BEING MADE NEW

Why Bother?

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:12:00 +0000

For our continuing Celebrate Kids series on children's behavior, I wrote this week about three reasons parents should start obedience training from very early-on in a child's life. Namely, it's because:

we are commanded in Scripture to do so;
children intrinsically rely on their parents (not other caregivers) for such instruction;
it's easier to develop good habits from the beginning than to re-train a child at a later age.

Click here for the full article. And click here to see all my articles in the current series.

A Day in the Life...

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

My blogging friend Kathy over at Just Another Day in Paradise wrote a funny post this week describing a typical day in her life as a homeschooling momma. I don't want to presume that any of you is actually interested in a typical day here, but I thought it'd be fun to document it anyway.

And so, without further ado, I present...

My Thursday, January 19, 2012

4:45 AM - I do not, unfortunately, get up to head to the Y as I'd planned and as used to be my habit. That's a crazy time for a non-morning person such as myself, but I liked my life (and my thighs!) a lot better when I did it. I've got to figure out how to get back in that groove.

6:30 - I finally roll out of bed...shower...and don my "uniform" (a.k.a., yoga pants - though I refuse to do actual yoga because of its basis in Hinduism/Buddhism - and a big comfy sweatshirt...because I'm always cold anyway, but more so in January in Wisconsin). Unlike Kathy, I'm not posting a picture of myself here...because of said lapse in getting regular workouts lately!

6:45 - I prep the house for the arrival of Anna and Leah, the girls I babysit, mainly by setting up four strategically-placed gates so that 11-month old Leah can have free reign to safely crawl and toddle about.

6:50 - I plop onto the couch to "rest my eyes" and catch a bit of FOX News. Yep, FOX...and I won't apologize for it.

7:05 - Rachel and Abigail come downstairs, and I get to grab a quick cuddle with each. Jeff heads off to work.

7:20 - I get up for good and make a quick check of my email while Abigail asks if she can start a poster. Yes, the child wants poster board before breakfast because, like my husband, she is a morning person.

7:35 - Anna and Leah arrive with their daddy. When they come with their mom, they arrive around 7:15, but they get a few extra minutes at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays when dad's the chauffeur. Rachel is curled up on a couch, reading one of the four or five books she has going at any given time.

7:45 - With Leah happily settled in with some toys (she's a very easy-going baby!), I prep breakfast - lemon poppyseed quick break, banana slices, milk, and each girl's choice of protein - and then read our devotional (one on a series about the fruit of the Spirit from The One Year Mother Daughter Devo) and pop in the CD with our current hymn-study selection - "The Fruit of the Spirit" by Stephen Elkins - while all three girls eat.

8:20 - Rachel and Abigail finish their morning chores as laid out on their "Do-It Door" and do some personal Bible reading. Then all three big girls are free to play while I tend to Leah (cereal, morning bottle, diaper change).

8:35 - I start baking what will amount to 72 chocolate chip cookies - not from scratch, just Toll House. But let me be clear that even that level of baking is not a regular occurrence around here, because I am most definitely not "Suzy Homemaker!" Not that I don't want to be. But, as I explained a few months ago, homemaking doesn't come naturally to me. I do often pop in the next day's (boxed) quick bread at this time of day, but cookie-baking is most definitely the exception - not even close to the rule.

8:45 - Leah goes down for her morning nap earlier than usual - and without her almost habitual "exploding" morning diaper - affording me the luxury of grabbing a quick breakfast for myself.

9:20 - I call Anna down for her main independent lesson time with me: her first day with a new math book, Addition the Fun Way, as well as handwriting practice (she's just started learning her lowercase letters), a quick visit with Ziggy, our All About Reading mascot whom she adores, and counting the cookies for me. I prefer to begin at 9:00, but today's later start is not atypical.

9:50 - We call the other girls down and have our daily group time. Thursday is one of our science days, and today we read and talk about seeds using our new God's Design for Life: The World of Plants text and a couple of library books. We also set up a germination experiment we'll monitor for the next couple of weeks.

10:40 - The girls all grab a snack (a few of my "homemade" cookies!) and head upstairs to play. I plan to get Leah up, but she's still sleeping - very unusual for her. I check my email, but don't have time to respond to anything.

10:55 - We launch into the girls' workboxes, which I load up each night with a variety of activities (math, literature, and spelling pretty much every day and then four or five other "assignments" according to lesson plans I map out at the beginning of each month), and I alternate between Rachel and Abigail in terms of "work with mom" tasks. Anna has her own workboxes, which I fill each night to keep her busy and learning at the same time, but she can choose to do them or play in our playroom or with Leah. Today, since Leah is still asleep (in the playroom!), she does a few boxes. Rachel and Abigail's tasks seem to take much longer than usual.

11:15 - Everyone is occupied, so I tackle the mountain of dishes that almost always fills my kitchen sink. How do abiotic plates and cups and utensils reproduce like rabbits?

11:45 - After checking in on everyone's (still slow!) progress, I start the oven for lunch. Leah finally wakes up, and I'm excited to see that she still hasn't "exploded" her diaper. Anna and Leah play together - Anna loves spending time with her baby sister! - and I want to take a minute to check email but am interrupted by a telemarketer call.

12:25 PM - I finally get lunch on the table, almost half an hour later than usual - today we have "breakfast for lunch" (waffles, sausages, mandarin oranges, milk) - and do two chapters from our lunchtime read-aloud (currently The Children's Homer) while the girls eat.

12:50 - Given how slowly everything has gone and our plans for the afternoon, I make the girls' spelling, literature, and Spanish assignments "disappear." I rarely do that, but having the freedom to make on-the-fly adjustments is one of so many beauties about home education. Of course, the girls are thrilled and then happily finish their math while I start the dishwasher. Anna wipes the table for me and then sits with Leah as she takes her "lunch bottle."

1:00 - Rachel and Abigail start piano practice - 20 minutes each. They're working to "perfect" songs from last week's lesson with their new teacher (whom they really enjoy), so I don't need to help directly as I often do. Instead, I grab something for my own lunch, throw on some make-up, do my hair, and jot a note to take on our afternoon outing.

1:45 - I change Leah's diaper. Still no poop...so I wonder what it'll be like when it finally arrives!

1:50 - The girls don coats and boots, and we venture out to church to deliver most of the cookies I baked. We're in the midst of a significant church crisis, and the Lord had prompted me earlier in the week to encourage the office staff with this small gesture. We don't usually have outings or run errands on Thursdays...but I love that I can do this sort of thing when necessary.

3:00 - We arrive home from church, and the three big girls get a snack. Leah had fallen asleep on the way home so I wrangle her out of her jacket and hat and tuck her into her pack 'n' play; I know she's tired because she barely opens an eye.

3:15 - The girls play upstairs, and I finally have a few minutes to really check email and browse a bit on Facebook. I also turn on the TV - Dr. Phil because the topic isn't wholly inappropriate - and learn when the 4:00 news starts that we should expect wind chills of -20 to -30 for Friday morning. I wonder if the public schools - including Anna and Leah's mom - will have a two-hour delay as a result, and then chuckle, thinking of a friend in Alaska who'd probably think me wimpy for labeling -20 as "cold."

4:10 - I wake Leah, change her diaper (no poop yet again!), and coax her to drink a small bottle so she'll be ready to go home.

4:30 - Anna and Leah's dad arrives - mom almost always does pick up, but she has parent-teacher conferences today - and my girls launch into a task they've assigned themselves lately: racing to see if they can clean up all the baby toys and put away the baby gates before the little ones actually leave. I've been purposing to praise them profusely because I love that they initiated this; it's a huge help at the end of busy days!

4:35 - The girls ask to watch a movie - they're allowed one "rest time movie" each day - and choose an animated version of Hercules. I don't think I can really count it as "school," but maybe almost since we'll soon begin covering the Greeks in our history curriculum.

4:40 - Jeff gets home after biking to work (a mile away), and we spend a few minutes catching up on our days.

5:00 - I start dinner - Dinty Moore beef stew and rice, of all things (but the rice is brown!). I usually cook much healthier dinners, but my time is limited today because I have worship team rehearsal at church. And - as is too often the case - I had forgotten to thaw the meat for a real dinner anyway. For better or worse, Jeff and the girls all love Dinty Moore, though, so at least they'll fill their bellies.

5:20 - We eat dinner on the fly - me while I listen to a song I'll be taking the lead on for worship team and the girls and Jeff watching the end of Hercules. Just as I've gotten out of the habit of early-morning Y runs, so, too, we've been too lax about eating at the table together. Another area in which to make major adjustments soon!

5:40 - After running through the song - it's in a great key for me...yeah! - I enter the girls' school activities into the Word document grids I've created for that purpose...not because I have to keep official records for my state but because I like to keep track. I also get a start on prepping for Friday.

6:10 - I leave for worship team rehearsal at church. This isn't an every-week occurrence - but it is two times a month most of the time. This week, I'm singing; other weeks I run the lights and video equipment.

8:30 - After rehearsal, I stop at Target and Walgreens. We always seem to need something at one location or the other! I notice how much the temperature has dropped in just two hours' time.

