Holidays, Elections, Olympics, Fall Ideas, Special Days

[cbollin]

This is my first year using homeschooling and using MFW. We LOVE it and I am looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving week.

When I look a few more weeks ahead to see what the line up is for Christmas, I am not seeing too much that leans toward celebrating the BEST time of the year. The Co-op that we are participating in doesn't really do too much for Christmas either. While I am excited listen to the Nutcracker with my son (and we are going to see a performance), I was really hoping for a few suggestions.

Welcome to the board!

MFW does not offer stand alone unit studies for Christmas, nor Easter. Nor do they include them in any of the history programs.

In Adventures, the Thanksgiving unit ties in with Early US history, so it's included as part of the lessons with the chronological history.

Some ideas for Christmas studies.....some people find some lapbooks, or copybooks with CurrClick.com
Some people do "Jesse Trees"
Some people, like me, just do the "homework" from our church's Sunday school classes, along with favorite books and videos, and family traditions.

I think Amanda Bennett has a unit study on Christmas
unitstudy.com/Christmas_Study.html
or you could put "christmas unit study" in a search engine and browse for some that way I'm doing that now looking for something doable in my real world.

I look forward to hearing how differently everyone does this in their homes. We just add in holiday fun, and church studies, and keep on with regular school. There is a wide variety among homeschoolers about celebrating certain holidays. your post might actually make me get do something fun for December. a craft, a book, all the fun of it!

blessings,
-crystal

[jasntas]

Personally for us, I have found that the holiday season is so busy that when I have tried to add in an actual Christmas study I just felt overwhelmed.

We usually take off 3 weeks for Christmas. Usually starting the week before Christmas. We start back the first week of January. During the weeks leading up to Christmas we are usually involved in lots of other activities, usually with our church such as preparing and taking cards and gifts to a nursing home and/or being involved in a pageant or the like.

On Christmas morning, before our dc open gifts, they pile into our bed and my dh reads the Christmas story right out of the Bible. Our dc have really come to enjoy this little tradition and it helps remind us of the real reason for the season.

As Crystal mentioned, there are lots of resources out there that you can use. Many of them free or low cost. A good free site for this would be homeschoolshare.com. Look under indexes and click on holiday or seasons. There are also many other resources available.

[Poohbee]

In the past, we have done what Crystal suggested and kept up with regular schoolwork, maybe scaling back or dropping a few subjects for a couple of weeks in Dec., and adding a Christmas read-aloud, Christmas Carols, and maybe a Christmas craft now and then.

This year, I decided to really focus on Christmas, and I purchased the Amanda Bennett Christmas unit study. It is a 4-week unit study and I am pairing it with the advent storybook Jotham's Journey. So, we'll start the unit study the Monday after Thanksgiving and work on it for the 4 weeks between Thanskgiving and Christmas. During that time, we will set MFW aside but keep up with math and reading. Then, after the first of the year, we'll pick up with MFW where we left off (about week 14 or 15 of CTG) and continue until the end of the school year. My girls and I are really looking forward to our Christmas study, and it works fine in my schedule to just take a break from MFW to do the unit study and then pick up with MFW again.

It certainly does work well, though, to just add some Christmas books, music, and crafts to your studies, and maybe drop a few subjects for a couple of weeks so that your schedule isn't too full. Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, and it's fun to take some time to do fun Christmas things during "school time."

[Julie in MN]

Here are some more ideas:
misc. holidays http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3439
books http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=2558

We are similar to the others in that we do school and then take a 2 week break when we might do family things. I posted some of the things we've enjoyed on one of those links ( http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3439 ). The only thing I think I'd add to that post is that we've enjoyed more of the Jotham series (which stretch all the way through Advent, but might be for kids a bit older than yours) and we also did Dickens' Christmas Carol in 8th grade.

Julie

[MommaK]

Hello!

