Homeschool Holiday Traditions and Memories

In keeping with the season I thought I would write today about homeschool holiday traditions and memories we have made through the years. This post would be best with lots of photographs, but I don't have as many photos as I wish I had of the things I am remembering.

One huge tradition we had in our homeschool, particularly when all our courses were at home (no co-op classes, no high school classes outside the home, etc.) was to schedule all our class plans so that we could take the entire month of December off of academic subjects.

We liked to spend the month Christmas presents, doing Christmas crafts and special art projects, and doing lots of baking that everyone helped with.

I started a tradition of making a pair of flannel pajamas or a nightgown for the kids each year.

One baking item we would make was "Candy Cane Stocking" cookies. Starting with a batch of butter cookie batter, split the batch in half. Using red food color, color one half red. Form 1"-2" balls of each color. Taking one red and one white (really they were butter-yellow) ball, roll each ball gently into a snake about 6-7" long. Place the snakes together and gently twist together to form a candy cane shape and place on baking sheet. Follow baking instructions and remove to cooling racks. These are a nice change and are a nice addition to a plate of cookie varieties to give as a gift.

We also liked to make chocolate-dipped bars. Basically you make the recipe for toll-house or butter cookies (without chips or nuts in the batter). Shape into bars that are 3/4" X 2", and bake following directions (350 degrees for ten minutes?). Cool on racks. Chop walnuts and set aside in a bowl. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler with 1 Tbsp. Cricso. Dip each bar in chocolate (about 1" on one end of bar) and while chocolate is still wet dip in chopped walnuts, then set on waxed paper for chocolate to harden. I love that one.

We always loved to make chocolate chip cookies, and Snickerdoodles was another favorite. And how could I forget!... Peanut butter kiss cookies! 

And I have a special recipe you won't find nowadays, but it was my favorite as a kid: Peanut Butter Scotchies!
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Peanut Butter Scotchies

6 oz. bag butterscotch chips
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies

Line 9" square pan with waxed paper. In a 2 quart pot over low heat, melt butterscotch chips. Add peanut butter and stir until peanut butter melts and mix is smooth. Turn off heat. Pour Rice Krispies into peanut butter mix and stir until well mixed. Fold into 9"X9" square pan and use rubber spatula to push into corners and smooth the top. Place in refrigerator until firm, about 3 hours.

Cut into 3" squares, or desired size. You can also melt chocolate chips and "ice" top with chocolate. These are SO GOOD! 

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One of my favorite projects we ever did was gingerbread handprint Christmas tree ornaments.

On cardboard, trace one handprint of each child and cut out, with a straight line across at the wrist.

Using a gingerbread cookie recipe, make a batch of dough. Roll out about 1/4" thick. Place a handprint template on dough and cut out handprint by going around outside of template with a butter knife. Gently move to baking sheet. Use a straw to make a hole on each ornament near the wrist. Bake following cookie directions; cool on a wrack.

We used an icing recipe from a magazine that used egg whites, powdered sugar and food coloring. They were awesome and they were beautiful. Unfortunately no photographs. They were easily broken, and the ones that didn't get broken... the dog ate. Seriously. ::sigh::

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It became a tradition to make a gingerbread house each year.

We also tried to take one family photo each year. Our oldest was no longer in the home for this one, and was not home for the photo.

So those are some of our family Christmas traditions. How about your family?

This post is linked up with the weekly Schoolhouse Review Crew Weekly Link-Up. Click below to see more posts on Christmas traditions.

 

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day - Why? What is the significance of Veteran's Day? When did it start? Who does it honor? Why 11/11? Find out by watching this short video:

Free Veteran's Day Unit Study from Enrichment Studies:

If He Had Not Come - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

In September, I learned that author David Nicholson was letting the Schoolhouse Review Crew review his new book, If He Had Not Come.  This looked like a beautiful book, suitable for families with children ages 6 and up, and I figured surely all the other reviewers would be given this review. After all, I only have one child, and he is almost 15. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I learned that I would get to review this beautiful book!