9:15 - I get home and head up to check on Rachel. She often has a hard time getting to sleep, but it helps her to know she can expect me to come up for a minute around this time every night.

9:35 - I finish preparing the girls' workboxes and other activities for Friday.

10:15 - I check emails once more, answering a few posts from The Homeschool Lounge, which - along with Facebook and blogs I follow - is my main internet hangout.

10:50 - I shut down my laptop and turn on FOX once more to unwind. I often doze off here and have to rouse myself to go up to bed later...or sometimes I just end up sleeping on the couch. Not ideal, of course, and it makes my husband sad...so that's another thing to work on.

~~~~~

Other than the baking and visit to church, the day really was pretty typical of my Thursdays. Leah doesn't usually sleep as much as she did that day - she's often awake for six of her nine hours here - but she's so good-natured and playful that we get a lot done even when she's awake. And the girls did take longer on their academics than usual; we're almost always done with everything (without needing to make assignments "disappear") by about 2:00, though that would not have been the case this day if I'd not made adjustments. But the length and activity level of the whole day was typical so I guess someone looking to figure out "just what those homeschoolers do all day" could get from this a fairly accurate picture of at least one day in the life of one family.

In case you were curious...

~~~~~

This post is featured in the Carnival of Homeschooling.

Living Well Blog Hop: Week 25

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:26:00 +0000

Welcome to the Living Well Blog Hop! We’d like to invite you to share a blog post about what you do to "live well." It could be a healthy recipe, exercise tips, ideas for relaxing or getting organized, lifestyle improvements – anything you feel makes your life better.

Your Living Well hosts for the week are:

Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading
Jo @ Jo’s Health Corner
Lea @ Nourishing Treaures
Tina @ Being Made New

Please abide by our Living Well Blog Hop guidelines:

Please provide a link back to one of the Living Well host blogs in your post. And also grab the button below if you'd like;
Please link to a specific post in your blog, not your blog’s home page;
If you link a recipe, please use real foods and avoid highly processed ingredients. Recipes low in refined sugar/refined carbohydrates are preferred;
Be aware that the hosts of the blog hop reserve the right to remove any posts we deem inappropriate;
Linked posts need not be new posts;
Please leave a comment below to tell us a little more about your link. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment to share what you've done to live well this week.

<center> <a href=" http://www.thelivingwellmoms.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae314/naturallysports/livingwellbutton3.jpg "/></a> </center>
Thanks for joining us in Living Well.

The Peace of God Which Surpasses All Understanding

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:47:00 +0000

Today was hard.

Today we heard truths we wish were false.

Today we listened to confessions of weakness and sin.

Today we bade farewell to not one or even two...but to three pastors who have each shepherded in different ways, as well as a ministry director who has served faithfully for many years. All have also been friends.

Today we face a future we cannot really even begin to see.

But today was good.

Today we heard truth we had to hear for our own good. (1 John 1.5-7)

Today we listened to contrite confessions that were needed - both for those seeking forgiveness and those anxious to extend grace. (1 John 1.9)

Today we lost most of our pastoral staff and hearts are broken - among them and among us. But, just as it's necessary to remove a cancer to save a life, this was needed to save the life of our church. The people are not "cancer" - they are dearly loved brothers and sisters in Christ - but the situation in which they were entangled was cancerous, and radical surgery became the only viable option for saving the life of the church.

Today - as we're left with just a godly but very young youth pastor and willing but wounded elders - we don't know what our future as a local body of Christ holds. And we face a long process of recovery that will take months...and, in some ways, years. But we have a Father who sees everything and in whose very capable Hands we rest. We can't see the future, but He knows exactly what it is. And, because He loves us, we trust that it's glorious...for His glory.

And so, though I grieve, I'm resting in the truth of the first Scripture God brought to my mind this afternoon: "...Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4.6-7)

As we approached today, my husband and I had no idea what it would mean for us. But we are unequivocally of one accord now because we have God's peace about the decisions. We will remain with our brothers and sisters in this particular local representation of the Church Universal...and offer our time, talents, and gifts to do everything we possibly can to contribute to its convalescence and recovery.

And, sad as I am, I'm filled with hope and expectation.

Photo Credit: Lopamudra!

Feeling Conflicted and Sick

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:53:00 +0000

A week ago at this time, I was battling nausea and its repercussions because of a nasty case of stomach flu. Thankfully, I recovered from that about 24 hours later, but I've since been hit by increasing bouts of nausea emanating from a different source entirely: my church.

Back in October, I mentioned that we'd been blindsided by a very serious internal issue that would take time to resolve. And then in November, I noted that a denominational mediation team had begun the process of trying to figure things out, but that it would take a while.

Well, now the "day of reckoning" is upon us, as that team will return this weekend and share its findings and recommendations at a meeting after the Sunday services.

On the one hand, I am so grateful this is coming; three months of waiting is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it has been excruciating in some ways to be stuck in limbo regarding something so important to my family and me. After Sunday we - and everyone else in our congregation - can at least finally begin the process of moving forward from this, in one way or another. And that's a relief.

But, on the other hand, I am absolutely dreading the meeting. There still exists, of course, the chance of a miracle; nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1.37)! However, I'm pretty sure we're going to end up with something other than the ideal resolution...and that breaks my heart. Because, barring that miracle, people will be hurt, and relationships will be forever changed - not necessarily for the better. God is in control, and He will work it all out for His glory, but from a human perspective, it's almost certain to be messy.

So...is it any wonder that I don't know whether I want time to stand still or race...and that I feel more and more like puking the closer Sunday gets?

Photo Credit: ViVi Sunshine

Living Well Blog Hop: Week 24

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:07:00 +0000

Your Living Well hosts for the week are:

Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading
Jo @ Jo’s Health Corner
Lea @ Nourishing Treaures
Tina @ Being Made New

Please abide by our Living Well Blog Hop guidelines:

Please provide a link back to one of the Living Well host blogs in your post. And also grab the button below if you'd like;
Please link to a specific post in your blog, not your blog’s home page;
If you link a recipe, please use real foods and avoid highly processed ingredients. Recipes low in refined sugar/refined carbohydrates are preferred;
Be aware that the hosts of the blog hop reserve the right to remove any posts we deem inappropriate;
Linked posts need not be new posts;
Please leave a comment below to tell us a little more about your link. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment to share what you've done to live well this week.

<center> <a href=" http://www.thelivingwellmoms.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae314/naturallysports/livingwellbutton3.jpg "/></a> </center>
Thanks for joining us in Living Well.

Home Education FAQs

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of welcoming into my home four local business people for the purpose of sharing with them about home education.

This is actually the fourth year I've done this, serving as the homeschool representative for an annual program sponsored by my local Chamber of Commerce. It's a highlight of my year, because, as I told my guests, I thoroughly enjoy educating people about and advocating for homeschooling. Some of my fellow home educators prefer to keep their anonymity, and I respect their desire for privacy. But my personal conviction is that the only way to dispel the unfortunate stereotypes about homeschoolers is for those of us who feel comfortable with "publicity" to give people the opportunity to meet and interact with real, live homeschool families.

And all of my experiences with the business people through this program have been very positive. I've had to explain why we shouldn't have to do just what "the system" does and dispel some myths, and last year one man actually wondered if I am depriving my kids of the "opportunity" to be bullied by keeping them home. But, generally speaking, they've been very interested in learning more, and have expressed enthusiasm about what we do.

I prepared as usual this year, and I also decided for the first time to put together some FAQs based on previous years' questions. My guests really appreciated this summary and, though my answers are specific to my state, I thought you might, too.

What is the law regarding home education?

Homeschooling is legal in every state, but requirements vary greatly across the country. Some states have very demanding, draconian laws and others have no legal requirements at all.

Wisconsin is a relatively “low regulation” state, with a statute which requires that we:

Provide at least 875 hours of “instruction” per year (though this need not be reported) for each child between the ages of six and 18 (or until high school graduation requirements are met);

File an annual notification form (which is explicitly not – according to state law - a “permission” form) by October 15;

Deliver a “progressively sequential curriculum” in “reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health;”

Be privately controlled (i.e., those enrolled in public “virtual schools” are not homeschooling according to state law because such schools operate under the auspices of public school districts, and the students are counted as being public school students).

Why do people homeschool?

The reasons are as varied as there are homeschooling families, but some of the oft-cited reasons are to:

Take personal responsibility for our children’s education;

Meet each child’s individual learning needs (i.e., getting beyond the “cookie cutter education” offered through institutional school settings, whether public or private, and being able to allow each child to learn at his own, God-given pace);

Provide a faith-based education (i.e., other than the secular humanism-based education offered in government schools);

Keep kids out of low-performing public schools;

Protect kids from bullying, peer pressure, and other manifestations of negative socialization;

Spend more time with our children because we enjoy being with them.

Who homeschools?

The short answer is everyone! Homeschooling is not limited to white, suburban, middle-class, evangelical Christian families even though that is the stereotype. More and more African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American parents are choosing home education – and there are even specific nationwide support groups for these populations. People homeschool in rural areas and in the heart of the inner city. And parents of any educational background and income level can homeschool if they want to. In addition, there are homeschoolers of every faith background – and none at all. Simply put, we really do not fit any stereotype.

