Dear Home School Solutions Friends,

I will be taking a break from blogging for the Christmas holiday. Although, if the writing bug strikes, I may add a little something.

Do check back once the new year begins. I will be sharing one of my all-time favorite poems. It always makes me thankful for a fresh start in January.

Feel free to enter your questions into the guest book during the Christmas break. I checked out several books from our local home school resource center today, and I'm hoping to do a lot of reading over the break. If I know what questions you have, I'll be sure to keep my eyes open for you.

Have a merry Christmas!
Mrs. Sherry

Here are a couple of fun and simple last minute Christmas projects to try this week (in your spare time).

Cinnamon Smelly Ornaments

This recipe makes 7-10 ornaments; I usually double or triple the recipe and make a bunch. Your house will smell so good while these dry in the oven!

Ingredients and Supplies:
8 Tablespoons cinnamon
6 Tablespoons applesauce (get a big cheap jar at Aldi's)
spoon
bowl
wax paper
rolling pin
cookie cutters
toothpicks
cooling racks and cookie trays
narrow ribbon

Directions:
(Note: Remind children not to rub their eyes when working with cinnamon!)
1. Mix cinnamon and applesauce in bowl with spoon.
2. Knead the dough and form 2 balls. (If it seems too dry, add more applesauce.)
3. Roll dough out 1/4 inch thick on wax paper sprinkled with cinnamon.
4. Cut out shapes from the dough with cookie cutters.
5. Make a hole in the top of each shape with a toothpick so that the narrow ribbon can be threaded through it.
6. Place shapes on cooling racks placed on cookie trays. Dry the shapes 3-4 hours in a 150 degree oven. (I'm thinking I've just put mine directly onto cookie sheets in the past, but I don't remember. If you try this project this year, let me know how you do it.)
7. When cool, add a ribbon for hanging.

These make great ornaments, package toppers and simple gifts for friends and neighbors!


HERE'S ANOTHER IDEA JUST FOR FUN! AND IT'S SO SIMPLE!

Bag of Reindeer Noses

Supplies:
Red Hot Candies, Red M&M's or other round, red candy
Small snack sized baggies
copies of poem
optional picture of Rudolph for kids to color
stapler

Directions:
1. Fill baggie with red candies.
2. If desired, print off and have your kids color small pictures of Rudolph to attach to bags. (see DLTK.com or educpics.com for pictures).
3. Copy the poem below and attach to the back of the pictures. Staple a picture/poem to each bag.

The poem:
I wanted the perfect gift for you,
But couldn't decide just what to do!
I almost sent you a dozen roses-
Instead here's a bag of reindeer noses!

All of your kids' friends will think this is so fun, and Grandmas will get a kick out of it, too.

Have fun this week! Don't worry if you don't get a lot of "school" work done. I can tell you from experience that the kids in private or public schools won't be getting much done this week, either.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

My friend Christine (thank you, thank you!) just sent me information about this amazing website from which you can download FREE curriculum! That's right: FREE!

I did a little surfing and found some really incredible things. If you enjoy a classical or Charlotte Mason spin on education, you'll particularly enjoy this site.

There's an entire elementary grammar/writing curriculum available from Scott/Foresman on this site. It's definitely worth checking into, at least as a supplement.

It also has LOTS of classical literature (Shakespeare, Dickens, etc.) that you can download, even edit if you have need, and print!

The site is:
http://oldfashionededucation.com

I recently printed off several pages (from a variety of sites)of adorable activities to use in an upcoming early childhood workshop I'm teaching called "Cookie Capers." (It's going to be so-o-o-o fun!) My husband commented, "Why does anyone even buy books anymore? You got all of this on-line?"

While that's great for me as a reader, I'm not sure that's so great for me as a writer. ???

I'm always interested in finding great new websites. If you come across any, please share your treasure with us!

Look for another fun, last-minute Christmas craft idea here tomorrow.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

Q: Do you have to register with Blogstream to leave a comment on this site?

A: One of my friends just let me know that she was asked to register as a Blogstream member in order to leave comments on my blog; I didn't realize this before!

In case you have any reservations about registering, I can just say from my experience that I've received no unsolicited emails as a result of my membership with Blogstream. As far as I can tell, it's a safe place to enter your e-mail information.

So, I'd encourage you to click on "add a comment" and go ahead and register. I'd love to have your participation with this blog.

Happy Blogging!
Mrs. Sherry

I'm always looking for creative Christmas crafts that are easy; I especially love ideas that share the true meaning of the season.

Last year, I attached the poem, "Christmas Prayer," (below) to hand-sewn felt heart ornaments and gave them to neighbors who came over for a cookie exchange. The materials lists and directions are below. This is a great project for teaching simple stitching to your kids!

Materials Needed:
Red, White or Green felt, cut into heart shapes (2 hearts per craft)
cotton batting
contrasting yarn, divided into single strands
needle
copies of poem (I type the poem so that multiple copies are printed on a page, then I use fun-edged scissors to cut out the poem, and I mount it on coordinating tag board. I use a cute rubber stamp with an image of Baby Jesus that says "A Child is Born" on the back of the tag.)

Directions:
Use a simple stitch to sew 2 hearts together. Leave a small opening, and stuff with batting. Finish up the sewing. Add a yarn loop at the top to make a hanger for your ornament. Punch a hole through the poem, and thread it onto the hanger. Voila! (Thanks to my friend, Jodi, who taught me how to make the felt hearts and spent time with me sewing dozens of them!)

No-sew adaptations:
Simply cut heart shapes from tag board using fun-edged scissors; punch a hole through the top of the heart, and thread yarn through for the hanger. Glue a copy of the poem on the heart, and embellish with buttons, festive scrapbooking paper, or other fun accessories as desired. You could also punch holes all the way around the edges of two hearts cut from brown kraft paper, and ask your child to lace them together with yarn. As with the sewn version, you'd need to stop before it's completely sewn together to stuff it with batting.

Poem:

"Christmas Prayer" by Ralph S. Cushman

Let not our hearts be busy inns,
That have no room for Thee,
But cradles for the Living Christ,
And His Nativity.

I hope you sew lots of hearts and give them away with love to neighbors, teachers, friends and family members this Christmas.

I'd love for you to post your Christmas craft ideas and favorite poems!

Happy Crafting!
Mrs. Sherry