December is the fastest and most hurried month each year! It is so very easy to fill up our schedules only to ring in the new year feeling a little dazed. In efforts to make our month more purposeful, here’s what I have planned for my Sloop Troop.
Our Homeschool Co-op (We do Classical Conversations) is on break until mid-January. We will still keep our current routine of core subjects (reading, math, and writing/handwriting) for now, but our load will be slightly lighter during this break. We’ll take a two week vacation at the end of the month through New Year’s to enjoy some down time.
Starting Monday, November 28 for 4 weeks, we will start the Come to the Manger unit from Brighter Day Press. This unit has a Charlotte Mason approach to learning, so it is full of read alouds, crafts, baking, service projects, and of course, scripture to begin each lesson. I am really excited for this and have already gathered all of our books from our local library! Luckily, we already had a few of them in our playroom library too. I have a whole post on our favorite Christmas books linked here.
This manger activity is from the Come to the Manger unit. I laminated and cut out the pieces, so as the unit progresses over the four weeks of Advent, we’ll add to the manger scene. I’m contemplating adding Velcro dots to the backs of the pieces, so we can hang the manager some place local (refrigerator?) and then reuse the manager for a few years for my twins to enjoy too.
On December 6th, we will celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas. Now, brace yourself when I tell you this: We don’t do Santa in our house! Gasp!
I know. Crazy.
We do however, celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas who was a real person who gave generously in secret, expecting nothing in return. The Santa Claus we all know is based on him, so instead of focusing on a myth, I want my children to know who the story of Santa is based on. (And yes, we still have Santa decorations and sing all the songs, but my kids know Santa is just a game. More on this later, if you’re interested!) On December 5th, I’ll have the kids lay out their shoes to be filled with small treats as Saint Nicholas was known to fill the shoes of poor. We did this in the school I attended growing up each year, and I still remember my little foot hanging shoeless while the upperclassmen came to fill our shoes in the hallway on the Feast of St. Nick!
We will also be reading Just Nicholas and doing two activities. The first will be to make a bishop (miter) hat just like Saint Nicholas wore and then we will make this cute sight word book which luckily is right on par with my daughter’s reading curriculum this year (PreK/Kinder). Both the craft and sight word book are from KinderCraze. You can also learn more about the life of Saint Nicholas on this site. Note: The Just Nicholas book can be very difficult to find! I recommend the this book as a great alternative AND addition for teaching about St. Nicholas!
We have our annual Happy Birthday, Jesus Party planned for the very end of the month, right before Christmas that my daughter is super excited about! Last year, we made the sweetest Baby Jesus ornaments… this year since my little guests will be older, we’ll be doing a Nativity craft (stay tuned for that!)
My mom group got together for a really fun Moms’ Night Out craft night last year to celebrate the holidays. Although, I don’t have a Moms’ Night Out planned for this year (It’s ok, I’m tired, HA!), I do have a brunch scheduled for the women in my small group from church. I still plan on making another one of these cute Christmas Village houses with my daughter this year though, inspired by our craft night last year.
If you’re looking for more super special Christmas crafts, be sure to check out my Pinecone Tree and Baby Jesus ornament post! They’re two of my all time favorite crafts each year!
Lastly, in addition to attending a Cookie Decorating Party, seeing the Nutcracker, seeing the Lights at our local Science Center, and umm life happening (!!!), I don’t have anything else intentionally planned for at home.
As much as I can control it, my goal is to have this month be full and rich, but not exhausting.
For all my fellow planners and do-ers out there, you’ll appreciate this: I have already jotted down a few ideas for next year though. I have written them in the “October 2023” section of my planner (Lilly planners are 1.5 years!). One thing I’m saving for next year is painting this nativity set. I think this will be SUCH a precious part of our holiday décor, but I think my daughter being one year older will appreciate it more and be a little more detailed in her skill level with another year’s maturity.
I also have this Advent book and coloring book (they pair together) saved on my calendar and saved on my book list for next year too as a possibility for an Advent guide. I don’t know though…I may be doing the Come to the Manger unit again next year!
Wishing you an intentional December!
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