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.