If He Had Not Come is a reprint of a story written by Nan F. Weeks. The original story came from an anthology copyrighted in 1938 by Pearl Maus, titled Christ and the Fine Arts. If He Had Not Come is a beautiful reproduction by David Nicholson to introduce this wonderful story to a new generation. It is chock-full of lovely illustrations that look to be, possibly, colored pencil, or some medium similar (which encourages me to keep pulling out those art supplies in my home school!).

David Nicholson originally heard If He Had Not Come read to an adult Sunday school class, and Mr. Nicholson was captivated from the start. At that time a desire was planted in him to read this story to his family every Christmas. Thirty years have passed since that day, and in that time the original copyright on the story expired, making it possible for Mr. Nicholson to create this beautiful book to share the story with a new generation of children. All proceeds from sale of the book will be donated to the National Christian Foundation (How cool is that?). Nan Weeks was very active in spreading mission stories to children, and I think she would have approved.

If He Had Not Come is an interesting story in many ways. My very nearly adult son willingly sat with me on the couch and snuggled (similar to the front cover of the book) with me as I read the book to/with him. 

He enjoyed the sweet, shared reading time, as well as the book itself. He quickly noticed, as did I, similarities between the book and a Christmas movie our family is fond of that stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. So I researched that movie, and it says it was based on a different story published by a different person in 1939, but it sure has some similarities...

Anyway, in If He Had Not Come, a boy named Bobby hangs his stocking above the fireplace before going to bed on Christmas Eve. 

Before going to his room, though, he sat with his dad as his dad read a section from the Bible. He went quickly to bed, wanting to fall asleep quickly so that Christmas morning would arrive quickly as well. As he fell asleep he kept remembering five words from what his dad had read to him, "If I had not come."

Bobby woke to a voice calling, "Get up, Bobby, get up right away!" He quickly dressed and went downstairs. He found the house dark, and all signs of Christmas had been wiped away. Bobby ran to the front door and looking down the street, saw that the factory was up and running as it would be on any normal day. At this point Bobby left the house and began a neighborhood journey of discovery of what his neighborhood would have been like if He had never come.

If He had not come, everyone would be working on Christmas Day. If He had not come, there would be much more despair and much less hope. If He had not come, we would not have the Church as a place of refuge. And if he had not come, all those good projects that have been started by the Church would not exist.

And everywhere he goes Bobby sees the reminder message, "If I had not Come". Finally Bobby runs to his home. Running through the living room, he stops to pick up his dad's Bible to look for the verses they read the night before. The New Testament is gone, and all that is left is every page of the New Testament blank except for the words, "If I Had Not Come".

Suddenly, though, Bobby wakes up and learns this was all just a bad dream. He is thankful afresh for all that Jesus has done and thankful that He came.

The book ends with thought-provoking discussion questions that can be helpful to focus your little ones on the content and enable them to get as much as possible from If He Had Not Come.

If He Had Not Come is a wonderful Christmas story, produced in an heirloom quality book. This is the type of story you do want to pull out to read to your children every year at Christmas time. It is a great book to buy as a gift to give to your friends and relatives. I might have bought this for my brother-in-laws' families in years past (they're all older now). Instead I'm more in the bracket where I might buy this for my niece and nephew and their families.

If He Had Not Come sells for $18.95 - it is a beautiful hardbound book that measures about 8"X12" and is about 1/4" thick. If you order it now you will get it in time to give it as a Christmas gift, or just to have it to read to your own children as Christmas approaches. I think this is a real nice book, and I am thankful I had the opportunity to review it.

To read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought of If He Had Not Come, click the button below.

 

Coming: Blog Cruise--Preparing for the Holidays

I have decided to take the plunge and participate in a blog cruise -- Preparing for the Holidays.

This is a stretch for me, but I'm going to give it a go. I hope you will come and read my posts!