Christmas

25 Ways to Stay Sane in December It happens every Christmas … all your warm, fuzzy ideals end up in shambles, leaving you feeling frazzled and stressed. The easiest way to stay sane through the holidays is to set balanced expectations of yourself, your family, and your budget. Start the month right, by planning ahead. You can work on at least one thing a day to make the whole month easier for you to manage! 1....

Candied Nuts, Cookies, and Crafts, Oh, My! This is a perfect recipe and makes your house smell DELICIOUS! These nuts are great for parties and gifting. Cinnamon Candied Nuts Ingredients 1 lb nuts (pecans or almonds are good) 1 large egg white 1 Tbsp water 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt Instructions Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large  bowl, vigorously mix egg white, water, and vanilla...

Christmas Baking - Gluten-Free Holiday Recipes Maybe you have friends that you'd like to gift a Christmas goodie to, but they are a gluten-free family?  Don't worry - I have you covered!  Check out these yummy recipes. Coconut Christmas Cookies 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 1/4 cup agave or honey 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp salt Christmas décor or colorful candies Combine everything but the décor in a food processor. Add...

Christmas Baking - Sweet Bread Gift Recipes I love giving sweet bread treats to our neighbors and friends, and bringing them as hostess gifts. These can be made in advance and frozen.  They travel well, too!  You can find wrapping suggestions from Martha Stewart Crafts and from Wilton available on Amazon. Pistachio Bread 1 package yellow cake mix 1 package pistachio pudding mix (3 oz.) 4 eggs 1/2 cup oil 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup...

Are you busy getting all of your Christmas gifts purchased? If so, you won't want to miss this list! Christmas gifts for your homeschooler that will free you from checking your list twice! What are Gifts that Pay for College? Kids want fun things that they are interesting to them. Parents want educated children without going broke or crazy. Colleges want “passion” and delight directed learning. Give gifts that will increase the fun factor in school,...

My favorite Christmas school project was our yearly creative writing assignment based on Norman Rockwell art. Have you seen some of his holiday paintings?  Amazing creative holiday writing prompts! I asked my boys to choose any picture in Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book . Their assignment was to write a story behind the picture. They came up with some GREAT creative writing ideas, and the pictures really helped to get those creative juices flowing. This tradition of...

Relax and smell the peppermint mocha! Christmas is a great time to snuggle up with a warm beverage and read some classic literature. Christmastime is the perfect season for great literature.  Even during this frantic time, you can enjoy quality academics that don’t add to the craziness. During your busy season as a parent, pick a book or two for your family from my Christmas reading list. Encourage your teen to spend time relaxing with a...

You can save money on gifts for the holidays! Several great ways to save money on gifts included: buying things that are useful AND are things you will eventually need to buy anyway.  Buying gifts that improve your chances of receiving really great scholarships saves you money in the long run, too! Here are three HUGE ideas to help you save money on gifts this holiday season.   1. Buy Great Books  Many homeschoolers love great...

As a homeschool family, you have the freedom to use the month of December for special activities related to the holiday season. I have put together a list of my favorite fun Christmas ideas for kids and entire families! I hope you enjoy them! Christmas ideas for kids of all ages: Instructions for 3D Paper Snowflakes I think a collection of these snowflakes would make for a wonderful and graphic kid-friendly display. Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments Wouldn’t...

My assistant Robin is such a genius! Look at these ADORABLE homemade felt ornaments she created for her Christmas tree! Wouldn't they be awesome as a gift from a child, or to decorate your home with a classic Christmas feel?  Just download this pattern, cut out the colored felt, and stitch. Easy-peasy, cute-and-fun gifts!   "We have lots of little ones joining our family! Having some older siblings with adult children, I now have several great nieces and...

    Homeschooling is more fun for MANY reasons, but one reason it that we can play games instead of use curriculum.  Here are some great ideas you can give as Christmas gifts. Then in January you can incorporate games across all subject areas! In my homeschool, we scheduled a few hours every Friday just to play games. Sometimes they loved the games (Diplomacy!) and other times they tolerated the games (Elemento) but they were ALWAYS...

It's an After Christmas Kindle-Fill ing Party and you're invited! The HomeScholar is having a party, a Kindle-filling party! Did you get a Kindle for Christmas? We can help you start filling it! For FOUR DAYS ONLY, All Coffee Break Books are only $1 each! Choose from titles that give you practical tips and encouragement, and will help with those New Year's Resolutions: * Creating Homeschool Balance * Scheduling - The Secret to Homeschool Sanity * Beyond Academics: Preparation for College...

25. Homeschooling is the Gift of Obedience to the Lord Homeschooling is our gift of obedience, because we are doing what God has asked us to do. We give this gift knowing it was asked only of us, and we don’t look at the actions of our friends.  We are responsible for our own actions, and our own actions are our gift of obedience. We don’t look at the actions of, or criticize others.  

24. Homeschooling is the Gift of Faith to God. Homeschooling is a gift of faith, demonstrating our faith in Christ that everything will work out for us.  When we first decided to homeschool high school, we went almost entirely on faith: faith that we would be able to finish the job, faith that our kids would end up well-educated, faith that we wouldn't ruin their futures. We don’t have faith that things will be perfect, we...

23. Homeschooling is a Love Offering to God   We are called to homeschool our children. This is our fragrant love offering. We are giving what we have to Christ.  Like the little drummer boy who gave his gift of music, and the widow's offering of a mite, and the alabaster jar of myrrh that Mary gave, our gift of homeschooling is meaningful to God. This gift of homeschooling is just as meaningful as the gold,...