How many children are home-educated?

This is difficult to determine since reporting requirements vary from state to state - and some don’t require any reporting at all. But the estimate is 2 million children (about 4% of the school-aged population), with an average 7% growth rate each year.

In Wisconsin, the state average is 2.25% of the school-aged population, though it’s as high as 12% in some communities.

For the 2010-11 "school year," the state agency responsible for enrollment data reported percentages as low as 0.29% and as high as 6.02% in communities near where I live.

How do we choose materials and resources?

In some states, public schools can provide resources by request, but that is illegal in Wisconsin.

Most home-educating parents prefer to find our own materials anyway, which we do by:

Discovering our children’s learning styles and our preferred teaching style;

Researching the options (using resource guides, the internet, and the advice of other homeschoolers) for the styles we believe will work;

Making sure we’re covering mandated subject areas;

Experimenting and being willing to make adjustments whenever necessary to optimize our children’s learning.

How do we teach subjects in which we are not experts – and insure that our children receive a quality education?

This is generally not a problem because those who really are homeschooling (as opposed to the few who say they are but are actually just trying to circumvent compulsory attendance laws) care so deeply about our children that we are hyper-vigilant about meeting our children’s needs. And, as a result, we:

Use tried-and-tested materials recommended by experienced home educators;

Join co-ops where each parent can offer up personal areas of expertise;

Utilize community resources for specialty courses;

Enroll our children in private online classes;

Take advantage of dual-enrollment opportunities at local colleges;

Teach our children to become auto-didactic (self-directed learners) so they can take responsibility for their own learning by the time they reach adolescence and also desire to be lifelong learners.

What about “achievement testing?”

Requirements vary from state to state. Wisconsin has no requirement for testing.

Of course, some parents choose of their own accord to have their children tested using well-known, nationally-normed tests (Iowa Basic Skills, CAT, etc.), but any requirement for homeschoolers to take the tests mandated for Wisconsin public school students would be meaningless since state law does not require that homeschools utilize the curriculum of the government schools, upon which the state tests are based. And that is as it should be. After all, since homeschools are private, independent institutions and receive no taxpayer subsidies whatsoever - in fact, we pay property taxes to support public schools but receive no benefit from that for ourselves - there is no reason for us to be "accountable" to the state.

However, research shows that homeschoolers nationwide average in the 86th percentile on achievement tests, versus the median 50th percentile for the general population, and results of Wisconsin homeschoolers who do test reflect this average.

What are the high school graduation requirements?

In Wisconsin, they’re decided by each family, based on each child’s individual post-secondary plans (i.e., joining the work force, enlisting in the military, attending college). Parents have the authority under the state homeschooling law to produce a legally-binding diploma and transcript for each child.

We utilize well-researched resources (such as HSLDA’s recommendations) to determine courses of study for particular post-secondary “tracks."

We contact colleges in which a child is interested and base a high school plan on those requirements.

What about college admissions?

Homeschooled students are not only accepted but are often pursued as a “diverse population.”

They can attend any college if that school’s admissions requirements are met.

They can obtain financial aid (private and federal) since they have legally-binding high school diplomas.

The average ACT score is 22.5 (vs. 20.8 for the general population), and the average SAT score is 1092 (vs. 1019 for the general population).

What about “socialization?”

In terms of “socializing” – having their kids spend time with other children in age-appropriate activities – homeschooling parents are very diligent about involving their children in activities of interest (within homeschool groups and community organizations) according to each child’s particular needs (not an institution’s schedule).

In terms of the various definitions of “socialization” (as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary):

“[Placing] under government or group ownership or control” – We reject this idea on its face, since the government has no constitutional authority over anyone’s children and we, thus, see no need to subject our children to it;

Making “fit for companionship with others” – We spend a great deal of time and energy on character development, and we have more flexibility to allow our children to interact across generations and cultures since they’re not “stuck” in classrooms with same-aged peers for eight hours a day;

“[Converting or adapting] to the needs of society” – Research shows that homeschooled kids do not stand out as “awkward” in a roomful of same-aged peers and that they do extremely well as adults, too (more involved in community groups than the general population, self-report as being happy, etc.) so they’ve obviously adapted well.

What issues/challenges do we face?

Determining which resources to use from among all the possibilities;

Adjusting to our children’s varied learning needs over time (and for each individual child);

Sacrificing income for one parent to stay home with the children (though we consider this a small price to pay) and to cover costs associated with specialized classes;

Paying out-of-pocket for special services (i.e., speech therapy, etc.) because of the difficulty in obtaining services from the public schools and/or a desire to avoid entanglement with them;

Misperceptions about being “unsocialized” and “undereducated” (despite all the research and anecdotal evidence to the contrary);

Bias from government school bureaucrats (who tend to think they have the authority to be the final arbiters of what’s “best” for children’s education and often reject alternative means of delivery).

What do we need and appreciate from businesses and the community at large?

Support for our right to continue directing our own children’s education as guaranteed by the Constitution and state law;

Acknowledgement that we’re providing real education, not some “poor substitute” for that which is offered in the government-sponsored schools;

Equal access to community resources (i.e., libraries, sports clubs, 4H, etc.);

Understanding that we’re actually on the cutting-edge of leadership development among the next generation since, by its very nature, home education is innovative and challenges the status quo.

Where can we find more information?

Advocacy and Support for Home Educators:

Homeschool Legal Defense Association

Research on:

Selected Articles of Interest:

Good Behavior: It’s Foundational

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:16:00 +0000

For the first part of this year in our Celebrate Kids email newsletter, we'll be taking some time to address the very important topic of children's behavior. This is obviously a key issue for parents, as well as for others who interact with and mentor kids, since a child's behavior really sets the stage for everything else.

And that idea is the subject of my first Celebrate Kids article of the year, which I invite you to read here.

Tundra Tales Returns - and Once Again Welcomes Homeschoolers with Open Arms!

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

For the second year in a row, the SuperBowl Champion Green Bay Packers are hosting the Tundra Tales Reading Program* for children in "grades 4K-5" (or approximately ages four through 11 for those of us who don't pay much attention to the institutional schools' grade-level construct). The program runs from January 23 through March 25, and requires kids to read (or be read to) for just 60 minutes a week beyond their "school reading."

It's open to all kids - not just Green Bay or Wisconsin residents and not even just Packer fans (yes, even the one child somewhere in America who is still a Vikings fan could join!). Kids who complete the program and return their ledgers will all receive coupons for either two tickets to the Packer Hall of Fame or one of two incredible desserts at Curly's Pub in Lambeau Field.

I learned of this program by accident last year right before it officially launched, and - being the advocate for home education that I am! - promptly inquired about homeschooled kids' eligibility. And I was duly impressed. The organization not only wanted to include us - in fact, the coordinator had been seeking a contact person within the homeschool community - but it gave us extra time to register our kids since we'd found out about it at the last minute. And this year the coordinator made a point of emailing me in late December, specifically asking if I could once again promote the program among homeschoolers. So, yes, the Packers are champions of fairness and intellectual freedom as well as football!

Of course, if your kids are anything like most homeschooled children, they might be able to complete the program in little more than a week - my girls, for example, often read 30 to 60 minutes or more per day above their required bookwork - so it probably won't be a hard goal for most to meet. But for reluctant readers, this might serve as a strong motivation...and occasional external rewards are fun even for those who are internally motivated.

Click here* for more information and to print out ledgers for each of your children (FYI: disregard the 2011 dates listed at the link; the organization forgot to update that page from last year, but all the pdf files do have the correct dates). But you needn't actually complete the entry form; instead, simply send an email to the coordinator (indicating "Homeschool Registration for Tunda Tales" in the subject line) with the following information:

school name (saying just "homeschool" is completely acceptable);
mailing address (so coupons can be sent);
teacher's name;
children's names and ages (first names only are fine);
email address.

