Preschool - Letter L!

We're back! :)  Actually, this is a summation of pretty much the entire second half of December - we studied the letter L and had LOTS of no-school days due to doctor appointments, visits with friends, birthdays, and lots of other fun activities. :)  We did manage to fit the letter L in, though, and lots of fun Christmas activities! :)

Here is our circle time board for the letter L.  Natalie loves to play with the gumballs and the velcro weather clothes. :)

Here is our Bible time board - the song this week was called God Gave the Law, and it was an overview of the ten commandments we've already studied.  (website here)  We have one more song, one more week on this CD, and then we're going to move on to Sovereign Grace's To Be Like Jesus - again, one song a week with a corresponding verse.  I'm hoping to add a few more Bible activities into our school weeks next semester.

Here's Zachary doing a sequencing page - he's getting better at these as we go through the year!  I got this book from the Dollar Tree a couple years back.

Natalie coloring on her Log L.

Zachary coloring his Log L.

Making long lines for wood grain.  The circles he drew (he drew!!! He never draws!) are knots in the logs. :)

Natalie's finished Log L

Zachary's finished Log L

Natalie coloring a Color by Shape page from Carisa's Tot School website (1+1+1=1).

Zachary coloring by shapes, too.

Their finished pictures - Nat's is on the left, and Z's is on the right. :)

Tracing the number 12 - his handwriting (and willingness to TRY at handwriting) has improved GREATLY since we started in September.  He even tried (& succeeded at) writing a 12 himself on the empty bottom line!  Worksheet from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com.

Tracing an oval, and the word oval.  

Showing off his work.  Shape tracer worksheets found here.

Zachary telling me something interesting while doing his blend ladder (found here). 

We studied candy canes this month - did you know the candy cane is really all about Jesus?  We read two books which I got from the library about the candy cane.  Zachary preferred this one...

but I actually thought this book did an even better job of explaining the candy cane & it's connection to Jesus.

We colored a page about a candy cane (from here).

And then, of course, we had to eat a candy cane. :)

Zachary ate one, too. :)

We did these puzzles.  I wish I could remember exactly where these came from, but I'm pretty sure they came from one of the links on this awesome list of advent activities. :)  

We made sugar cone Christmas trees on Christmas Eve- Zachary has spread frosting on his cone & is now eating some frosting. :)

I spread the frosting on Nat's cone for her, and now she's sticking candy on. :)

Here's Zachary's finished tree!

And my finished tree! :)  After we did our craft, we had three trees, so I told the story of the Three Trees (from memory, I failed to check out this book from the library in time). :(  Anyhow, I went and was working on something else when Z said, "It was actually a good thing that Jesus died on the cross."  I came back, sat down and talked with him about Jesus for a while, and after we talked for a few minutes, he said he wanted to ask Jesus to live in his heart!  And he did!  Every day since then, he has said, "Jesus lives in my heart now!" What a special Christmas joy! :)

Natalie's messy face after licking all the frosting off her tree. :)

Here is our Christmas countdown calendar - we did not do a great job of keeping up with this every day, but it was fun when we remembered to move the bear.  This was mine as a child, so it's neat to share it with the kids. :)

Zachary drawing with their Christmas present - these washable dot markers.

Natalie drawing with the dot markers. :)

Zachary was also in our church's Christmas program this month - he sang with the kids and also sat on the stage during the production (as a visiting neighbor kid).  He did a GREAT job, and took it very seriously, as you can see. :)

Here he is singing with the kids! :)

And Natalie celebrated her 2nd birthday!!!  She is such a joy, though she is definitely exhibiting signs of being two!  She wants to do everything herself, her way, and will not stand for being told otherwise. :)  Here she is getting ready to enjoy her dirt cake at her family birthday dinner. :)

And here she is enjoying dancing in her new tutu from her great-grandma! :)

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a blessed celebration of Christ's birthday! :)

Well, we're taking a few weeks off for a holiday break, then we'll be back towards the end of January with the letter M!  Hmmm...I need to do some school planning before then... :)  Hope everyone has a Happy New Year! :)   Check out what everyone else has done lately for Tot School and Preschool Corner! :)  

Who Believes in Santa Claus?

Well, not Zachary.

I always wondered what we'd tell our kids about Santa Claus. I think I remember discussing it with my hubby once or twice. I don't remember what our conclusion was. On one hand, telling your kids that Santa Claus brings them presents is a fun and innocent tradition that as far as I know, has never scarred anyone for life or led anyone to mistrust their parents' every word. I was a Santa believer as a small child, and it is a fun part of Christmas. On the other hand, it's just a story. It's not really true. So if I tell Zachary that Santa Claus is real, I am 'technically' lying to him.

Anyhow, through last year, when Z turned 3, we just kind of ignored the whole 'Santa' part of Christmas. We read about Jesus' birth and the Grinch and Rudolph and introduced the Santas we saw on TV & at the store as, "Oh, yep, that's Santa" without elaborate descriptions of his Christmas-Eve-chimney-naughty-or-nice-list-keeping ways. It was just as if we were saying, "Oh, yep, that's Spongebob (or some other cartoon character he would recognize)." No further explanation needed.

Now, somewhere in the last year, Z has heard stories of Santa and his gift giving habits, and in the process, has decided on his own that Santa is just a story. Just a man dressed up in a red suit that people like to pretend about at Christmastime. And I think that's fine. I'm definitely not going to try to convince him otherwise, especially since what he believes is actually the truth. I also think the idea of Santa being real makes him a little nervous, because he always seems to be reassured when I tell him that he's right, that Santa is just a story.

I have been trying to help him understand, though, that lots of children DO believe in Santa. I'm trying to keep him from going to Sunday School or MOPS and telling all of his 3 and 4 year old friends that Santa isn't real. He says, "Yeah, okay. Some people believe Santa is real. But not me. And not Natalie either." Like she has a clue. :)

So, if your child is Z's friend and he/she comes home and tells you that someone told him Santa is just a man in a suit, and you have to deal with the fallout, I'm so sorry.

So, what do your kids think about Santa? Do you tell your kids he's real, at least while they're young? I'd love to hear how other moms have dealt with the Santa Claus 'issue'!

My Week in Pictures

3 days overdue, heading to my induction at 5:00 pm on Monday, Dec. 21st.


Natalie Grace, around 5:20 on Tuesday, December 22nd.

Natalie with Mommy and Daddy.

Natalie with Daddy.

A hug from big brother. :)

Ready to go home from the hospital - around 6:00 on Wednesday, Dec. 23rd!

Z making Christmas cookies with his Grandma on Christmas Eve.

Natalie with one of her Christmas presents - a pink pig from one set of her Iowa grandparents. :)
Wearing her first headband, on Christmas Day. Doesn't she look thrilled with the hairdo?

And, finally, A Christmas picture - Natalie & Zachary with their grandparents - it has been so nice to have them here helping out since we've been home from the hospital! Unfortunately, Natalie decided to have her first blowout before we got OUR family Christmas picture. :( I'm sure we'll take one before long. :)

Hope everyone had an equally Merry Christmas!

Also, thank you to all who have been praying for us - and I can tell that you have - Natalie is doing excellent with nursing, and sleeping a decent amount, and I am just able to enjoy every minute with her. The first two days home from the hospital I was a little bit of an emotional/hormonal wreck, but I am feeling so much better, physically and emotionally these last couple of days, and I am SO thankful to be able to enjoy my daughter so much! Thank you for your prayers!!!