Wrapping Up

No, not the presents. We don't even have our tree up yet [Gasp!] I'm talking about wrapping up school before the holidays. It was my plan to be finished up by today. We actually still have a couple of things we need to do over the weekend, but we're almost done. Here are some of the things that have been keeping us busy for the past few weeks.

History: We are learning about the Revolutionary War by watching the PBS series Liberty's Kids.  I don't think my kids have ever liked history so much.

 

We went to the History Museum and we were able to participate in "High Tea" the way George Washington or Abigail Adams would have.  We learned the do's and don'ts of colonial society.  There we also saw the Early American Silver Exhibit which included items made by Paul Revere, Jr.  We were impressed!

They also offered the opportunity to ride in a horse-drawn carriage.  Despite the freezing temperature, we took a quick ride around the outside of the museum.

Art: I recently relocated and organized our art supplies, which sparked an interest in creating things.  They stamped and stickered and glued and painted.  There were pages that were covered with paint from edge to edge.  Those are tough to dry.  We discovered a new way to hang our artwork to dry using the stocking hooks on the fireplace mantle.  

 

Advent: We have been enjoying the Holy Heroes Advent Adventure, using their printable ornaments to decorate our Jesse Tree.  The videos and the printable ornaments for the Jesse Tree trace the roots of Jesus through the Old Testament Bible stories. (So we do have a tree up at our house.  It's just not a Christmas tree!)

 

The kids took part in a Christmas program at a local retirement home.  The three older boys were all shepherds.  Mr. H looked so cute in his costume.

 

The G-man had the honor of playing Baby Jesus this year.  He almost made it through the whole program without getting fussy.

And just in case you think this doesn't look quite school-ish enough, here is proof that we do use books.  Sometimes...

 

Sometimes we even use desks.

 

But most often we don't.

The couches are very popular.

So is the floor.

 

Big D's top bunk is his favorite place to work.

It feels sooooooooo good to be wrapping up the first part of our school year.  Now I need to get busy wrapping Christmas gifts :-)

Happy Holidays, everyone!!