Yes, There is a Santa Claus

His real name is St. Nicholas.

Boy, do I wish someone had said that to me when my FIRST child was born. Navigating the tricky waters of Faith and Advertising during the month of December is an no little ol' boat ride.

Especially since we began homeschooling. Homeschoolers are a mixed bag when it comes to St. Nick. Some go all out, others tow a tighter line. Here are a few thoughts I have distilled and have tried to communicate consistently to my children to help make sense of what they see on TV and what they hear in Church or around our Jesse tree.

1. Is there a Santa? Yes, There is a Santa Claus. His name is St. Nicholas. He lived in Greece around 300 AD
2. Does he live at the North Pole? Now he is a Saint in Heaven with Jesus. Much farther North than even the North Pole!
3. St. Nicholas loved Jesus so much that he made many miracles happen.
4. Those miracles are still happening today.
5. Does Santa come down the chimney? Santa probably doesn't come down the chimney. Some people don't understand miracles, so they write stories to explain how they think a miracle could happen. Just like a reindeer with a red glowing nose. I love that movie, don't you? It is one way people try to explain Christmas Miracles.
6. How can those presents show up? It's a miracle, isn't it?
7. Do you believe in Santa? Yes, I believe.
8. How can Santa get presents all around the world in one night? It's a miracle, isn't it?

They ask some pretty tricky questions don't they? In the beginning I tried answer with the explanations given in stories like "Twas the Night Before Christmas" but that got more confusing to me over the last several years.

St. Nicholas is real, he does make Christmas Miracles come true. I know that too! Much better to focus on him. We love the video "Nicholas, the boy who became Santa". A beautiful tale of St. Nicholas' life, and very compelling to remember Jesus this season.

Teaching our children to believe in Miracles is extremely important because of course, one happens every day at Mass! But knowing the difference between the Real Power of God and say the not so real power of Superman is equally important.

Merry Christmas, may your children experience a few miracles this season too!

Advent Activities

We have a new schedule for our Spring Semester of co-op. But that will be posted another day. Here are a few of my favorite Advent activities to share:

• Create a Jesse Tree. Although we haven't done this, there are lots of great websites with ideas. Visit the Domestic Church to get started.
• Learn about St. Nicholas. I love this website. Used several pictures and activities in our homeschool last Advent.
• Create an Advent wreath. Better late than never!
• Can't leave out CatholicMom.com

Enjoy the Season of Getting Ready!

Guest Speaker

This has to be a perk of belonging to a co-op. Where else could I get to meet the president of a college and ask any question I may have about the homeschool-highschool-college transistion? Or about majors? Or about the value of a liberal arts major?

Dr. Thierfelder joined our group for lunch and discussion this week. Hearing his explanation of the value of educating the "whole" person is certainly food for thought. Jenny Ryan, director of Campus Ministry, joined our discussion also. Very inspiring to learn about so many young people enthusiatic for our Faith!

Visit Belmont Abbey to learn more about the history and tradition of Excellence and Virtue right in our own backyard!

Thanksgving Freebies

Last post had a Thanksgiving activity that is free but not uniquely Catholic. Here's a link to Pflaum Publishing to print some activities that do focus on our Catholic heritage. You have to join on their site, but it is free. These family pages are updated quarterly. Enjoy!

Turkey Day!

This activity isn't especially Catholic, but it is seasonal and very, simple! Create a turkey out of leaves from your yard. The idea is from DLTK's website, "Fall Leaf Turkey". And I used the body from the this other turkey craft at DLTK. Just to make it even more simple!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Little Rendezvous

A Field Trip Success! I wasn't sure our family would get to join co-op on this trip to Rendezvous Mtn. The drive seemed daunting and traveling with a baby is always a challenge. Yet the clear weather and a little reminder that trips like these are a "perk" of homeschooling tipped the scaled in favor of going. So very glad we did! Enjoy the pics.

Here Holly and Joseph are waiting on the Ranger to explain about "friendly logging" strategies.
I'm the logger cutting down the "trees". I hope this was time I was being eco-friendly!

Mary Hannah and Elizabeth are being cut to make perfume, of course!

A pleasant group of trees, awaiting their fate!