We are first year homeschoolers and MFW users too! We adore Adv., and I was wondering the same thing about a Christmas study! After browsing a bit online I found a couple of things I would like to work into our December! {Maybe I should mention that we are taking the WHOLE month of Dec. off to focus on Jesus!}

I found a unit study at www.homeschoolshare.com called The Legend of the Candy Cane! I thought it went with the Jesus study in Adv., with a fun candy cane twist for a 2nd grade girly girl! : ) I also thought we would do the Jesse Tree! There are a lot of free printables out there for that! We will probably do the Jesse Tree first thing in the morning, substituting our original bible study. I was thinking about dividing The Legend of the Candy Cane unit study up into 25 different parts, and making an advent out of it. Of course I would throw in there some other things like drinking hot cocoa and driving around to look at the Christmas lights! : ) There is also a slew of candy cane recipes, crafts, and other fun stuff to make that I thought I would have a list of on hand for those 'Mom, I am bored' moments!

Hope that inspires you!

[Cyndi (AZ)]

We used The ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel one year and I really dug into it and built our own study around it. It helped get us through a very weather-challenged December with my husband out-of-town to boot! I blogged about it, but I'm not sure where that's archived right now . . . I used the book as a guide again in a later year because my dd begged for it. There's a lot of great history and fun activities in the book.

This year, we're going to continue CTG through the holiday season with limited time-off -- for the first time ever. (We have always taken December off.) We're going to do Jesse Tree for the first time this year, too. I'm sure we'll pull out our favorite activities from ADVENTure, though - they're tradition now.

check out the Christmas crafts and printables at "Enchanted Learning," too (free website)

[Kelly1730]

We've done a little bit of everything over the years. The year we did ECC we did a Christmas Around the World study that was fun. This year in RTR we'll take a week and do a bit about the Twelve Days of Christmas. We have the entire set of Jotham books and this year we are back at the first one. We do that in the evening with Dad though, not as "school". The Colonial era is one of my favorites so I think next year we'll focus on that as a Christmas Study. So many fun things to choose from!

[klewfor3]

Isn't this silly...I don't know how to reply to all of you. THANK YOU for all of your insight and responses! I wasn't sure my request would elicit any response One thing I am continually amazed by (in doing homeschooling) is the community that comes with it. Thank you truly for some great ideas and I will be checking into the websites you referred. We have one child still in school (a Christian school) and that is where my oldest just came out of. Christmas crafts and programs and parties are done throughout Dec. and I don't want my oldest to feel left out when he hears/sees his sisters "stuff". As a mom this was very important to me...so AGAIN thank you all for taking the time to post and I hope you see this...I am still learning how to work "discussion/message boards" GOD BLESS!

[jasntas]

Isn't this silly...I don't know how to reply to all of you. THANK YOU for all of your insight and responses!

You just did.

Another resource for crafts and ideas is the DLTK Kids web site. (I don't think that one was mentioned). You can always purchase crafts from places like Michaels, too.

I can totally understand why you want to incorporate fun crafts, activities and parties. The first year we hs'ed after my ds had been in ps for 1st & 2nd and dd had been in a city ran pre-k we did lots of 'parties' and holiday crafts so they too, didn't feel like they were missing anything.

Now I think because they feel like they do fun thing all year long they don't even seem to miss them when we don't do them. A lot of the time those are the only fun activities that kids in a group setting actually get to do.

Have fun and enjoy the Christmas season with your little one.

[Julie in MN]

Does anyone do/teach anything special for black history?

We usually did something on MLK day during elementary. http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... 232#p46232

Then there's black history naturally mixed in with all the other colors that you study over time. ECC of course studies Africa, and parts of Africa come up from the beginning of history (everybody went to Egypt -- Abraham, Joseph, Jesus), and each year, every so often you will sort-of see what's going on in different parts of the world. Incorporating the history of all peoples together has worked best with my son, rather than singling one group out.

But we've read good books over the years that could be brought out this month. In EX1850 Deluxe, you read the wonderful biography of Amos Fortune. In 1850MOD, there is the very special bio Courage to Run, which especially highlights the faith of Harriet Tubman's mother. We also watched a good bio of MLK that year, which I posted here (way down under week 30): http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... 151#p57151

I also occasionally made a point of putting somebody black in our book basket when I was so inclined. Earlier this year, I got the YWAM biography of G. W. Carver for my son to read, and I just got the movie to watch, too.

