Switching Gears

I decided to lighten the load a bit, or at least switch gears with homeschooling(sixth grade) this month. Anyone else switching gears this month?

We are reading and working off a few free resources from Google Books:

South American history selections(complements Rod & Staff 6, Understanding Latin America)  from New Geographies, 1920.

English selections from Good English, Oral and Written,1921.

And Reading: Roy and Ray in Mexico, 1907 or Manuel in Mexico. I haven't had a chance to review these, but when I do, we'll select one.

Some of these older books can be so much more interesting than contemporary text books. Partly becasue they are written in a manner that captures the imagination and wonder of children, and partly because they give a glimpse into the foundation of our country and others. It provides a framework for understanding where and who we were(our foundations) and how we got to the present.

Preparing the Way

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

Our Christmas cactus knows...it's blooming!

Deal Alert: Bathroom Tissue

This time of year bathroom tissue goes on sale, and it's gotten quite expensive in the last few years. Check your Sunday/weekly circulars. The best deals in our area this week are at  K-Mart and CVS. Scott brand toilet tissue is around $6.00 for12 rolls. Scott's tends to have very thick rolls which last longer than bargain brands.

Scott Products has a mail-in deal for up to $4.00 in coupon rewards.  Good through 12/16/09.

Family Dollar sells eight rolls of Scott for $6.00, so this is a great deal. I'm stocking up.

Update: K-Mart's price was $6.99 for 12 rolls of the extra soft brand of Scott's bathroom tissue, and there is a Smart Source coupon distributor on the aisle for .75 cents off the 12 roll package. I was able to get six coupons from the aisle and purchased six packages, so I am set for a while!

Create Your Own Jesse Tree

Soutenus has a thorough tutorial for creating a homemade Jesse Tree. This is really an idea for parents with children, but the symbolic ornaments of each day of December leading up to Christmas day could grace a regular Christmas tree. It would be challenge to collect them all, and a treasure hunt for your gift givers.

Recipe: Hoppin John's Rice and Turkey Dinner

Ingredients:

One can of Margaret Holmes Hoppin' John(blackeye peas, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos)
One can of cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom(add milk if needed)
One can of diced tomatoes (seasoned or unseasoned)
One pound of cooked ground turkey
Two cups cooked white rice

Combine and heat first four ingredients in a covered pan on top of the stove until a bit reduced, then add rice and serve. Delicious! I season my rice, so you may need to season this dish to taste.

Hoppin'  John tastes just as good plain over rice.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Under Roman Catholic Dogma, the Church has set aside this day to honor the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain (macula in Latin) of original sin.

And you shall make the ark of testimony of incorruptible wood, and you shall gild it with pure gold, you shall gild it within and without; and you shall make for it golden wreaths twisted round about.
—Exodus 25:10-11 Brenton LXX

Moses used this wood because it was regarded as very durable and "incorruptible". Mary is regarded by Catholic Christians as being the Ark of the Covenant(the new ark - holding Jesus, the new covenant) in the New Testament and therefore claim it is fitting that the New Ark likewise be made "incorruptible" or "immaculate". Their basis for calling the Virgin Mary the Ark of the Covenant is based partly on the parallels of the Ark in Second Samuel 6 with the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Luke. The early Church Fathers called Christ, the Church, and the Virgin Mary each at one point as being symbolized by the Ark.

It is also claimed that Mary is shown as being totally faithful to Christ, especially during his Passion, when he was abandoned by his followers and apostles except for the young John. In this way, Mary's complete faithfulness is argued to be the fruit of being sinless, as she could not then reject Christ in the darkest hour.~ Wikipedia

Random Kitchen Science Demonstrations/Experiments

Clean Pennies with Vinegar.

The pennies got clean, and look how darkly copper the silver bolt became. This was a very easy demonstration of the effects of acids on copper and metals. See link for experiment ideas. A better explaination of the various chemical processes here.