The registration deadline is January 20. Let's all show our appreciation for how the Packers have extended open arms to homeschooled kids by signing up and spreading the word!

~~~~~

* NOTE - If the link does not work for some reason, simply follow this chain: www.packers.com to Lambeau Field (upper right corner) to Hall of Fame to Tundra Tales.

Living Well Blog Hop: Week 23

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Your Living Well hosts for the week are:

Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading
Jo @ Jo’s Health Corner
Lea @ Nourishing Treaures
Tina @ Being Made New

Please abide by our Living Well Blog Hop guidelines:

Please provide a link back to one of the Living Well host blogs in your post. And also grab the button below if you'd like;
Please link to a specific post in your blog, not your blog’s home page;
If you link a recipe, please use real foods and avoid highly processed ingredients. Recipes low in refined sugar/refined carbohydrates are preferred;
Be aware that the hosts of the blog hop reserve the right to remove any posts we deem inappropriate;
Linked posts need not be new posts;
Please leave a comment below to tell us a little more about your link. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment to share what you've done to live well this week.

<center> <a href=" http://www.thelivingwellmoms.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae314/naturallysports/livingwellbutton3.jpg "/></a> </center>
Thanks for joining us in Living Well.

Come See Me in the Carnival!

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:41:00 +0000

I was most surprised a couple weeks ago to find in my email inbox a personal invitation from Henry Cate of Why Homeschool, asking me to consider joining Week 314 (!) of his Carnival of Homeschooling meme. I don't know how Mr. Cate ran across my little blog, but I'm humbled by his request and most happy to contribute to this week's carnival - and to future ones as well.

I'm also looking forward to visiting the blogs of others who've contributed; a lot of the post titles are very intriguing!

I encourage you to take a look. And, if you're a homeschool blogger, please consider joining future carnivals with me. I'm planning to host at some point, and I'd love to promote your site along the way.

My 2012 Word

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Many bloggers are taking time this week to share their "word of the year" - a word that each feels will typify his or her journey through 2012. I remember reading similar posts last year, too, and the sheer number I've seen over the past few days got me thinking about whether or not I should choose a word of the year...and, if so, what it might be.

As I suggested in my article for last week's Celebrate Kids email newsletter, it might be a wise course of action to choose just one "resolution" at a time - with the option to address other things as the year progresses. And that is just what I've done. But, in fact, the goal I've chosen is actually pretty much all-encompassing, such that accomplishing it will actually rather automatically improve many spheres of my life.

And so I thought today about words that might help me with that one big project and brainstormed some possibilities:

diligence

consistency

persevere

focus

grit

All good words, but none quite resonated.

Later in the day, though, another word came to me "just like that." I knew instantly it was "the" word...and that this picture is "the" visual:

FIGHT

And then I looked up pertinent Scripture verses:

The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

Exodus 14.14

*****

The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you.

Deuteronomy 1.30

*****

You shall not fear...for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.

Deuteronomy 3.22

*****

For the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you...

to give you the victory.

Deuteronomy 20.4

*****

They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you,

for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.

Jeremiah 1.19

*****

They shall be like mighty men in battle,

trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;

they shall fight because the LORD is with them,

and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.

Zechariah 10.5

*****

Fight the good fight of the faith.

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called

and about which you made the good confession

in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6.12

*****

By the way, you haven't missed anything. I haven't actually publicly shared what my resolution is - and I don't intend to for a while. I'm not trying to be coy, but it's important that I keep it under wraps for now. I am documenting my progress, though, in order to share at some point, and would appreciate prayers that I would FIGHT through my journey so that at the end of this year I can say:

I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4.7

*****

Photo Credit: Ciel Photography

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

The theme of this past week's Celebrate Kids email newsletter was "Resolutions or Not," and I wrote a piece about three things I'm keeping in mind in regards to resolutions for this coming year. If you're looking for some encouragement as you consider your own possible resolutions, take a look here.

~~~~~

Take responsibility for the outcome [of your resolutions]. Don't get caught up in "analysis paralysis."

You've chosen your goal and made a plan; now act accordingly.

~ Nancy Matheis, Celebrate Kids Life Coach

Living Well Blog Hop: Week 22

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:33:00 +0000

Your Living Well hosts for the week are:

Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading
Jo @ Jo’s Health Corner
Lea @ Nourishing Treaures
Tina @ Being Made New

Please abide by our Living Well Blog Hop guidelines:

Please provide a link back to one of the Living Well host blogs in your post. And also grab the button below if you'd like;
Please link to a specific post in your blog, not your blog’s home page;
If you link a recipe, please use real foods and avoid highly processed ingredients. Recipes low in refined sugar/refined carbohydrates are preferred;
Be aware that the hosts of the blog hop reserve the right to remove any posts we deem inappropriate;
Linked posts need not be new posts;
Please leave a comment below to tell us a little more about your link. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment to share what you've done to live well this week.

<center> <a href=" http://www.thelivingwellmoms.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae314/naturallysports/livingwellbutton3.jpg "/></a> </center>
Thanks for joining us in Living Well.

Changes, Changes: Here We Go Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Have you ever read Pat Hutchins' 1971 children's classic, Changes, Changes - or seen the Weston Woods video for it? I wanted to post the video here, but - surprisingly - it's unavailable on YouTube or anywhere else.

Of course, the wordless book - in which a pair of wooden dolls creates a whole bunch of different projects from the same handful of blocks - lacks the video's delightful background music, but it's well worth multiple readings, and I remember it fondly from my own childhood. It demonstrates to kids the value of imagination, thinking outside the box, and making necessary change. And, though I wear my husband's nickname of "Rou-Tina" for good reason, I feel as if I could well have been a character in the book over the last few months.

For starters, I inexplicably felt led to start a new academic term in July instead of August, as has been our habit the last few years. But at least the reason for such an odd switch quickly became apparent...and, as a result, I made a major curricular adjustment, dropping the packaged program I'd assumed would work for us "for life" in favor of a decidedly more eclectic approach. And then in October, a serious issue rocked my church, and all of us there have been living in flux ever since. We recently learned that some resolution will come on January 15, but that in itself could result in more change of one sort or another. I've also been wrestling with the need to consistently make some significant behavioral changes within myself. And in December, though I'd planned to do an extensive Christmas Around the World unit study with the girls - adding 12 more countries to the eight we learned about last year - I very reluctantly changed gears after just four, choosing instead to vastly simplify the month for my own well-being.

On top of all that and unbeknownst to most, I've recently been contemplating another big change with our home learning program: "going rogue" by changing our official academic calendar from the typical northern hemisphere approach (i.e., a "school year" that runs from September through May) to the southern hemisphere way of doing things. In other words: running an academic term (or "school year") from January through December. And, after doing the necessary research, my husband and I have decided to implement this alternate calendar starting immediately - on January 1, 2012.

Of course, in some ways it won't really matter. After all, we're talking elementary school here at this point, and we needn't keep any sort of official records; in fact the annual notification deadline in my state occurs in mid-October, which doesn't coincide with either type of calendar, so it obviously doesn't matter to the state. Plus, homeschooling (here) has always afforded us the freedom to adjust our calendar whenever we'd like, and we implemented a type of year-round calendar a couple of years ago. In fact, since I'll maintain the five- to six-week summer break we've always taken, the girls might not even notice the change. And, though they've opted to forgo Sunday school this year anyway, we'll keep them in their current "grade" at church, where Matriculation Sunday doesn't occur until June. And their "level" for other activities is either skill- rather than "grade"-based or includes a three- to four-year age range. So we needn't change their "grade level" for anything else.

But, for graduation purposes, our new term will begin on January 1 - with formal studies commencing on the third - and, thus, if we maintain this calendar throughout the girls' formal learning years, and they take the typical four years to complete their high school credits, they'll graduate in December, 2019, rather than May, 2020. Since they're a year apart in age but have been functioning at roughly the same academic and emotional maturity level, this approach "splits the difference" (one daughter will be 17 1/2 and the other 18 1/2 when they graduate), and that really appeals to me.

Of course, I'm actually loathe to assign a "grade level" at all because such a designation is merely an irrelevant construct of the institutional school system - totally meaningless, especially in home education where each child has the sweet freedom to work at her own skill/ability level in every subject area, regardless of what same-aged peers are doing elsewhere. But - for the purpose of planning for the time of the girls' likely high school graduation - our calendar change effectively means they have had just one semester of "fourth grade" and are now moving into "fifth." Again, though, it really doesn't matter, especially in elementary and middle school, because we just keep moving forward toward mastering necessary skills and abilities at each girl's pace without regard to the "grade level" on a given book. And a December high school graduation won't have any effect on them if we follow through with our current plans for alternative post-secondary work. Or, if we decide for some reason later on that following a traditional northern calendar would somehow be of benefit during the high school years, I'll simply tack on an extra semester of "eighth grade" and move forward from there. And, in any case, there's no saying that high school coursework must or will take four years; we'll cross the high school bridges when we come to them.

Since deciding to take this plunge, "Rou-Tina" has happily resurfaced! And I've had a lot of fun mapping out how to best finish Mystery of History, our current multi-year history program, and Answers in Genesis, our new 12-book science core, over the next four calendar years, while continuing to appropriately progress in the skill-based subjects (math and spelling), adding in the amazing Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) for composition, and - of course - continuing to have the girls read, read, read - broadly and deeply.

As I mentioned, I've maintained a long-enough summer break every year - all of July, plus the last week of June and several days in August - in addition to a week at Easter, their birthdays (and mine!), and more than three weeks off in December. In addition, I was thrilled to be able to include "Sabbath weeks," during which we'll take week-long breaks from bookwork every six weeks or so...and still schedule at least 185 days of formal academics a year.

Our 2012 calendar shows the general pattern, with days in blue being weekends, of course (generally free of bookwork, but likely to include piano practice and the possibility of art or "enrichment" activities), and days in red being our scheduled Sabbath weeks and other vacations:

I'm excited to begin this new endeavor - in part because I really like the idea of more logically coordinating the calendar year with our learning year and in part because I like to counter the institutional schools whenever I can. After all, they don't have a corner on any kind of "best" calendar. They're simply operating on a long-standing tradition - but one that needn't be our default.

