Sona Creidhe Homeschooling

*Since I'm not able to blog much right now (because of health and moving issues), I wanted to post my article from DotMoms during the holidays last year. Since posting "Homeschool For The Holidays" we've learned even more as a family. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for still reading.*

In our home we have traditions and rituals for the holidays like everyone else. Of course, most of them were started “for the children,” but over time I think I began looking forward to them even more than the kids did. This year promises to be our most exciting holiday season yet! Not only are we getting ready to celebrate but I’m also now homeschooling all three of my children.

Homeschooling offers a whole new perspective to everything we do. Suddenly, watching baby birds hatch becomes a lesson in Animal Science, measuring the ingredients for zucchini bread becomes a Math and Chemistry lesson, and preparing for the holidays becomes a homeschooling parent’s dream come true. To us, this time of year is like a huge study unit just waiting to be explored.

Everything we do this holiday season will hold even more meaning than usual. We won’t just be doing things, we'll also be learning why we are doing them. Celebrating Winter Solstice will lead to lessons on Weather, Geography, and the History behind it. My children will “meet” ancient cultures and understand why the day meant so much to them.

Around Christmas my children will again have a lesson in History as they are told of that day's origins and the meshing of traditions. Hopefully they will also develop an appreciation and understanding of other religions.

Even our decorated tree will hold its own lesson. On it will hang one ornament for every year of each child’s life. As we put them on the tree we always discuss what year they received them and why they chose that particular one at the time. In place of bright plastic garlands we will make colorful paper chains to symbolize the links that bind us together and strings of popcorn just for fun. Each ornament and decoration holds special meaning to us and by homeschooling I’m able to make them even more meaningful.

So this year after we finish reading "The Polar Express" on Christmas Eve (like we have for eight years now) we will reflect on all we’ve learned and then start our next and favorite lesson: The lesson of family, love and togetherness.

What lessons are you teaching your children this year?

I know you haven't heard from me in a long time and I apologize for that. Family life and my medical problems have taken more time than usual. Due to pain I'm unable to sit at the computer for long periods of time and this leaves my online time very short. If you check out my Life With Heathens blog though you will see a few new posts. Not many but a few including one on my youngest son whose birthday happens to be TODAY!!!

Meg had this on her site so I figured as a way to get back in to blogging here I would start with this. Enjoy!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? BOTH! And this year it's Egg Nog with Rum and Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps. We won't bother to discuss the fact that a bottle of either liquor will last me for the next five years! HA!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? He always wraps and uses the special wrap with his picture on it that we leave out for him.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Rainbow colored lights on the tree and we just bought our first house which I believe has white lights already hung up outside. lol

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No but just because I usually can't find any

5. When do you put up your decorations? We're lazy around here and honestly don't know when we get things done. Sometimes it's the first week of December, sometimes it's the second, and once I think it was even a week before Christmas. *looking ashamed* This year it will most likely be a few days before Christmas because we are closing on the house a few days before Christmas. Yes that's right, what we get for Christmas this year is MOVING! OY!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Cookies or fudge

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: I don't remember my childhood so I'm afraid I have nothing for this one. I do remember sneaking in to wake up my little brothers early on Christmas Day so THEY could go wake up my mother so I wouldn't get in trouble or be told to go back to bed because it was too early. *snicker*

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Again, I'm afraid I can't remember

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? The kids are allowed to open one of the small gifts on Christmas Eve and everything else is opened the next morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights, ornaments, candy canes and construction paper garland. Every year we buy the kids a new ornament to hang on the tree and when they go out on their own they will have at least 19 ornaments to start Christmas in their own home with. We don't do themed trees although if my husband had his way we would. I like homey trees with stringed popcorn, construction paper garland, cinnamon dough ornaments, and a mish mash of others!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it because it's so pretty but dread it because the cold brings me immense pain and freezing because of the fibro, keloids, and Raynoud's Syndrome. I'm still going to take the kids sledding this year though dangit!

12. Can you ice skate? I've never tried

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? It was probably a generic Cabbage Patch Doll that my mother got me for Christmas one year. She wasn't an original but it didn't matter because I loved her just the same. I still have her in fact!

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with my husband and kids as well as having a good and loving time. Making memories.

Oh snap, I didn't answer these before. I'm sorry.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Cookies!!!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Reading "The Polar Express" on Christmas Eve with the kids. My oldest two and I have been doing this for about 10 years now and Vin has done it with us for the last almost 7 years. Everyone takes a turn reading a page in the book out loud. Then we have hot cocoa, the kids get to open one small present, and then everyone goes to bed. We ALL look forward to it each year which makes it so nice.

17. What tops your tree? Usually an Angel just because my husband likes them but last year I made a Sun tree topper so I could bring a little Yule in with all the Christmas stuff. It was honestly pretty sorry looking but I'm hoping to make a better one in the years to come.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? I love giving gifts. It makes me happier than getting them does.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I don't really have one but we all know the words to "Jingle Bells". lol

20. Candy Canes - yuck or yummy? Yummy especially as a stir stick in hot cocoa

21. Christmas Trees - real or fake? Always real. I'd love to get one we can plant afterwards though.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I'm working on playing with a theme. Not sure if I like the background color though so I might just go back to white. Hmmmm

I miss having three columns and don't know how long I can stand it without them. Let's face it, I'm so damn fickle!

Okay I think I was tagged by Elderfaery (if I'm not the Jo you listed then I'm doing it anyway so nah nah). I never do these things but right now I'm in the mood for some fun.

5 Things.....

The other day Big B informed me that he is thinking about going back to public high school. The reason he gave me is that he wants to play football and have a chance at going to college for it. The reason he gave my friend Kristin is that he is bored.

My feelings are that I hate the very idea of him going back. I didn't like who he was at all while he was in public high school. He was rude, disrespectful, wanted nothing to do with his siblings, and could have cared less about learning anything. I dread losing who he has become to who he will again be.

I can't help him with being bored though. He's 15 years old and if he's bored he should be finding things to do. I'm honestly getting tired of having to be the one to find things for him to join, volunteer for, and do. He puts no effort forth whatsoever. So if he's bored it's because he doesn't care to try and I can't fix that.   I've tried to get him to join activities with other teens but he says he's not interested. I've tried to give him opportunities to volunteer but he doesn't want to try. I'm ending up severely frustrated by the whole thing.

So I told him to let me know by the end of July so I know what the rest of us are doing. I don't want to sign him up for any of the homeschooling classes if he's not going to be around. I also think it's only fair to give Kristin and the folks at the Wildlife Rescue enough notice that he won't be volunteering anymore.

I hope he changes his mind before then but I won't hold my breath. This just sucks plain and simple.

Sis has no desire though to go back to public school. I think the humiliation and horror of the first time was more than enough for her. Now that she knows she doesn't HAVE to go there she is more comfortable. To be honest, I think she's happier than she's been in a very long time. She has friends who like her for who she is and who don't try to get her to dress like a hoochie. She has input to what she learns about and how. She loves her volunteer work and she has her own dogwalking business so she has some extra spending money as well. Things seem to be going very well for her and it's because she's doing things for herself.

Lil Man is cruising right along in everything. We've already covered all but ten things on a list of what kids learn in preschool. The funny part is that we've learned everything just by having fun and from him wanting to play school. I'm very excited about how our homeschooling journey will go since I get to start from the beginning with him. I think it's going to be alot of fun and might even teach me how to relax more.