Preschool Counting Freebies: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Read and Color

Click to enlarge and print. From Journeys through Bookland, 1922.

Larger print, One to Ten. From Merrill Readers, 1915.

Teaching arithmetic with Mother Goose, teaching ideas from Primary Education, 1918.

The Recession Is Inspiring More Young Families and Singles to Head Back to the Country

"Motivations can vary, but typically there are three groups: young people buying land as an asset or investment, with vague hopes to live on it someday; exurban commuters who have jobs in big towns or cities but want to escape the sprawl; and back-to-the-land types who want to dabble in hobby farming. While the 76 million-strong baby boomers eyeing retirement represent the largest ruralpolitan segment, they're being joined by a growing contingent of 20-to-early-40-somethings freshly imprinted by this recession's pain."

Read more here .

Handmade Gift Ideas

All of these looked relatively easy:

Handmade Holiday Gifts for Kids

How To Make A Personalized Coffee Mug

How To Make A Felt Board

Inexpensive Fun...

painting and coloring with the preschooler. I'll admit it, I like to color and paint a bit more than my daughter.

Here's a super nice advent wreath coloring page that we did today. It's a PDF download.

In Rememberance, Pearl Harbor Day

President Roosevelt declared it, a "Day that will live in infamy." The attack on Pearl Harbor was an unannounced military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941. It resulted in the United States entry into World War II. Read more here.

Remembering all those who lost their lives and fought for our country, and the families who were left behind. Prayers for peace...I am so tired of war.

Homeschool Freebie: Fifth and Sixth Grade Christmas Stories - Reading Comprehension Questions and Composition

From Good English, Oral and Written, Book One-three, Clara E. Lynch
Authors William Harris Elson, Lura E. Runkel, Clara E. Lynch, George Linaeus Marsh
Publisher Scott, Foresman and company, 1921(free for reading online, downloadable, and in public domain)

Christmas in Olden Times

How to Wrap a Christmas Present and more (pages 69-74)

Returning Home for the Holidays(Washington Irving)

Printing helps: Right click on image of the page, save to computer, or view page and print at 125%.

Other grades here.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day

"Early in the Advent season celebrate a feast that has been popular for centuries in Christian countries, especially in Northern Europe. In our over-commercialized society, this holiday gives us a good "teaching moment" to remind children that Jolly Santa Claus, is, in fact, Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop of the city of Myra in what is now Turkey.

Saint Nicholas was renowned for his great kindness and his generous aid to those in distress. Among the kind and miraculous acts attributed to him are saving three young girls from prostitution by secretly providing them with dowries, raising three murdered boys from the dead, and saving sailors caught in stormy seas. For these reasons, he is considered the patron saint of children, unmarried girls, and sailors, among others.

Traditional celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day in Northern Europe included gifts left in children's shoes (the origin of our American Christmas stockings). Good children receive treats - candies, cookies, apples and nuts, while naughty children receive switches or lumps of coal. Sometimes coins were left in the shoes, reminiscent of the the life-saving doweries the saint provided. Today - especially in families of German extraction - children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and expect to find candy and coins or small gifts in their shoe on December 6th.

In some households the father of the family may dress up as Saint Nicholas on the eve of his feast. He comes in, sometimes with his sidekick, Krampus or Black Peter, and helps each child examine his conscience. He admonishes the bad and rewards the good. If your family enjoys theatrics, this is a wonderful opportunity early in Advent to inspire children to amend their ways in preparation for the coming King. (Your family might get together with other families with young children and celebrate together.)" ~ Women for Faith & Family

Make some Speculaas cookies.

Scripture Reading for the First Sunday of Advent

From About.com: Catholicism:

On the first Sunday of Advent, we read the beginning of the book of Isaiah, where the prophet speaks in the voice of God and calls the people of Israel to repentance, to prepare them for the coming of His Son.