Julie

[carlamom2ansnm]

I was just wondering if anyone was planning on doing any type of Olympics study?
I was thinking that might be a good way to get back into the rhythm of school.

Here is the official web site.
http://www.olympic.org/london-2012-summer-olympics

We're doing Amanda Bennet's 4 week Olympic study: http://unitstudy.com/Olympics_Study.html. We start it on Monday and will end the Friday of opening ceremonies (taking 1 week off in the middle of the study for church camp). We will then be starting MFW the week after that . I'm hoping it will be a nice, fun lead into CTG

This unit study looks fun! I'm thinking about doing it with my kids.

We've been loving it so far! I hooked up our tv to my laptop via HDMI, so I just open up the pdf and go through the links and videos the study suggests. We have tons of books from the library, and their journal is looking pretty good! Definitely enjoy it so far

[Kelly1730]

Thanks for the review. We plan on starting this the last week of July for 3-4 weeks before our "real school" begins:)

[4monkeyz]

This is such a great idea! Thank you! I need a few extra days for our school year coming up & I think a mini unit study will be perfect!

I found a free lapbook from Homeschool Share which has plenty of various pieces and then a calendar connections from 1+1+1. I am going to give the kids a small spiral scrapbook to house everything instead of traditional file folders and I am thinking of decorating t-shirts.

An idea I saw online was to make cupcakes in ice cream cones and frost with orange frosting to make torches!! Thanks again for the inspiration!!

[inHisgrip]

I have printed out and am prepping to do a lapbook from Currclick on the Olymipics. We've only done one other lapbook ever, but I thought it would be a fun way to get into the Olympics this summer and sneak in some writing too . Plus it's on sale right now for only fifty cents! It's written by A Journey Through Learning.

[cefcdana]

We are doing a 2 day study on the Olympics with friends including our own Olympic Game Day. Some of our plans include watching videos, intro to England, Intro to the Olympics, create flag, each child picks a country who usually wins a lot of medals and follows them throughout the olympics, various games, and maybe create a lapbook etc.

Here is my Pinterest site with ideas I have been collecting...http://pinterest.com/danairwin/summer-olympicss/

Loved your Amanda Bennett suggestion-- too long for what we are looking for but I was quite impressed with her sample pages. I will be looking into her studies for the future.

Have fun everyone!

[jasntas]

Hi everyone,
Well, I'm making the switch back to MFW. With this being an election year, it's tempting to skip RTR and go into the time frame that would cover the presidents...but...I would rather keep the timeline going chronologically and do RTR this year. What I am thinking of doing is pausing for a very short time, close to election time, and doing a short unit on the election process. Can anyone recommend something that would be fun, colorful, and engaging? Does MFW sell something that would work for this or have book basket items you know of that would be a great fit for this purpose?
Thank you!

I reserched this a little on my own as well as I thought of doing the same thing. My kids like lapbooks so I looked for lapbooks on currclick.com. I found American Government and the Election Process Lapbook with Study Guide From A Journey Through Learning and Presidential Election Process Lapbook From Knowledge Box Central. There is also a free election lapbook on homeschoolshare.com.

HTH

[RBS in OH]

...same idea here too...Although probably longer than it seems like you had in mind, I found a 4 week unit study at unitstudy.com called "Elections 2012." A 2 week one titled "Inauguration 2013", with later availability, intrigues me too. I've never gotten anything from this site or its author, so I can't really comment on them, except that they seem to come from a Christian world view. The pdf samples show that the studies include Bible verses and some discussion about God. This isn't a lapbbook though, so I don't know how "fun" it would be. A lot depends on the child--I have one who would love to do a lapbook; the other one prefers not to cut and color.

[Lattice]

We are using Elections by Teacher Created Resources, product # TCR 069. It's a b/w workbook intended for a classroom, but besides info and practice worksheets, it includes a board game you copy onto cardstock, a simulation activity to give students an opportunity to experience the election process, bulletin board patterns you can copy/color, and research center ideas. I've divided the parts I want to use into 4 weeks worth of lessons. It's 4th-8th grade level. Blessings!