Gathering for the forest lesson.

What a mom can see from the Ranger Station: Our beautiful Appalachian Mtns.

What a baby can see from the Ranger Station.

Yvonne, Nicholas, Joel and Ellen take in the view.

Eager students learning about the animals in the forest!

Trick or Treat!

Halloween is almost here! I can't believe it. One of the best parts of participating in a Catholic Homeschool Coop is the ability to celebrate our faith in every holiday.

Last year we held an All Saints Parade, helping our children dress as a Saint and learn about that person's life. Bill choose St. Francis and dressed as a soldier, pre-saintly life! Little Mary Hannah choose St. Therese of Liseux and dressed as Theresa would have at Mary Hannah's age. Theresa was a beautiful little girl and her parents tried to keep her from being to prideful with so many compliments.

The best article I have seen yet is in this month's edition of Faith & Family Magazine. The pictures and saints descriptions are great to start your own costume. My favorite of all of these is St. Michael the Archangel, a warrior angel, what's not to love about that?!

Also here are a few other useful links on being Christian and celebrating Halloween: Should CAtholics Celebrate Halloween? and Debra Furman owns a business just to make saints costumes in Kansas.

Enjoy the holiday, best wishes controlling the massive amounts of candy :-) , and if you can share a story or two of the Saints to your children too!

There are others!

Ok, so I am all excited about the K-3rd group. But there are others! For the 3-5th graders, there is a great literature unit on Sarah Plain and Tall. I loved the movie, and know the girls are enjoying the book!

Mary is leading this class. The unit study is from the 5 in a Row series. According to their website, it is not marketed but a scret shared among friends! Our daughters are enjoying this course, so consider it shared!

Upcoming Field Trip?

Hopefully our troop of interested learners will be making a journey to Dan Nicholas Park towards the end of October. More details as they become available.

As I mentioned before we began the year with a trip to All-A-Flutter Butterfly Farm. After several exciting and successful trips last year, we are doing are best to hit the road again this season too!

Tour A Continent

For the month of October our K-3rd grade group will be learning about Africa! Here's an outline of what they will cover. (Thanks Liz for the update and for leading the group this month!)

Week 1 Continent Outline: Students will identify, label, and draw. I'll be using Uncle Josh's Outline Maps to print out a map of Africa. Deserts, forests, oceans, mountain ranges, and lakes will be taught and located on the map. Activity: We will be learning an African song, "Siyahama," that the students will perform at the end of the unit.

Week 2 Animals, Attractions, and Landmarks: Students will learn about animals that are native to Africa. Basic facts about the Pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and Victoria Falls will also be presented. Activity: Each student will create a mural in which they will be able to glue pictures of animals and landmarks. We'll continue to practice our song at the end of the class.

Week 3 Saints: We'll be learning about African, Catholic saints, including St. Charles Lwanga, St. Monica, and St. Augustine. We'll be able to place where they were from on our mural of Africa. Kids will be able to take home some coloring pages to be completed at home for a coloring contest. Activity: Continue practicing song for performance.

Week 4:Unit Wrap-Up: We'll be reviewing the unit on our last day and collecting all saint coloring pages to be entered into a contest. The prize will be a goody bag filled with a surprise! Since there are about 18 students in the class, I'm thinking of dividing up the contestants into age groups. But no one will be empty handed as I'll also be presenting the class with their finished murals and some yummy African treats. Then we'll give all the parents a treat with our presentation!

Welcome!

The fall's courses for a Kindergarten - 3rd grade group is so great. But most of all I am excited about the Science class. We are studying from Harcourt Science text books at home and the students are completing the hands on experiments at co-op! Katie is the hard working mom who has stepped up to the challenge for this great course.

To start the year, we went on a field trip to All-A-Flutter Butterfly Farm and brought home monarch caterpillars to watch grow. Most recently, the students were learning about plants growing and what is needed to help the plants grow and be healthy, like air water and nutrients.

My next favorite course for this age group is the Tour A Continent class. All the moms are taking turns to lead this group, one per month. Definetly what being in a co-op is all about! Sharing the work and the fun.

The older classes are getting to learn some neat things too. But I should save something for another post!