We need to "cease doing evil, and learn to do good," and Isaiah mentions specific acts of charity that we might take to heart this Advent season: help those who are oppressed, by poverty or injustice; relieve the orphaned; care for widows. Our works flow from our faith, and are a sign of that faith. But, as the Apostle James declared, "Faith without works is dead."

Isaiah 1:1-18

Soutenus posts:
The Feast of Saint Andrew (November 30) defines when Advent starts each year. The first Sunday of Advent is the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saint Andrew.

His feast is also one of the great ecumenical feasts for Catholics and Orthodox, because Saint Andrew is considered the founder of the church at Constantinople. Every year, the Pope sends a delegation to celebrate the feast with the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch.

The Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother Amen.

St. Francis Xavier(December 3 Feast Day)

Shared from Micki's blog.

"Many, many people hereabouts
are not becoming Christians
for one reason only:
there is nobody to make them Christians. "

St. Francis Xavier



From Saint.SQPN.com:
Nobleman from the Basque region[sixteenth century]. Studied and taught philosophy at the University of Paris, and planned a career as a professor. Friend of Saint Ignatius of Loyola who convinced him to use his talents to spread the Gospel. One of the founding Jesuits, and the first Jesuit missionary. Priest.

In Goa, India, while waiting to take ship, he preached in the street, worked with the sick, and taught children their catechism. He would walk through the streets ringing a bell to call the children to their studies. Said to have converted the entire city.

He scolded his patron, King John of Portugal, over the slave trade: “You have no right to spread the Catholic faith while you take away all the country’s riches. It upsets me to know that at the hour of your death you may be ordered out of paradise.”

Tremendously successful missionary for ten years in India, the East Indies, and Japan, baptizing more than 40,000 converts. His epic finds him dining with head hunters, washing the sores of lepers in Venice, teaching catechism to Indian children, baptizing 10,000 in a single month. He tolerated the most appalling conditions on long sea voyages, enduring extremes of heat and cold. Wherever he went he would seek out and help the poor and forgotten. He traveled thousands of miles, most on his bare feet, and he saw the greater part of the Far East. Had the gift of tongues. Miracle worker.

Origins of the Jesse Tree

From Soutenus, FAQ Jesse Trees:

CHURCH ART DESIGN
In Church art a design developed showing the relationship of Jesus with Jesse and other biblical personages. This design showed a branched tree growing from a reclining figure of Jesse. The various branches had pictures of other Old and New Testament figures who were ancestors of Jesus. At the top of the tree were figures of Mary and Jesus. This design was used mostly in stained glass windows in some of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe. The Cathedral of Chartres (which was dedicated in 1260) has a particularly beautiful Jesse Tree window.

The Jesse window circa 1150 A.D. at one of my favorite cathedrals, Chartre outside of Paris, France.

From Sacred Destinations: " The Virgin Mary and Christ, with seven doves representing the seven gifts of the spirit. Detail of the Jesse Window, dating from about 1150. It depicts the Tree of Jesse, a popular medieval motif showing a family tree of the royal ancestory of Christ. It is based on the prophecy of Isaiah: "there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots" (Isaiah 11:1). This window, the right lancet beneath the west rose, is one of only a few survivors of the fire of 1194 that destroyed most of the previous cathedral."

My Favorite Tree Ornaments...

are the ones I've made from shells, barnacles, and coral over the years. All were found on beach walks in my area, and a few from the beach in Florida when my grandmother was still alive. My shells are on the front door side; the children got(took over, giggle) the living room side for their ornaments.

By the way, it's incredible how pricey artificial trees have become! We bought ours ten years ago for half price at a local craft store that was going out of business. There is no way I'd pay what they are asking for artificial  trees this year; I'd rather go without. It's been years since we've had a real tree, so I hope that for the sake of others, those prices have not gone up as well.

Personally, I'd prefer a creche scene and/or a small Jesse Tree to be the focus, but my husband and children would protest. My husband's mother is German, so Christmas trees were very important during the holidays, whereas I was raised for many years in Latin America where trees were present, but not as culturally significant.