[Julie in MN]

I've posted about how we use C-SPAN before:
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3439

There are other good ideas on that thread if you search for "elections."

About.com also has good info for holidays, including election day:
http://election.about.com/od/howelectio ... s_Work.htm
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/units ... /nov7a.htm

Julie

[raisingupboys]

Thank you all so much for these great ideas! Blessings!

[4monkeyz]

Okay, I grew up going to public school, learned about Christopher Columbus, you know, "In fourteen hundred ninety two Columbus Sailed the ocean blue" and all that. I have talked to the children a little bit about Columbus the last couple of years.

Now I have been researching and realize what I know is not true? So my question is, does anyone know what the truth actually is? And is there anything to actually celebrate about Columbus? Don't want to confuse the children. Last year we might have done a small craft and we had a muffin tin meal revolving around Columbus Day. Not sure if I should do that or not.

Hi! I think that just celebrating his voyage is fun and fine. Sometimes I might do a coloring page or read a Columbus book, and um sometimes we do nothing bcs. I forget! Yikes! My dh and I figure that as the kids get older they will be able to handle all the little particulars of America's early history. And my dh (who taught US history for many years) would say, stress that Columbus was looking for a trade route not discovering a new world! Heehee. One of the activities we did a few weeks ago in Adventures was to make foil ships and sail them in the bathtub. That would be a fun Columbus day activity for little ones!

[Julie in MN]

If you want some generally-accepted info, I think About.Com is a good source for holiday background:
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/hol ... us_day.htm

Welcome to the new American way of thinking. When my kids were in public school, Columbus Day in Minnesota went from a fun "hero" day to a shameful day that Minnesota public schools will NEVER give off for any reason, even if the schools have all 4 other days off this week. And really it isn't that unusual -- folks are quick to say that George Washington never cut down an apple tree, and many have turned Lewis & Clark into similar bad guys.

I figure as teachers, we have to decide whether to throw out the whole hero thing, or continue teaching our children about heroic accomplishments while we also educate them about human imperfection, as Andrea said, so they won't be surprised at the modern cultural perspective that comes up.

P.S. My perspective is that Columbus did "discover" the Americas (Central America, in particular) for most of the rest of the planet, whether he realized it or not, even though he did not have a modern understanding of being saved by faith, nor of the spread of disease. I tend to think these were common among most people groups at the time. And I still like the 1492 jingle for retention of a date that does seem to come up a lot.

Oh, and it's Amerigo Vespucci who corrected Columbus's geography and thus we are named after Amerigo, but he never got a holiday That was a fun part of learning in EX1850.

Julie

[gratitude]

We don't celebrate Columbus Day, but we did enjoy studying Columbus in the Adventures program in a much happier light than some of the newer ideas.

A few quotes from Marie Hazel's US History book on Columbus that I thought you might find interesting:
Christopher Columbus, "To the first of these islands, I gave the name of the blessed Savior (San Salvador), relying upon whose protection I had reached this as well as the other islands..."

Christopher Columbus, "Let Christ rejoice on earth, as He rejoices in heaven in the prospect of the salvation of the souls of so many nations hitherto lost."

I think I would only add that history is something to be careful with. The current agenda to do away with American heritage extends to its history as well. Only God can truly know the hearts and souls of men or its nations and judge accordingly.

In Christ,
Carin

[cbollin]

HAPPY LEIF ERIKSON DAY EVERYONE!

-crystal

[sandi]

So are any of you doing anything fun with your kidos that you want to share. I am always looking for fun ideas and things to do with the kids this time of year.

We will make applesauce and cinnamon ornaments
play lots and lots of games starting now at night with dad
trying to decide about a christmas study so if you have any ideas let me know..
make salt dough ornaments
bake candy
watch fun Christmas movies.. love love Little Women with Elizabeth Taylor wonderful movie
make paper snowflakes and hang them everywhere
find a new cinnamon roll recipe( we are now gluten free)
we like to make large painting for the doors in the house you know snowmen and stuff like that

And of course we do school