What about you? Have you considered customizing your family's home learning calendar, even if that means it runs counter to tradition? Why or why not?

Living Well Blog Hop: Week 21

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:33:00 +0000

It's time again for the Living Well Blog Hop - an opportunity to share with others something you've found to be a help in "living well." So take a moment to read the directions below for the hop. Then jump on in with your post and be sure to link it back here.

~~~~~

Your Living Well hosts for the week are:

Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading
Jo @ Jo’s Health Corner
Lea @ Nourishing Treaures
Tina @ Being Made New

Please abide by our Living Well Blog Hop guidelines:

Please provide a link back to one of the Living Well host blogs in your post. And also grab the button below if you'd like;
Please link to a specific post in your blog, not your blog’s home page;
If you link a recipe, please use real foods and avoid highly processed ingredients. Recipes low in refined sugar/refined carbohydrates are preferred;
Be aware that the hosts of the blog hop reserve the right to remove any posts we deem inappropriate;
Linked posts need not be new posts;
Please leave a comment below to tell us a little more about your link. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment to share what you've done to live well this week.

<center> <a href=" http://www.thelivingwellmoms.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae314/naturallysports/livingwellbutton3.jpg "/></a> </center>
Thanks for joining us in Living Well.

Christmas Letter Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Up until a couple of years ago, we faithfully sent out a Christmas card and update letter every year of our married life. It was a great way to keep in touch with far-flung friends and family and to let even local friends know we were thinking of them. And, since Jeff is a graphic artist, he designed every card, which we dubbed the "annual HollMark."

Unfortunately, we let ourselves get too busy in the last few years, and the card felt like a burden - so we skipped it. But we missed doing it...and were told by many of our regular recipients that they missed it, too. So we got back to it this year.

We also added a twist by designing the update as a quiz...and directing readers to come here if they wanted to know more details about each quiz question. So, if you're here from our Christmas card list, welcome!

And without further ado, here are the details you've come to see:

(1) JEFF, of course, is the one who traveled to Kansas City MO; Salt Lake City UT; Terre Haute IN; Chicago IL; London, England; Kandy, Sri Lanka; Port of Spain, Trinidad; and Malé in the Maldives – all in a day’s work.

His domestic destinations involved press checks for his graphics job; the international trips were, of course, sponsored by MissionGuides. As usual, he led trips to Trinidad and Sri Lanka, and the stops in London and the Maldives occurred on his way to and from the latter. Trips for 2012 are still up in the air, but he may go again to Trinidad, as well as to Malawi, Africa.

(2) TINA, RACHEL, and ABIGAIL studied world geography until June and then ancient history from August through the end of the year.

We actually studied world geography beginning in August, 2009, and learned a lot - some of which you can see by visiting our portfolio blog for the term. And then this August, we started what will be a four-and-a-half year "walk through history" with a new curriculum we really enjoy. Of course, we continue with our other areas of study, too - in particular, both girls love to read! - making our learning days full but still an overall joy we wouldn't trade for anything.

(3) ABIGAIL suffered a concussion that took seven months to heal.

At the beginning of March, the girls and Jeff were wrestling - as they've done since the girls were toddlers - when Abigail lost her footing and banged her head (hard!) on our living room floor (one of the few times I've regretted having such a solidly-built house!). She didn't lose consciousness, but had a doozy of a headache (eight on a 10-point scale for a long time!) that got better with chiropractic care but didn't cease entirely until November. We did have to limit some of her activities - both physical and cognitive - for a while, but we're grateful that she's had no long-lasting side effects.

(4) RACHEL celebrated her double-digit birthday.

We can't believe we have a 10-year old in the house! But there's no denying it's true. And, in fact, this coming spring we will say good-bye to the single-digits entirely when Abigail turns 10 as well.

(5) JEFF began administrating the work of a full-time missionary couple.

A now-retired public school teacher and his wife, both of whom had traveled with Jeff to Trinidad many times, felt led a few years ago to pursue full-time work in Trinidad. And everything finally came together this summer, enabling them to head on down to start working with the church and school that MissionGuides has helped for years. To now be an official "sending agency" is quite an accomplishment.

(6) JEFF, TINA, RACHEL, and ABIGAIL enjoyed a great vacation week at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp.

Even after several years, this vacation never gets old. The girls passed their swim tests, which enabled them to try the kayaks and "fun bugs." Tina cherished a week to stay "unplugged" from technology and pulled out an old cross-stitch project and some good books. Jeff once again served as camp missionary, and God again blessed his time teaching the campers. And we re-connected with friends who serve the Lord full-time at camp - a great week all around!

(7) RACHEL got braces in July...and added headgear in September.

So far, it's been going exceedingly well; we are so proud of how Rachel has taken responsibility for brushing carefully around her brackets and caring for her headgear, as well as her attitude about the whole thing. And the dentist has been blown away by how quickly her teeth are moving into proper alignment.

(8) GRANDPA and CLAWDE celebrated [their] 76th birthdays.

Okay, this was, admitttedly, a trick question! You probably didn't imagine we were counting grandparents and cats, but it is a true statement. Jeff's dad celebrated a birthday in May, and then our oldest cat, Clawde, turned 15 - which is officially listed as "76" on the chart at the vet's office.

(9) JEFF, TINA, RACHEL, and ABIGAIL enjoyed the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of a special set of parents/grandparents.

In August, we got to honor Jeff's parents with a weekend anniversary celebration, an occasion made very special because all the children and grandchildren attended and joined in for a family picture, too.

(10) JEFF hosted the 9th annual MissionGuides Golf Outing in September.

He was humbled at the support of so many and the financial blessings God once again provided for the ministry. Not only has that covered the ministry's operating expenses for the next year, but it's also funded an expansion of the King's Kids school in Trinidad and provided Christmas gifts for all the teachers. In 2012, these funds will help pay for an emergency neighborhood shelter in Sri Lanka, and provide support for several short-term and campus missionaries in the U.S. and abroad.

(11) RACHEL and ABIGAIL participated in several extracurriculars: swim lessons, ice skating, dance class, Vacation Bible Camp, choir, and piano lessons.

They passed through every level of swim lessons at the Y by last winter and tried the swim team for a while in the spring. Abigail participated in dance at the Y all year and enjoyed the recital last April - which motivated Rachel to join her in class this fall. They'll be singing music from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at their choir concert this spring, and will start with a new piano teacher in January so they'll have a spring piano recital, too. Oh...and they also went with Jeff to a Father-Daughter Valentine Dance and a Father-Child Campout, among other things. So much for the "lack of socialization" myth among home-educated kids!

(12) RACHEL and ABIGAIL got new kittens, who were promptly named Prince and Sapphire.

We had no intention of adding to our feline population...until we saw this picture of an adorable pair of kittens on a friend's Facebook page. Yes, it's a bit nuts to have five cats - and the kittens messed with our Thanksgiving plans and have messed up our Christmas tree every night since it's been up (!) - but they've quickly become part of the family, and we're glad they're here.

(13) CLAWDE, SWEATER, and SPARKLE adjusted to the kittens in a matter of days.

In all honesty, Clawde (the tan cat) - who is slow to warm up to people but has always gotten along with every cat we've ever had - and Sweater (the black one) really did adapt quickly. In fact, both were sleeping and even playing with the kittens in very short order. In contrast, Sparkle (the big tabby) hissed daily for a couple of weeks and still doesn't make a point of hanging out with the kittens, but we never did have cat fights, which is pretty amazing.

(14) JEFF visited the Art Institute of Chicago and other Windy City sites.

We'd all intended to go to Jeff's sister's for Thanksgiving, but the kittens' need for "emergency" spay/neuter appointments meant that the girls and I stayed home while they convalesced, and Jeff went down alone for the weekend. He, his sister, one brother, and their kids had a blast visiting the art institute, and then the next day he and his sister took in many other places he'd wanted to see for a long time.

(15) TINA continues to serve on worship team, as both a vocalist and “video tech.”

I sing about once a month - generally alto and tenor, though I also had a couple of opportunities to "stretch" and sing lead this year - and even had the chance at Easter to pull out my French horn (after a long hiatus). And our worship pastor at the time got me involved with video for weekend services in Fall, 2010, so I've done that regularly, too.

(16) ABIGAIL loves crafting of all sorts, especially origami.

Abigail has always liked many kinds of crafts, and can produce amazing creations with a needle and thread or even just a cardboard box, a bit of construction paper, and tape! And she really took to origami after we studied Japan last spring. In fact, she taught herself to make every project in our how-to book.

(17) TINA, RACHEL, and ABIGAIL count it a joy to babysit for five-year old Anna and her sister, nine-month old Leah.

We've had Anna here since she was just two months old and are trying to make the most of our last year with her before she heads off to kindergarten. Leah was born last February and started coming here in the spring. She's amazingly good-natured (unless I have to wipe her nose!) and has fit right in with our home learning routine. After sending two other long-term charges, Tegen and N., off to kindergarten after last spring, we also got to spend significant time in August with former client and good friend, Hallie. And we will welcome a new baby girl - a friend for Leah once her sister has to leave us for public school - in April, 2012.

(18) RACHEL is a budding artist and pianist.

Just as we've seen that Abigail loves to craft, Rachel has really taken to drawing, and we often find her with sketchpad in hand. We're amazed at the accuracy of her renderings and the interesting style she's developing. In addition, she does well with piano, so we'll see where that goes over time.

(19) ABIGAIL tries to be patient while waiting to be old enough for voice lessons.

Abigail takes piano, too, but it's not quite as much fun for her as it is for Rachel. Instead, it appears that piano may be a "tool" for her - a skill she works at to help with her eventual dream of taking lessons to train what appears to be a gifted singing voice. But we've been told to wait a few more years for that so as not to strain her vocal chords. And, in the meantime, both girls are thoroughly enjoying choir.

(20) TINA loves Facebook and blogging.

Some people think I'm online "all the time," but that's not really true; I just don't often log out of Facebook so it looks like I'm there even when I'm nowhere near my computer. But I will admit to enjoying my online interactions and the opportunities for regular writing that this blog affords. I've most treasured how it's enabled me to be an encouragement to other home educating moms, an endeavor I hope continues (and grows) for a long time.