Homeschool Freebie: Children's Elementary School Paper Cutting Exercise

I saw this paper cutting lesson in a 1902 Primary Education magazine. There is one for each day of the week. This one is for Friday.

Free Vintage Christmas Gift Tag

From the Graphics Fairy:

Just click on image and save.

Make a Primitive Television Console for Around $10.00

My husband made this primitive table(my design) this afternoon. Good thing we like the primitive natural(import store) look because we are not the greatest carpenters. Which just goes to show you, anyone can do this. We purchased one eight by ten foot pine board from Home Depot, cut in half(48 inches or 4 feet) by their wood department for free. These two pieces formed the top. I wanted four chunky legs, and saw some perfect pieces in their trash can at the end of the aisle. Kindly, they allowed us to have them. Apparently, they are used to ship the wood planks to the store.

The legs were cut at home to 20 inches tall, and under the top, edge trim with the same wood for stability and to hold the two four foot top pieces together. Everything was attached with sheet rock screws, wood putty was applied over screws, and the edges were hand sanded.

Easy and inexpensive! The table top was about $10.00, and the legs and under-trim free.

If you don't have a saw at home,  Home Depot (and Lowe's) will make the cuts for you. I know the Home Depot here allows 2 free cuts, and then .25 cents for each additional cut.

The wood wine boxes(found free) under the table were our make shift console before we made the table. This console is in our bedroom; we've got a low platform bed, so a 20 inch tall console was perfect. I may use the boxes to hide the wires. These boxes make the whole thing look like some sort of African safari adventure set at a theme park, but I like it.

I made this to fit our space and television size, so if you make your own, customize it to your own needs.

See more projects at the Make-It-from-Scratch carnival.

Christmas Crafting with Vintage Images

Many crafty ideas here, although I'd probably embellish some of these ideas a little more(like these). And vintage images can be found for free online in public domain quite easily.

Also see Free Christmas Printables

This idea could be used with vintage images: Tutorial: Make a Collage Window Card from Recycled Papers.

Tutorial: Victorian Christmas Ornament

Wild Fermenting - Making Vinegar

Not as difficult as you think. See here.

Frugal Gift Wrap

Recycled newspaper gift bags

Maybe use some festive Christmas advertisements...thumb your nose at commercialism(giggle).

Deal Alerts

Family Dollar has a $5.00 off  $25.00 coupon in this week's mailer. Good through 12/6/09

Scott Products has a mail-in deal for up to $4.00 in coupon rewards. I buy their bathroom tissue, so I plan to take advantage of this. Good through 12/16/09.

Save-A-Lot has a ground turkey deal this week, $1.79 per package(1.25 pounds), and turkey leg quarter for about 59 cents a pound. Sweet Michigan yellow apples were $1.50 a bag.

Free holiday song downloads every day of December until Christmas at Amazon.com. First freebie download is Joy to the World by Casting Crowns.

Saint Nicholas Day....

is this Sunday. Do you celebrate Saint Nicholas Day? Our kiddos put out a shoe by the front door the night before, and in the morning they find a little gift in their shoe.

From Women for Faith & Family:

"Early in the Advent season celebrate a feast that has been popular for centuries in Christian countries, especially in Northern Europe. In our over-commercialized society, this holiday gives us a good "teaching moment" to remind children that Jolly Santa Claus, is, in fact, Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop of the city of Myra in what is now Turkey.

Saint Nicholas was renowned for his great kindness and his generous aid to those in distress. Among the kind and miraculous acts attributed to him are saving three young girls from prostitution by secretly providing them with dowries, raising three murdered boys from the dead, and saving sailors caught in stormy seas. For these reasons, he is considered the patron saint of children, unmarried girls, and sailors, among others.

