Each year we take the whole month of December off-- no school at all. We spend December decorating and playing and resting and singing and reading through all of those
Christmas books we bring out once a year. We wrap and we buy or make gifts and cards and- the month flies by. Several times over the past few days I have chided myself for not just beginning our vacation time at Thanksgiving.
Why didn't I plan it that way?
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| {last night, decorating the tree} |
This past week was filled with family gatherings and we leapt into vacation mode. Yesterday we got our Christmas tree and brought the decorations out but today we have to pull back and get busy with school for our final week. I've decided this was poor planning on my part. (I keep wondering: has this not bothered me in previous years, or this is new?) Anyway: new note to self: When Thanksgiving hits, start vacation.
This was my solution this morning:
I took out our schedule and highlighted the "have-to's" for the week and listed them ALL on the board, with a note on top saying: "
When you've crossed off everything off your list, you're on vacation!!!" I'm pretty confident this means we'll have a day or two of school frenzy, but then we can start celebrating already. (We'll see. Isaac and Ella are already about halfway done with crossing off their lists, but Isaias opted out of school for the day in lieu of watching The Sound of Music with the little girls (movie.of.choice these days)).
How was your Thanksgiving? [What was the best thing you ate? The stuffing was my hands-down favorite this year.]
Funny, we did a similar thing today, I condensed the school list and after reading this I want to do it more! I only wish I had handwriting like yours! Best thing I ate: pecan pie and this carrot casserole with horseradish in it (didn't make either, a friend did:)
ReplyDeleteYay for Christmas vacation! And what darling little tree decorators!
ReplyDeleteI've had this same thought with school. I was planning to do school through Thursday but after the fun long weekend I am draaaging today. I usually break after Thanksgiving but Tuesday was our last day of CC for this term and I need a week to study our new material. But I like your self-paced checklist idea. :)
Happy Christmas season to you and the fam! Oh, and turkey. I DREAM of turkey.
Looking forward to our December vacation too. I hope to slow down, bake, sew, read, relax and fellowship. I pray the Holy Spirit fills your home and guides your every moment as you prepare and ponder the gift of Jesus!
ReplyDeleteYou are a wonderful Mama...you are amazingly organized. I think your neat.
xoxo
Kimmie
mama to 8
one homemade and 7 adopted
Your December plans sound perfect. I hope you enjoy them all to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteWe took the whole "Thanksgiving Week" off from school but like you we are doing school this week.
Thank you again for your loving prayers and encouragement to me through these difficult months on our lives!
We continue on with school through December, but we take the whole month of January off. Still, I did something similar. I made a list of all the things we need to accomplish before our big break and once we finish, we are free to start the vacation early. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs far as Thanksgiving, it was a tie between the stuffing and the sweet potato casserole.
We consider the two weeks after Thanksgiving as school days, but the school load I have planned is significantly less. Most subjects I plan into the other 34 weeks we do school, but some are just made to be done in 36 weeks. So we do only those subjects for these two weeks and spend the rest of the time doing Christmas stuff, but a lot of it can be considered "school work" so we count these weeks as school. Then we take the next four weeks off completely. This is our second year doing it this way, because my first year homeschooling I went crazy about all the school work we had to accomplish after Thanksgiving when I just wanted to do Christmas stuff.
ReplyDelete:) (Sorry I'm short on words, but glad to hear about your plans. )
ReplyDeleteChristy~
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike! I hope you have a wonderful vacation-time with your kids! (Can you believe I have YET to have a slice of pecan pie? I mean- EVER in my life. I just always opt for the pumpkin when there's a choice! I need to try that....)
Jodi~
YAY is right. They finished everything on Tuesday (so my predictions were spot on) and now we get to play. :) I want to know your thoughts on CC... are you liking it? (ps- reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever aloud to the kids right now and they are giggling through it and loving it. :))
Kimmie~
Hooray! And thank you for your sweet words of encouragement. That's my prayer, too- (that the HS would fill our home and guide our moments).
Love you, friend.
LeAnn~
I hope to. :)
Hugs and prayers for you, friend!
Kristin~
REALLY? You go all the way through to Christmas? You should win an award for that, I think. ;) But yay about January break. It's coming!
Angela~
That's smart- less school those two weeks. That's how I narrowed down my list on Monday- we only did the stuff that had to be done in our 36-wk rotation. (I think I'm looking forward to the break more than the kids are! I'm just ready for one thing to disappear from my plate for awhile...)
Heather,
Thank you for commenting anyway! :)
Have a wonderful day, all!
~Stacy
The best thing I ate on Thanksgiving? Your sweet potatoes. My mouth waters just thinking about them now. Yummmm.
ReplyDeleteAnd ... I think in years past you have just begun the break at Thanksgiving, but this year I was planning with you and I suggested you just go ahead and do school that week. Sorry.