~~~~~

Now...those who took our Christmas letter quiz before venturing to this post might remember that we promised two giveaways! And, indeed, we meant it - so MissionGuides is giving away this hat and t-shirt combo, and I will give away a copy of Dr. Kathy Koch's How Am I Smart?, a parenting book I firmly believe should be in every family's home library.

To enter both, simply leave a comment by December 31, including the initial score you earned on our quiz. On January 1, we'll randomly choose two winners and contact them about claiming their prizes.

If you "friended" Jeff and/or me on Facebook to earn bonus points, we look forward to interacting with you there. If you bookmarked Jeff's website, we hope you visit often and gain encouragement about God's work around the world. If you've subscribed to or signed on to follow this blog, I hope you're blessed by what you read. And, if you plan to be "old-fashioned" and give us a call (or drop me an email), we look forward to hearing from you!

Most of all, we hope you thoroughly enjoy your celebration this coming week of Christ's entrance into our world, and start off 2012 with confidence in His love and care for you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hollenbeck Christmas Quiz

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Yesterday I finally got our Christmas cards in the mail - no small feat considering that, though we'd faithfully done a card every year for most of our married life, we got too busy the last couple of years to manage it. But we still enjoyed hearing from many on our Christmas card list and thought often of them all. And we heard from many that they missed our missives, so we determined this year to fix our seasonal faux paus.

But, in order to catch up with us, we made our readers work a bit! That’s right – there was a quiz! Of course, we also provided an answer key…and even an opportunity for rewards at the end. And, as this year's Christmas greeting to my virtual friends, I wanted to offer you the same quiz - to see how well you really know my family and me - as well as the same opportunity for rewards.

So grab a piece of paper to keep track of your responses using one or more of the possible correct answers - Jeff, Tina, Rachel, Abigail, Clawde, Sweater, Sparkle, Grandpa - for each question. Then check yourself using the key below and award yourself one point for each correct name given per question – for a total of 35 points in all. Make sense?

Okay! So, without further ado, can you can decide who among us:

(1) traveled to Kansas City MO; Salt Lake City UT; Terre Haute IN; Chicago IL; London,England; Kandy, Sri Lanka; Port of Spain, Trinidad; and Malé in the Maldives – all in a day’s work;

(2) studied world geography until June and then ancient history from August through the end of the year;

(3) suffered a concussion that took seven months to heal;

(4) celebrated her double-digit birthday;

(5) began administrating the work of a full-time missionary couple;

(6) enjoyed a great vacation week at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp;

(7) got braces;

(8) celebrated his 76th birthday;

(9) enjoyed a special couple’s 50th wedding anniversary;

(10) hosted the 9th annual MissionGuides Golf Outing;

(11) participated in several extra-curriculars: swim lessons, ice skating, dance class, Vacation Bible Camp, choir, and piano lessons;

(12) got new kittens, siblings who were promptly named Prince and Sapphire;

(13) adjusted to the kittens in a matter of days;

(14) visited the Art Institute of Chicago and other Windy City sites;

(15) continues to serve on worship team, as both a vocalist and “video tech;”

(16) loves crafting of all sorts, especially origami;

(17) counts it a joy to babysit for five-year old Anna and her sister, nine-month old Leah;

(18) is a budding artist and pianist;

(19) tries to be patient while waiting to be old enough for voice lessons;

(20) loves Facebook and blogging.

~~~~~

The answers are coming up,

so be sure you've got all your guesses before scrolling further!

~~~~~

ANSWERS:

1. Jeff (J); 2. Tina (T), R, A; 3. A; 4. R; 5. J;

6. J, T, R, A; 7. R; 8. Grandpa, Clawde (C); 9. J, T, R, A; 10. J;

11. R, A; 12. R, A; 13. C, Sweater, Sparkle; 14. J; 15. T;

16. A; 17. T, R, A; 18. R; 19. A; 20. T.

~~~~~

How’d you do? Do you know us as well as you thought you did? Feeling the need for some extra credit?

Well, you can earn one bonus point – bringing the highest possible total score to 40 – for each of these interactive activities:

“friending” me on Facebook or being my friend there already;

“friending” Jeff on Facebook or being his friend there already;

signing up to officially subscribe to or follow this blog, Being Made New, if you don't already;

visiting Jeff’s MissionGuides website and bookmarking it;

sending me a good, "old-fashioned" email (using the link in the sidebar)!

But it gets even better! This quiz gave you a snapshot of our year, which may be more than enough of a review for you. But you can get more details about each question by visiting my Christmas Letter Fun post.

AND, if you leave a comment there with your quiz score, you’ll be entered into two giveaways – one sponsored by Jeff and MissionGuides, and one sponsored by me. No kidding! Giveaways with a Christmas letter!

So get your bonus points, add up your total, and head on over to try for a prize. I’ll trust you to tell the truth…because winning the giveways doesn’t depend on your score, just on leaving a comment by December 31.

~~~~~

All that said, I realize that Christmas is not at all about “stuff.” In fact, it’s not even about greeting friends and family, no matter how dear. I'm just having some fun with you in this digital age we’re all trying to navigate.

Of course, the truth is that Christmas is all about God’s love for us as demonstrated through the Incarnation: Jesus’ bodily entrance into this world, which we celebrate at this time of year. I'm so thankful for the freedom to mark the occasion, and I hope you’ll join with me in doing the same.

~~~~~

Photo Credits: Jeff Hollenbeck & Sisters in Christ (Women's Fellowship)

Shopping Like the Wise Men

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

In my Celebrate Kids article this past week, I explained how I was able to virtually finish my Christmas shopping in one two-hour trip. And, with Christmas now just a week away, you may want to consider making a shift to shopping like the Wise Men as I do...especially if you're feeling frantic about gift-giving.

Beautiful Christmas Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:13:00 +0000

I've been wanting to post these beautiful Christmas pictures of "my girls" - my two daughters and the two girls for whom I babysit - for a couple of weeks now.

But I had to wait because the pictures were our Christmas gift to Anna and Leah's family this year, and I didn't want their parents to see them here before they saw their own framed copies. Since that happened on Friday - because Anna was begging to have her dress for a celebration with extended family this weekend and I couldn't very well explain the dresses to her mom without showing her why I'd purchased them! - I'm finally free to show off my gorgeous girls.

We had these done at Picture People, and I have to say that, though we also have a wonderful personal photographer, I intend to patronize them again in the future. The photographer was very upbeat - and obviously talented! - working hard to keep Leah, who is in that "stranger anxiety phase," from crying while also getting the other girls to look their best in every shot. And we were given 22 poses from which to choose - many more options than I've ever received from commercial photographers anywhere else - at extremely competitive prices. In fact, I was seriously tempted to get multiple copies of every one!

This is my last year with Anna before she heads off to traditional kindergarten in the fall. I'm so glad I was able to capture her last Christmas with us - and Leah's first - in a special way.

~~~~~

For the record, this is not a "review blog," and I have not received any remuneration or other compensation for singing the praises of Picture People; I just want to give credit where it's due for a job well done.

Living Well Blog Hop: Week 20

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:22:00 +0000

~~~~~

My own living well idea this week comes in the form of a list: 20 Clever Ideas to Make Your Life Easier. I posted this on Facebook after receiving them via email from a friend, and it includes some great tips. Click on the first picture to read its description, and then scroll through the rest.

Unfortunately, I don't know the original source in terms of giving proper attribution, but I do want to at least acknowledge that I don't claim the ideas as my own.

~~~~~

Your Living Well hosts for the week are:

Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading
Jo @ Jo’s Health Corner
Lea @ Nourishing Treaures
Tina @ Being Made New

Please abide by our Living Well Blog Hop guidelines:

Please provide a link back to one of the Living Well host blogs in your post. And also grab the button below if you'd like;
Please link to a specific post in your blog, not your blog’s home page;
If you link a recipe, please use real foods and avoid highly processed ingredients. Recipes low in refined sugar/refined carbohydrates are preferred;
Be aware that the hosts of the blog hop reserve the right to remove any posts we deem inappropriate;
Linked posts need not be new posts;
Please leave a comment below to tell us a little more about your link. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment to share what you've done to live well this week.

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Thanks for joining us in Living Well.

Celebration Contemplation: Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

As part of my occasional Celebration Contemplation series, I wrote this post on Christmas Day last year. And, though I'm grateful to not have faced similar "Christmas wars" (so far) this year, I felt it was worth sharing again.

*****

I nearly became a casualty of "Christmas wars" this year. And, in fact, by last night - Christmas Eve - I was reeling from several near-mortal wounds to the soul.

Until God sent a rescue party from unexpected quarters. And reinforcement besides.

If you've heard or used the term "Christmas wars" in the last several years, it's likely been in reference to the assault on the holiday from various secular factions in our society: ACLU lawsuits against schools who dare to include a sacred song or two in "winter concert" programs; bean-counters at national retail outlets who ban in-store Salvation Army buckets and insist that clerks chirp out "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" so as not to potentially offend any angry-atheist big spenders; "Freedom from Religion" activists who harass tiny, Christian northwoods communities about creche scenes in town holiday displays, to name but a few. Those battles - standing up and speaking out against all the attempts to marginalize Christianity at Christmas - are emotionally exhausting.

But it was a whole different kind of war - "friendly fire," if you will - that nearly did me in this year.

The first mortars flew shortly after Thanksgiving in the form of Santa-bashers. Now, I fully understand and respect the reasons that many of my Christian friends do not include Santa in their Christmas celebrations; after all, he is a myth, and belief in him can far too often supplant families' recognition of Jesus' birth as the real (Christian) reason for the holiday. Over the past few years, I've worked through this in my own mind and feel comfortable with our rationale to allow our girls to think Santa is real for the time being - because of how we approach it (i.e., allowing the fantasy but not emphasizing it) and because he is based on the real person of St. Nicholas, who loved the Lord. And, truth be told, most of my friends who eschew Santa for themselves are not militant about it. However, I encountered a few cases of intense vitriol on the topic this year - so much so that some opponents of Santa traditions all but accused Santa-recognizing Christians of being unwitting, stealth Pagans.

Now, because I'd processed the matter before, these blows resulted in mere flesh wounds. However, the intensity of the blasts did cause some blood loss and weakened my spirit a bit. And that left me vulnerable to the full-on assaults from the Christ-professing Christmas haters.

These are the people - from a few specific faith traditions - who think they've got it all figured out and are certain of essential facts that are unknowable to the rest of us. They start with the idea that December 25 is an illegitimate date because the early church "co-opted" it from their non-Christian neighbors who happened to celebrate any number of Pagan holidays in honor of the winter solstice. Never mind that Jesus commanded believers to go into all the world (Matthew 28.18-20) to tell others about Him, starting with the story of His incarnation - and so we could choose to view the "co-opting" of December 25 as a redemption of that day. And never mind that - despite theorizing on all sides - there is no way from Scripture to pinpoint with absolute certainty the real day of His birth...so, really, for the purpose of remembering, any day will do. Nope. Because December 25 is not explicitly named as "the" day, these professing Christian Christmas-haters scream that the rest of us have become neo-pagans by daring to mark the occasion of His birth at this time of year.

And then they rant about the Pagan roots of pretty much every holiday tradition we've developed since the recognition of the holiday as special on the "Christian calendar." Do you think the use of evergreen trees symbolizes the eternal nature of God? Nope. They really indicate that you're participating in Pagan nature worship and unspeakable sexual fetishes. Do Christmas lights remind you of the stars the shepherds saw before the angels announced Jesus' birth? Uh-uh. Pagan. What about gifts? They are a remembrance of the presents the Magi brought for Jesus, as well as the recognition that Jesus Himself is the greatest gift any of us could receive, right? Nah. Just more unconscious Paganism.

Now for a couple of reasons - because I've learned to speak up over the past couple of years; because I'm loathe to see people caught up in legalism that draws them away from Jesus; and because I continually challenge myself to be sure I'm seeing things as much from Christ's perspective as I can this side of Heaven - I engaged these folks in discussion. I read what they blogged about. I listened to their arguments and considered their theses. I responded with what I know to be orthodox, biblical interpretation on these matters, trying in love (really!) to help them see their misperceptions. And I was shot down at every turn.

Which is fine on one level. After all, I fully acknowledge that I don't have a corner market on biblical interpretation; I am a work in progress until the day the Lord chooses to take me home, and so the best I can do is trust Him and stay oriented toward Him as much as possible on the journey. And they are free to hold onto their interpretations - because we live in a free country and because the Lord gives us all free will. That makes me sad when I do know they're seeing things incorrectly, but it's still their right. And in every one of the discussions I came to the point of saying, "You may be right. But we will have to agree to disagree."

The deep wounds to my soul came as they replied, "Yep, you are wrong. Let me tell you again why."

None of this made me doubt the incarnation, of course, but the wounds sapped my joy. As the month progressed, I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into apathy toward Christmas. I paid more attention to all the needles littering my carpet than to the beauty of the tree and what it really stands for. When I opened Christmas cards, I wondered if the sender's motivation was "pure" or not. I couldn't bring myself to wrap gifts until two nights before Christmas. And I did start to wonder if I was misleading my children by celebrating in December - or at all - even though we have purposed to make our Christmas very Christ-centered.

So I went to church last night more out obligation than anything else. And, though it's a good "problem" to have, the fact that the place was packed out didn't help - because it was hard to find seats...hard to "be still" and contemplate the Lord...hard to locate friends to whom I wanted to wish a "Merry Christmas" and from whom I could receive a reassuring hug...hard to focus on the songs and sermon while I was pondering the "correctness" of the traditions. I did try - and then I enjoyed a sweet little Christmas show our girls performed for us in their Christmas jammies before their bedtime - but I still felt like I was bleeding out.

And then I found my friend Stephanie's blog post. Please take a moment to read it.

Stephanie is not like the vitriolic folks with whom I've been sparring - but she does embrace a lot of the same convictions in her personal walk of faith. And so her words, in particular, were like a skillful surgeon's hands removing shrapnel...and like a gentle nurse's touch applying the salve and wrapping the wounds.

When I finished reading, I wept and felt God's overwhelming peace wash over me. My soul would heal from the beating it's received this month - and, yes, all I really need to do is keep my own heart oriented toward Him, no matter what certain other folks might think of me looking at me from the outside. I was out of the ICU.

Then the Lord blessed me with reinforcement through the words of my friend, Q, who had blogged on this same topic earlier in the month. I have permission to quote her - and I have to provide a long quote because her wisdom, logic, and humor wrap things up perfectly:

We're going to celebrate Christmas.

We KNOW it's not the actual day of Christ's birth. We KNOW it's not in the Bible. But you know what? Ice cream isn't in the Bible either, and we enjoy that. We enjoy the fact that Christ was born. No, we don't have the right date, but nor do we claim to and we're at peace with that. We aren't saying that thou must observe Christmas or thou shalt certainly burn an eternity in Hell. We don't feel we 'have to.' We are simply going to spend some time being happy and celebrating the fact that the Saviour was born. There are lights on the tree, as He is the creator of light and we want His creation around us. There is a crown of thorns on the top, because we want a constant reminder that He came to die for us.

We have a tree. Yes, indeed, those Pagans used trees for all sorts of yiky things. People do yiky things with guns too, but we enjoy those as well. But GOD made the trees before the Pagans started using them for their idolatry. Does that mean I can never enjoy looking at an evergreen? God is eternal, ongoing, never ending, as is the evergreen. We are not chanting and dancing with the Druids, nor learning the language of the Shaman. We're simply being reminded of a few of the many characteristics of God every time we walk by.

We're giving gifts too. I know - insert a big commercialism and materialistic gasp here. I'm sorry, but there are a few people on the planet that we love. We have a perfect Father in Heaven who gives us fabulous gifts, and we'd like to emulate Him in our own pathetic-attempt way. Our children get one gift on each Sunday of Advent, you know - because we are waiting for His coming - the perfect gift we get to receive! If waiting in anticipation for our Saviour is wrong, then please forgive us. Our children get a few gifts as we all await the Perfect gift. They are not Pagan sacrifices; we are not trying to buy anyone's approval. We are loving our neighbor.

On Christmas Eve we're going to church and our daughter is playing in the orchestra. We're going to sing Christmas songs and be thankful for His arrival. We're not dancing around Stonehenge while slicing open the throats of small animals; we're going to worship the Lord.

And - steady yourself - on Christmas morning the children are getting stockings too. I know - we're going to Hell and would a Pagan hunter please come rip into me and beat me over the head over my evil ways? I'm sure that would help. You know - the story of the Christmas stocking is so sweet. Stockings are fun! Our children, our sons especially, are going to giggle with innocent pleasure for a brief moment of each year.

Yes, indeed, a lot of the things we use have been used by Pagans as well. Wiccans use salt in their witchcraft, and I use salt in the kitchen - but that doesn't make me Wiccan any more than owning a Bible makes me a Christian.

