Homeschool Dec

December Homeschool is so cozy and lovely. I intentionally didn't assign us specific topics for our Family School because I wanted to take our time this month for holiday baking, Christmas book reading, gift making/wrapping, and just being together. The slower vibe of our homeschool balanced with the busier nature of December in general. There are always so many activities, events, parties, etc... and it's so fun, but sometimes feels like a lot. 

This was the perfect balance of cozy at-home time and Christmas festivities: Snuggling in our jammies, reading Christmas books, doing bookwork - but doing it by the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. The kids REALLY wanted to make a gingerbread house, so we made gingerbread dough, but I couldn't find the house cookie cutters that I had planned to use. We ended up just cutting out some basic rectangles and trees, and gingerbread men, and then that very day our lovely neighbor Sister Roxanne Becker brought us over a gingerbread kit with some extra candy decorations. A tiny Christmas miracle! 

We also kept up with our co-ops and other homeschool classes. Utah History (learning about early pioneers and how they settled communities and built temples), Ski Bus for Lydia and Austin, Lydia's World Civ showcase, and finishing up my Quilt Service Sewing Class for the middle school coop. 

The kids had their Christmas Piano recital and all did a great job. We love Stephanie Lewis - she's such a great piano teacher and I'm grateful for the talent, effort, and love of piano that she is instilling in them. 

Some of our Christmas adventures: 

-Christkindlemarkt. Lucy said "This is my FAVORITE Christmas Traidition!" 

-Seeing the Giant Gingerbread house and the Christmas Windows at the Grand America. 

Christmas Around the World performance at BYU

And some other field trips from the month: 

Pioneer Museum SLC

Exploring the Tree Fort Forest by Utah Lake in Saratoga Springs. 

Going on a sled/hike in American Fork Canyon. First we walked along a path by Tibble Fork and explored the area, then we went to  Roadhouse Picnic Area to sled. I was standing at the bottom of the hill while they were going down over and over and over because there is a small river and I didn't want them to slide into it. They weren't even getting close. But, I have a video of me Marco Polo-ing my friend while the kids were sledding and there is a clip where Lydia gets a burst of speed and heads right for the river. The video captures me jumping on top of her to stop her momentum. We have watched that clip over and over and over again - laughing all the while. 

It was a beautiful December and the perfect Christmas School for us. 

December Homeschool

Our December Homeschool wasn't as magical as it sometimes is/I might want it to be. But this year I felt like it was better for us to just keep pushing through with our regular school work and not taking any weeks off for "Christmas School". Now that it's over, I do kind of wish that we had done more holiday themed school things, or maybe took things a little easier to allow for focus on relationships, but I don't regret the choice and I think that we did a good job of pushing through with our learning and making progress. It's a balance that we are always adjusting, but overall we had a good month. We learned a lot, and still had plenty of Christmas fun. 

We had several Christmas Parties with our coops. One was planned by the Events planning class, and it was fabulous. Another was our "Christmas Around the World" party where each family shared about the holiday traditions of a different country and we were able to learn about their traditions and taste some of the different food. 

Brownie Making: 

Piano Recital: Lydia and Austin both did a fantastic job. Stephanie Lewis is a wonderful piano teacher and has done a great job of instilling a love for the piano in both of these kids. They are both improving their skills and gaining confidence. This year Lydia asked if I would play a piano duet with her, and so only a week of so before the recital, we started practicing and it turned out really fun. 

Lydia and Austin started taking Ski Lessons each Friday. They leave at 1:00 from the Draper Rec Center and ride on a big charter bus up to the Brighton Ski Resort. There, they have instructors who have divided them into classes and teach them the skills needed for snow skiing. After they learn/practice for a couple of hours, then return back home arriving about 5:30/6. On the first day of classes, their bus got stuck in traffic in the canyon and they didn't get home until 9:30. It was quite an adventure for them and they were starving when they got home. (I packed some snacks, but not enough for them to skip dinner!) Here's hoping for a great ski season for them. 

Girls Club - Painting Cookies and Snowflakes

Lydia is participating in a girls' club each Wednesday afternoon. I volunteered to teach watercolors on the second Wednesday of each month and this month we made cookies, dipped them in royal icing, and then painted them with food coloring. It was a really fun activity. 

Early Morning Pumpkin Pie & Math 

Earlier this summer, Lydia planted pumpkin seeds with the sole intention of turning them into pumpkin pie. Only two small pumpkins grew, and we used them as decorations through Halloween and Thanksgiving. Finally, we were to the point where we needed to turn them into pie or throw them away, and so we woke up early one morning to roast them and turn them into a delicious pie. The day before had been a little stormy with Lydia feeling a lot of big emotions and the peace of the dark, early morning was exactly what we needed to start out homeschool day. 

Field Trips: 

We went to the Orem Temple Open House and it was so lovely. We loved all the Cherry Blossoms. Sometimes my kids ask me why we "do everything with other people" and ask "why can't we ever do anything on our own". And to answer truthfully, it's because it's easier to make something happen when other people are coming, too. (Also, that I believe in building a community, but a large part is the motivation.) I am trying to respect that desire and am making an effort to do things just our family, without always making a big group thing. It was nice to be here on our own. Later that same week, after dropping Austin and Lydia off at Ski School, Caleb and Lucy and I came back here with our neighbors Yael and Nahi and we had a really neat time going through the temple together. They are Jewish and are from Israel and have incredible insights into the symbols and patterns in the temple. 

Christkindlmarkt

This is one of my favorite Christmas Field Trips. The Friday that we scheduled to come was basically a blizzard, so we ended up going together as a family on Saturday and even though it was busy, we had a nice time. 

Happy December!