Advent chain

I didn't get around to ordering an Advent Calendar, so we settled on old-fashioned paper chains. They tear off a link each day. Oh, and I couldn't find purple paper anywhere in my house, so we used blue. I'm letting go of my perfectionism, day by day!

And a story from today: I overheard my 3yo talking to a friend and he said, "I can't wait until Christmas because we will have lots and lots and lots of..." [I'm holding my breath, praying he doesn't say presents] "...snow!" [Phew!]

Advent ideas

(sara): Advent begins in 2 days. It's such a great day to make "new year's" resolutions.

I am resolving to do more catechesis, the Good Shepherd way. Very soon I will have 2 kiddos who are 4 & 6, perfect ages for this type of learning. Here and here are the posts from last year describing the first week of Advent activities. Here's the post that contains beautiful clip-art images which can be used with the weekly presentations. And here's the post descibing the figurines Amy & Anne made last year.

The ideas for making Advent meaningful are limitless; you just have to decide what excites you, what you have time & energy for, and what will work for your particular family. For dozens of other ideas and inspirations on Advent, here's a lovely collection by blogger Jennifer Miller, well worth reading.

Here are some conversations about using a Jesse Tree.
Here are some conversations about using O Antiphon meditations.

This blog post shows a beautiful Advent wreath, and also has links to a nice liturgical calendar poster. And finally, the awesome-as-ever collection of Advent & Christmas posts by Elizabeth Foss here.

Saint Nicholas Day

(sara): I have most decidedly been away from this blog & just trying to stay afloat in my home!! This year has been so crazy for me. The past few days I've been trying to take some deeep breaths and motivate myself to get ready for the upcoming new church year.

With children in my life, celebrating the Liturgical year is no longer something to do, just when I feel like it. Some years we will do more, and some less, but celebrate we must!

Thankfully we put in some time last year preparing for Advent, so that box will come out of the storage room, mostly ready to go. This week I am attempting to purchase on-line the gifts we will give our children for St. Nicholas Day, Christmas Day, and Epiphany. (One gift each per day, or one larger gift to share.) Because we didn't celebrate St. Nick's Day (Dec. 6th) as a child, I have researched this tradition the past few years, and am trying to establish our own traditions for my children. This website is a good place to start.

Blessings out to all of you who, like me, are trying to get motivated to start a new year with our families!!

this is one sturdy shepherd fold!

Here.

Montessori on a Shoestring - book

This website tells about a new publication for moms implementing Montessori. Scroll down and you can view a few of the pages free. There are some cute (and cheap!) ideas in there. I heard about this from 4Real.

early reading materials

(sara): I'd love to be posting more CGS presentations, but ds3 is so ready for more reading materials. Ds5 kindof skipped this part... but lately I put together what is known as "pink reading" materials in our classroom. I put the consonant "sound bins" in this shoe organizer on the closet door:


Each one contains a sandpaper letter, a letter book (from Discovery Toys), flashcards with words and images, and images without any words on them, which are used for a variety of activities. These were made from sticker books found at Target, and laminated.



I recently cleaned out my kitchen cupboards and was appalled at how many plastic containers I have accumulated. I decided to use these for the vowel sound bins:

And these for digraph (i.e., ph, sh, th, etc.) sound bins:

We also use the book Phonics Pathways extensively. There is a game at the beginning of this book called the "short vowel shuffle" to teach the short-vowel sounds. We have been playing it this past week - the boys love it!

making bead material

(Sara): I really love Montessori math. Unfortunately (or should I say, of course!) it's the most expensive category of materials to purchase, and time-consuming to make. Because I have had the hobby of making & repairing rosaries in the past, I had most of the tools needed to make bead material. I just haven't had much time.

Here's how I made my "golden bead" material. Yes, the beads are traditionally wooden, not black. But that's what I already had at home. I bought the wire at Walmart. Thread 10 beads on at a time,

and then make a 90 degree bend on the end of the wire, about 1/2 inch in length.

Use a needle-nose plier to bend the wire back the opposite way, forming a loop. Close it so the circle is snugly formed.

To make hundred squares, I wove wire around 10 of these, just enough to keep them snugly together. I made 1 large and 3 small sets of number cards on cardstock.

I have made the small bead stair in the same manner, using appropriately colored beads.

I have purchased other math materials, including number rods, the stamp game, addition strip board, multiplication and division boards, and squaring chains. I'm always happy to address questions on any of these materials.