Home School Month in Review December

This month was ALL Christmas and a little bit of everything else. We were also sick the entire month which meant we watched A Lot of movies. Here's what we did and enjoyed the most!

TRADITIONS: We had three traditions we followed each day/night or started this month. However when I think about it there are many more. But here are three I'll share.

First Tradition: We give each of the kids a new Christmas book every year on the day that we decorate the Christmas tree. This year we gave them:
Jakob: Humphrey's First Christmas by Carol Heyer. It is absolutely adorable!
J.J.: Room for a Little One a Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell. This was a sweet story. We also found that it share a legend that we hadn't heard before but recognized more and more as we watched several Christmas movies.
Caleb: God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren. Such a precious story. Caleb asked me to read this over and over again.

Second (new) Tradition: Advent Storybook 24 Stories to Share Before Christmas by Antonie Schneider. Every night we read a story from this book. It was a Wonderful way to keep us focused on Christ's love and a way to count down the days.

Third (new) Tradition: I made a 12 days of Christmas Nativity Scene Countdown this year. Every day (or so) we would color, cut out, and hang up the appropriate pieces to our nativity. This was a great way to cover several school subjects in one activity during a very busy month. I google-imaged what I needed and made them into a document. I made a simple stable with a star above it and a manger in the hay before we got started. Here is a list of the pieces:

12 Angels 

11 Sheppard 

10 mice

9 cats

8 chickens

7 cows

6 sheep

5 donkeys

4 Camels 

3 wise men 

2 parents 

1 baby 

BOOKS: We read several other wonderful books throughout the month. Here they are:

• Luke Chapter 2 King James Version Holy Bible
• No Room at the Inn by Jean M. Malone an ALL ABOARD READING Level 2
• The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne
• The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
• The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke
• The Dinosaurs Night Before Christmas by Anne Muecke
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• The Tale of Three Trees, a Traditional Folktale Retold by Angela Elwell Hunt

MOVIES:

• Christmas Unwrapped (This is a documentary for teenagers and adults as it gives away some of the "surprises" of Christmas. But a good informative overview.)
• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas 
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
• Mrs. Miracle
• Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (Inspired us to pull out Grandma Stanger's Nutcracker!:)
• The Touch of the Master's Hand
• The Christmas Cottage
• The Christmas Bunny
• The Story of Christmas
• Christmas Classics: Vol. 1
• Miracle on 34th Street
• Little Shepherd
• Prince of Peace
• The 12 Dogs of Christmas
• A Golden Christmas
• A Golden Christmas 2: The Second Tail
• Santa Claus 1, 2, and 3 (Very Fun!)
• We tried to watch Jim Carrey's version of The Grinch but Caleb was Terrified within the first five minutes. So we watched the original version instead. Because of his reaction we weren't able to watch my favorite of Carrey's A Christmas Carol with the kids. Leif and I watched it together as we wrapped presents. That was fun too. 
• The Polar Express

SCIENCE:

• Creatures That Defy Evolution: Vol. 2
• Creatures That Defy Evolution: Vol. 3

PEARL HARBOR:

• Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack
• Lifted (My patriotic and music loving boys LOVED this! We all did. I Bawled through the whole thing. However I didn't know the rating until it was over. It had a mother struggling with drug addiction and it did show her using them. My kids were Clueless and I just taught them that she was putting harmful things into her body and that was that.) 

READING:

Sight Word Flash Cards

ACTIVITIES:

• We piled in the car for our annual Christmas Lights Drive. We brought treats along and some Christmas music and we had a wonderful time as we drove around looking at everyone's lights and ended the trip with the amazing choreographed lights to music show put on by a family in Kanab. Such a sweet tradition! 
• We decorated a Ginger Bread House together this year. It turned out really cute and wasn't too frustrating of a process. I frosted the boys put the candy on. We quickly realized we had to divide the house so each boy had his own side to decorate. After that it was Great!
• We let the boys stay up later then usual one night to help us make special soap for our family Christmas gifts. We made special soaps with yummy Essential Oils and special herbal teas mixed in for exfoliant and scent. Fun Stuff! 
• We were able to participate in our Town Light Parade this year. We rode in the Fire Truck as Leif drove. We  had a great time except when Caleb thought Santa was going to come into the truck and sit with him and Jakob (instead of on the top of the truck) Caleb went Ballistic! I have never heard him so hysterical . Poor Kid! 

JANUARY SUBJECTS:

Dinosaurs and Fossils,  Civil War and Slavery (Abraham Lincoln), Post War Era to Present (Martin Luther King), Tolerance, Classic Literature: The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales