Yuletide Session 2015

Every year I overplan.

Officially, this is our break time.

I still want to do something after a devotional, beautiful vein. And math.

Oh, wait, math is beautiful too.

This year, I sat down with my mom and planned our “with them” outings. They’re on Mondays, which I may regret, but that was the day that worked between our schedule and hers.

During our break, here are the fun activities we have planned (by ourselves or with others)

* Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner
* 2 Thanksgivings
* 2 Homeschool Choir Concerts
* Family Progressive Dinner
* Baking Day with Mama and Papa
* Sibling Shop with Mama and Papa
* Victory Mission Food Box preparation
* Progressive Concert in support of Habitat for Humanity (the website has 2013, but it is 2015)
* Downtown Columbus Adventure (Statehouse – they have a concert everyday at noon in the basement by the restaraunt, OSU Campus, other stops)
* Dickens of a Christmas at Ohio Village
* Christmas Eve, Christmas, Pajama Day
* Cleveland Museum of Art Monet to Matisse exhibit
* New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day

There are other activities we do that are not yet on the calendar, but are more “as time and weather allows”:

* Cut down a Christmas Tree
* Decorate Christmas Tree
* Wildlights at the Zoo
* Fantasy of Lights at Alum Creek
* Drive around and look at the big light displays nearby
* Decorate the House
* Baking Day(s) at home
* Chex Mix Day(s) at home
* Crafting Day(s) at home
* Ice Skating?
* Christmas videos (Peanuts, Grinch, Frosty, et. al.)
* Shining Dawn Nature Study Through the Holidays

I’ll try to post pictures as appropriate of the activities and link them back here.

I did plan a devotional/GroveTime/Circle Time for each day, but this year it is very simple:

* Reading
Advent: Handel’s Messiah Advent Reader
After Christmas: Rembrandt: The Christmas Story

*Carols (by week) We use this set of songbooks and the CD.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming
Silent Night
Joy to the World
We three Kings of Orient Are

*Poem
Advent: Carol by Kenneth Grahame
After Christmas: Visit of the Wise Men by Timothy Dudley-Smith

*Math
Xtramath.org
Khan Academy

It is possible we’ll do some Copywork (My First Advent Copywork or My Lessons and Carols Copywork) also, but I’m not adding too much! This is one of the things I always *want* to do, but never gets done. I’m not going to stress about it.

7 Comments

  1. I love your list, Dawn! 🙂 One of the things we have already done is ice skating at the seasonal outdoor rink. We also have tickets to a local ballet school's Nutcracker performance, a Classical Conversations Christmas party, a cookie decorating party with friends, and lots of singing in preparation for the church Christmas pageant. My four year old wants to be a cow this year. 🙂

    1. Fun! My kids want to go ice skating again, I might toss that in somewhere – but not outdoors! There will probably be a Christmas tea cookie exchange at church, but it isn't scheduled yet. Depends when it is.

      I love Christmas music and we'll play a lot of it. The children are already playing some with piano and organ, too.

  2. Oh yes! Piano! We're working on the easiest song in the Alfred Christmas book: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas… Also, I forgot to mention that my husband's parents have a tradition of Christmas Eve tamale making, followed by Las Posadas. The grandchildren and great grandkids all dress up as wise men, shepherds, angels, Mary, and Joseph, and sing outside by candlelight.

  3. Great list of ideas! We don't take off for Advent, but we do for Christmas, so I'm keeping your list as a resource. How is the singing on the CD that accompanies that songbook?

    1. Celeste, I think it is just accompaniament on a piano, no singing. But it's been a couple of years since we used it. I've been meaning to double check.

  4. In the interest of full disclosure, we did not do the the Circle Time portion of this plan any single day of Yuletide Session. Not once. Zero. And I'm OK with that.

    I still think it would be a good plan.

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