We like to take the month of December each year for a little 'Christmas-schooling,' covering our major subjects while also adding in the joy and excitement of the holiday season! As you know, we LOVE all things history, and this took us down the rabbit trail of Colonial-era Yuletide...
All of these photos depict projects from the Colonial Christmas unit!
I could spend several hours trying to dig up resources, but The Homeschool Garden has already done the work for me (and really, who has that kind of time anymore?). They have twenty-five subject sessions, plus five different Advent studies, and you're sure to find a few that intrigue your family! Each morning, we work together for about thirty minutes on a group study. Fine arts, music, history, nature study, cooking, read-aloud, hand-crafts, Shakespeare, and art history are all included.
The lesson plans are broken down into twenty-five bite-sized chunks, so that you can incorporate a little bit into each day. There is also an advent calendar, for students to open the circle and find out what the day's activity is....however, we were never great at following instructions. For our family, we took the entire curriculum and broke it into a five-day FUN week! This 25-day session (or one week session, if you want to be a rule-breaker, too) covers:
- history
- nature study
- read alouds (with a recommended reading list)
- hand-crafts
- baking
- poetry tea time
- life skills
- music & hymns
- art study
- artist study
- composer study
- copywork
A Colonial Christmas
The Advent session we are currently using is A Colonial Christmas. The boys are all about history and the Revolutionary War era, so this one was their first choice for Christmas. In this unit we covered:- Thirteen colonies - history & geography
- Jean Leon Gerome Ferris - artist
- Rococo style landscapes
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson - poetry & copywork
- Bibical Advent readings - literature
- Tansy, candies, and ginger cake - baking
- Battle of Bunker Hill - history read aloud
- Garland, tin punch, and silhouettes - handicraft / art
- (3) Colonial Games + Advent calendar
You have the option of downloading the materials and using things offline, or logging into your account and accessing all of the lessons and materials digitally. One advantage to going online is that a few of the activities have videos to accompany them. Using The Homeschool Garden will provide you with a Charlotte Mason, family-style approach that allows you to enjoy learning alongside your teens!
Looking for more holiday sessions? Check out the Thankful unit (for Thanksgiving) or any of these four additional Advent sessions: Homespun Hallelujah, A Gentle Advent, Further Up Further In, or Jesse Tree.
Snag your copy of A Colonial Christmas!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.