christmas to come, it's one of my favorite "seasons" of the year!

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving that I took literally zero photos of. How is that possible?! Thanksgiving Friday we were able to go to Mass and visit the graves of family members for All Souls' Day/month. It's always so striking to see children at a cemetery -- a good reminder of both the mortality of the body and the immortality of the soul.

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Advent is such a holy time of the year. I love how the preparation we must do in our homes and for our families becomes a metaphor for spiritual preparation. And I love the time for reflection and the hope of a new year to come.

I realized that I only have two Advents left after this before my older children are in college or out living their lives! That humbling thought brought home the idea of preparation in a new way for me this year.

I am reading Houselander's Reed of God and thinking about L'Umile Pianta, or the humble plant, as we have been discussing over at the CMEC this fall. We have also been talking about the "habit of attention" as demonstrated by Our Lady. The "serenity of the Madonna" (as Mason calls it) is such a powerful posture for the mother-teacher. Fruitful connections between life and lessons for me to ponder this Advent!

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Justin celebrated his sixth birthday this month! He got his own TBG Songbook, which he loves using for singing, recitation, and writing. And as you can see in the photo on the right, he lost his two front teeth in the last two weeks -- just in time for Christmas. ;)

 

I love this picture of him napping by the fire. So cozy, and so him! He loves to cuddle.

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Some snaps from our exam celebration in October...

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And now we are currently in the second half of our second term! (I divide each 10-week term into two 5-week sessions for my planning.) That means we're right at the halfway point in our school year, which is hard to believe.

Work from the past couple weeks...

kingfisher from Burgess Bird Book

Form 1 Bible narrations

grammar lessons with my Form 2B student

demonstrating the Pythagorean theorem

Kinderleben monograms

table work

chalk drawing lessons

clay modeling - snakes!

outdoor geography -- and enjoying the fall sunshine!

final projects for Plutarch and Beesly's Stories from the History of Rome

I have to admit, it was a bit hard to get back to things on Monday after the long Thanksgiving weekend and with Christmas break almost in sight -- which is why I am so grateful for our timetable! I just got up and did the "next right thing" and the day flew by.

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My goal this year was to finish all the Christmas shopping I could before Thanksgiving, and I succeeded! I really just needed the mental space during Advent to focus on home things and spiritual things.

If you are looking for gift ideas, I am happy to share a few. (Just don't tell my kids! :))

:: These journals are lovely and seem very durable. They arrived in the mail but I put them aside, so we haven't tried writing on them yet. But they get great reviews and have so many pretty cover options.

:: These small jewelry boxes are going to be perfect for each of my girls to store her own jewelry. (I also grabbed some assorted studs for my oldest, who got her ears pierced just a month ago!)

:: One of my goals for this year was to encourage physical activity and time outdoors. My older boys have started running every morning and are getting running socks and gloves. I also have pots, seeds, tools, and gardening gloves on the way for them! And I grabbed scooters at a deep discount for a couple of my middle kids who have outgrown their smaller ones. We love these water bottles (totally leak-proof and easy to clean) and needed a couple more for our adventures, and the girls needed new warm socks of various kinds to wear with their rain boots.

:: Youngers are getting frisbees, socks, gripper socks, winter gloves, onesies and soft-soled shoes.

:: A few books on their wish lists: The Living Wood and The Keeper of the Bees (olders), Enemy Brothers and The Last Crusader (older middles), Snow Treasure and Springtime with Geraldine Woolkins (younger middles), If You Lived Here and Where is Baby's Belly Button (littles).

And if you're looking for stocking stuffer ideas, I have lots of little things recommended here. This year, we're doing pajamas all around, peg doll craft kits, and the essentials -- chocolate and oranges, of course!

And might I recommend my daughter Gianna's novel, Four Red Banners, for kids who love a good story? :)

What are you gifting this year? I am hoping to get a head start on this year's birthdays during Christmas break and would love fresh ideas.

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I have a post about our family prayer routine coming soon -- hopefully some time in December. Until then, wishing you a fruitful Advent!