Traditional celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day in Northern Europe included gifts left in children's shoes (the origin of our American Christmas stockings). Good children receive treats - candies, cookies, apples and nuts, while naughty children receive switches or lumps of coal. Sometimes coins were left in the shoes, reminiscent of the the life-saving doweries the saint provided. Today - especially in families of German extraction - children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and expect to find candy and coins or small gifts in their shoe on December 6th."

Also see:

Who is Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas Day Cookies, Stories and Coloring Pages

Menu Planning or Not?

Myrnie asks:

"What does your family do? Do you plan your meals in advance, go grocery shopping on Saturday, and sleep soundly at night knowing what your family will eat for the next 7 days? Do you dive headfirst into the cupboards or freezer at 5:30 hoping you can find another "ten-minute-meal" for your hungry horde? Make a vat of something every Monday and blithely assume you'll serve it ad nauseum to a willing and adoring family?
And, more importantly...what DOES your family eat?
Inquiring minds want to know!"
 
I tend to make it up as I go. Sometimes I'll look up recipes at Allrecipes.com ingredients search when I need to use something up, but for the most part, I keep my cupboards/refrigerator stocked with the basics, and then I combine ingredients in creative ways, playing with spices and sauces. Generally the meals consist of a meat or bean, a starch(pastas or rice), and mixed vegetables(frozen). Meal bases are white or red sauces, or sometimes just seasoning, occasionally cooking wine.

Tonight we had ground turkey seasoned with chopped onions, a can of Margaret Holmes Seasoned Field Peas and Snaps(dollar store), and other spices. I served this over a pot of white rice cooked with frozen chopped green peppers(on sale a while back) and little chicken stock. It was delicious and very flavorful.

Tomorrow night we may have some baked lemon chicken breasts(boneless skinless Target brand) and mixed veggies(frozen Food Lion brand), or we may have some spaghetti with a side of Italian mixed veggies(frozen Food Lion Brand).

Another night this week we may have some homemade mac-n-cheese with a side of sweet potatoes, although I try not to make this too often because it's so fattening.

Every afternoon, I'll poke my head in the freezer and decide which meat to defrost. That sets the tone for the rest of the meal. By 4:00 p.m., I can visualize what I'll be making for dinner.

Now it's your turn...how to you handle dinner?

Homemade Advent Wreath

With little fingers that like to get into everything, I had to keep the Advent wreath simple. I used some scented tea light candles in some chunky green glass star holders found at The Dollar Tree, some greens from the garden, and a large silver plate that I've had for years. The children's paper from Sunday's mass worked nicely for the Advent readings and a simple prayer. Ideally, an electric wreath would be even safer, but these non-tippy candles are a good inexpensive alternative for us.

After the first candle was lit, I moved the wreath from the table to the back of stove where we could enjoy it for an hour.

From Wikipedia: " The Advent wreath is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western church. It is usually a horizontal evergreen wreath with four or five candles. Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, the lighting of a candle can be accompanied by a Bible reading and prayers. An additional candle is lit during each subsequent week until, by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit. Some Advent wreaths include a fifth, "Christ" candle which can be lit at Christmas. The custom is observed both in family settings and at public church services."

The History of the Advent Wreath: "The symbolism of the Advent wreath is beautiful. The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life. Even these evergreens have a traditional meaning which can be adapted to our faith: The laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew, immortality; and cedar, strength and healing. Holly also has a special Christian symbolism: The prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns, and one English legend tells of how the cross was made of holly. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. Any pine cones, nuts, or seedpods used to decorate the wreath also symbolize life and resurrection. All together, the wreath of evergreens depicts the immortality of our soul and the new, everlasting life promised to us through Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, who entered our world becoming true man and who was victorious over sin and death through His own passion, death, and resurrection."

Organizing Your Time: Three Helpful Steps

Debbie has a plan. Click here.

A Vocation of Love

The loveliest masterpiece
of the heart of God
is the heart of a mother.

—Therese of Lisieux

HT to Micki.