We celebrate Christmas, but it is not the driving force of the year. We don't elevate it above biblical holy days, nor equate it with such. We've thought it through. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? To what end?

No, everyone does not have to do it the way we do it. It's not our business, and to each his own. Just please be sure that you know why you do what you do or don't do, and be sure your motives are pure, rather than being caught in the trap of, and therefore exhibiting the fruit of, legalism.

"The fruit of legalism is easily recognized - arguments, jealousy, selfish ambition, and envy." (A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays)

If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!

After reading this, I felt as if I'd been discharged from the hospital! I happily laid my daughters' Christmas gifts under the tree, spent some time reading my Bible, and went to sleep in peace, knowing I could allow myself to feel joy on Christmas morning and still be a faithful follower of Jesus.

I may yet be in need of some "occupational therapy" to fully recover from my wounds - and I know the purveyors of this particular "Christmas war" will be active on plenty of other fronts, looking to shoot down those with whom they claim to be brothers and sisters, between now and next December. But I also know that what I chose to put on Facebook yesterday afternoon - in an attempt to "ramp myself up" before I left for church - is truly the bottom line:
Whether Jesus was born at this time of year or in September or May...regardless of what traditions from other religions may have inadvertantly seeped in when December 25 was redeemed...despite propensities today to secularize the celebration...WHAT REALLY MATTERS is that Jesus - the Son of God - came to be with us. Without that, there could be no ultimate salvation for any. The End

Our Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:24:00 +0000

We let the girls believe in Santa.

We eschew the Easter Bunny because it has no connection in any way to the true meaning of Easter. But Santa is different for us, since he is based on a real man, Saint Nicholas, who loved the Lord very much and clearly wanted to glorify God with his life. So, we felt comfortable allowing the myth here and, when it comes time to acknowledge reality, we'll be able to share the true story of Nicholas and how his biography morphed into the legend.

Of course, I don't know if that'll be anytime soon because - at nine and 10 - they still believe. I'm sure that's largely due to the fact that, though we certainly don't lock them away from other children, they haven't been exposed (for seven-plus hours a day, 180 days a year) to cynical peers who probably felt forced to abandon make-believe before entering first grade.

But I'm certain it's also because we've been able to take them to the same Santa for their entire lives - every year since Rachel was just seven months old! Of course, they've seen other men dressed as Santa, in real life and in movies, but they are just playing dress-up or are, at best, mere "Santa's helpers." This guy - this wonderful man whose eyes light up when he sees the girls and even Jeff and me! - is Our Santa.

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

At two-and-a-half and one-and-a-half,

neither girl would sit with Santa that year unless we also sat with them.

But our presence obviously didn't help very much!

2002

I wanted to get this shot of Abigail alone with Santa for her first Christmas,

and we intended to do another pose with both girls.

However, at just over one-and-a-half,

Rachel would have none of it that year, so Abigail got to "fly solo!"

2001

A wise friend has one of the most profound parenting goals I've ever heard: to "[work] for early maturity while [prolonging] innocence." And I've adopted that as one of my own goals because it's exactly the right attitude. After all, we don't want our children to be childish for long...but we want them to be child-like forever. Jesus told us that (Matthew 18.3, Mark 10.15, Luke 18.17).

And I'm tickled that Our Santa has helped us to do that...in addition to giving us a tradition the girls will remember for their whole lives.

Peeling Myself Off the Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

I just piled up 47 of the 64 Christmas-themed library books I checked out last week, most of them unread. I'll be returning them, to make them available for others.

I also just deleted the rough drafts of eight Christmas Around the World posts I'd planned here for the next week and a half, because I recently made the very hard decision to forgo doing more of the series in our homeschool this year. So, though I know some of you have been following along in your own homes, I hope you'll understand and that the 12 posts already here will be enough for now.

It's not that I suddenly have anything against Christmas. On the contrary, I really wanted to spend concerted time this month enjoying fun Christmas unit studies with the girls - and, in fact, we will be continuing with our Truth in the Tinsel Advent study and The Wonder of Christmas devotional readings. I'll also finish our lunchtime read-aloud, Nancy and Plum, and read some of the remaining library books just for fun. My husband will also keep up with the girls' current bedtime story, The Christmas Barn, a book he says is absolutely wonderful.

But I have hit a wall. Well, I actually smacked into it a while ago - way back at the end of summer, in fact. However, I've been foolishly trying to act since then as if nothing were wrong, attempting to seamlessly juggle all the aspects of my busy life as a Christian homeschooling wife and mother, babysitter, and writer...even while I've been sucking the proverbial plaster.

It started when I made a couple of poor decisions in late August that I've allowed to snowball ever since, even though I know better. As a result, I am now physically, emotionally, and spiritually depleted. Running on fumes, in fact. And, as a side effect of all that, I've not been managing my time well, which means I find myself staying up too late too often...and, even though I am somewhat of a night owl, it's gotten way out of hand in terms of my overall schedule.

And then my church, with which I've been deeply involved for over 12 years, has been in the midst of major turmoil since early October. As my mother-in-law so wisely pointed out recently, I can't let that dictate the rest of my life - and it really doesn't. But the stress and angst is very real...both because of the situation itself and because we don't yet know how or when it'll resolve, or what that will mean for us. If Purgatory were real, our church would be in it at the moment.

Add to that a disappointment my husband suffered at work last month - something he (and we) will work through, but an issue that grates nonetheless - and the busyness of the Christmas season, even though I try very hard to avoid getting caught up in the "perfect Christmas" myth. And, frankly, I'm surprised I haven't completely fallen apart.

But I realized today that I'm on the edge of it.

Thankfully, I have a very good idea of what it'll take to peel myself off the wall and get walking on the right path again. But that's going to take some time, mental energy, and concerted effort. And so, for a number of reasons, I've decided - among other things - to create that space for myself by cutting short our Christmas Around the World study.

On the one hand, that makes me feel like a loser...because the You-Should-Be-Able-to-Finish-What-You-Started voice bounces around in my head. But, conversely, I'm relieved.

I really can't begin to explain the darkness of the place I'm in. And I know it'll take a lot more than a simple schedule change to get right; in fact, I could lighten our academic load now and still end up crammed deeper into the wall when 2012 dawns in a few weeks. So there's much more to it than simplifying and shortening our remaining December "school days" - but that decision is going to give me some intellectual and emotional "margin," as well as a bit of necessary time, for doing what I really feel I have to do...finally.

I'm not going to be "fixed" on January 1. But I'm looking at the next three weeks as a beautiful, rather natural opportunity to jumpstart a process that really is imperative for me right now.

Prayers appreciated.

Christmas Around the World: Austria

noreply@blogger.com (Tina Hollenbeck) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Yesterday we continued this year's study of Christmas Around the World by exploring traditions in Ukraine and Poland, and today we took a look at another European country: Austria.

******

AUSTRIA

Literature:

Look What Came from Austria by Kevin Davis
Discovering Cultures: Austria by Deborah Grahame
An Early American Christmas by Tomie dePaola
Silent Night: The Song and Its Story by Margaret Hodges

Curiously, and as happened with some countries last year as well, our library lacked books specifically about Christmas customs in Austria, even though the holiday is obviously prominent there. And, beyond noting that traditions in Austria are similar to those in Germany, even Celebrate Christmas Around the World (CCAW) didn't contain a great deal of information.

I made the best of the situation by skimming through pictures in the books by Davis and Grahame, briefly describing them in order to introduce Austria to the girls, and then orally sharing information from CCAW. After that. we read the dePaola book (As a side note, I don't think I've ever read a dePaola book that I've disliked!), because, though it describes a German family who has immigrated to America, it beautifully illustrates many Christmas customs that Austrians share, too. And then we read the Hodges book, which is a wonderful, engaging story and provides some insight into Austrian culture.

Craft:

Unfortunately, CCAW did not offer a craft idea, and I didn't find any in the other books either.

However, since German and Austrian traditions are similar, you could do one of the two crafts from my Germany post.

But, since we did those last year, I decided instead to simply have the girls each create a drawing or painting to illustrate some of the "Silent Night" lyrics. I allowed each girl to use the media of her choice, and they created some beautiful pieces.

Alternately, you could have your children make Christmas tree ornaments as they do in Austria - various paper shapes and/or by painting nuts.

Other Activities:

On Christmas morning, each Austrian child apparently receives an unwrapped gift that he believes was left by Christkind, the Christ Child. To imitate the tradition, I gave each girl a small gift - a set of bejeweled barrettes - in plain brown boxes. I also gave them the option of later decorating the boxes with sequins, glitter, and craft jewels;

We watched "The Sound of Music" in the afternoon;

We, of course, sang (and discussed the lyrics of) "Silent Night."

Food:

Austrians "eat a large meal of roast goose with all the trimmings" (CCAW, 11) on Christmas Day, but we decided to keep it simple by serving strudel at breakfast and gingerbread cookies for snack.

Language Arts:

Each girl continued her Christmas Around the World booklet, directions for which are available here under the Language Arts heading.

~~~~~

Photo Credits: cindy251978 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindyandmike/5235595925/) and Wien-Vienna (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wien-vienna/6372284077/).