Friday, November 21, 2025
Monday, November 17, 2025
Including the Kids in Thanksgiving
*Originally posted on 11/16/15. Enjoy!
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday to focus on family, friends, and blessings. It's a quiet holiday just before Christmas. No presents, no huge holiday displays... just a thankful heart to give and receive. And dare I say, it's one of the most important holidays on the calendar.
But for a kid, Thanksgiving can be quite lackluster. No wrapping paper to throw off, no holiday music, cold weather, and football. How can we better include them in this important celebration?
Here are just a few ideas:
1. Create a Thankful tree-- Find a pretty vase and have the kids gather some sticks and rocks and start the tree. Then add tags or colorful construction paper leaves. Have the kids write down something they're thankful for, then interview others and include theirs as well. See how many things you can find the be thankful for.
2. Have them set the table-- Thanksgiving is filled with pretty plates, cloth napkins, and shiny silverware. It fun to set the table all fancy with vases and runners. And it's a great time to learn about proper place settings and etiquette. You might be surprised which of your kids gets the decorating bug.
3. Include them in creating a snack platter-- Appetizer and snack platters are fun to create with little hands. Have them slice olives and fruit, arrange pickles, create a vegetable turkey, or mix up the dip.
4. Or a special dessert-- We're making pretzel turkeys this year, but why not decorate cupcakes to go with the pie? Or stir up a fruit dip? My kids love helping run the mixer or learn to make homemade whipped cream. Kids love being in the kitchen, and since most desserts can be made ahead of time, including them in making dessert avoids a time crunch.
5. Read a Thanksgiving book together-- Snuggling up with a good book together is always a great way to spend an afternoon. Some of our favorites include: The Bernstein Bears Give Thanks, Turkey Surprise, The Thanksgiving Story, The Very First Thanksgiving Day, and This First Thanksgiving Day.
6. Or watch a special Thanksgiving video-- We love watching Walton's movies on Thanksgiving. Or why not pop in old family movies and walk down memory lane? Or create your own family movie on Thanksgiving. Interview other members of the family. What are they thankful for? What do they remember about Thanksgivings past?
7. Create Thanksgiving crafts-- Create a fingerprint fall tree with the kids' fingerprints. Make a paper bag thankful book with a turkey on the cover. Play Thanksgiving Bingo. There are so many turkey crafts out there. Go browse through Pinterest. :-)
How are you including your kids in Thanksgiving this year?
Friday, November 14, 2025
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Yes' and No's in Our Homeschool This Year
Every homeschool year comes with its own unique opportunities and challenges. Some years are full and busy. Some require use to pull in closer to home and nurture family relationships. When I look back over our family's journey, I can see the ebb and flow of these seasons and the opportunities the Lord placed in our path... some for a year or two, and some for the life of our homeschool.
With that in mind, I approached 2025-26 with fresh eyes to see what God was doing THIS year. What was He asking us to say yes to? What was He asking us to lay down? And where did we have choices to explore?
For this year of homeschooling two high schoolers, I had to remember that every "yes" would require a "no. " When I wanted to say yes, I had to ask myself what I was willing to lay down... and was the trade-off worth it? In some areas, we scaled back, and in others, we went full throttle ahead. I really wanted to make the most of the final year of homeschooling my daughter. So a lot of our "yes" areas focused on relationship and memory-building.
Ways We're Saying Yes in 2025-26:
*Homeschool Group-- Over the years, I've looked at various homeschool co-ops and groups, but never felt right about joining one. Either they were too rigid, too transient, or just too expensive. This year, we happened to fall into a group that's just right for us. It's a group of 5 families that meet once a week, focused on discipleship and relationship-building. Our time is filled with worship, games, and teaching that leaves us all feeling refreshed and filled. Instead of taking away from our homeschool, it has only added to it.
*More Field Trips-- Since 2020, our available field trip opportunities have really changed. About two years ago, I started to get brave and organize my own field trips for the kids. We've found a few new opportunities, but this year, I'm reaching further beyond my comfort zone and leading us into new places, both for the experience and for learning and trying new things together.
*Allowing my Son to Do more Cooking--My daughter has always been the one of my kids to do most of the baking and cooking, but my 14-year-old recently showed an interest in learning to cook more. So I'm pulling him into the kitchen with me more often. We're also researching and cooking 1-2 new meals a month based on our geography study. He's learning a lot of practical skills as well as what he likes and what he doesn't.
*More Science Experiments--I've never been very good at incorporating science experiments into our homeschool, but I do really see the value. With my youngest doing Biology this year, I decided I could be brave and incorporate more experiments into our homeschool. I'm going to say that we'll definitely be dissecting a frog, but I am trying to incorporate more hands-on learning.
And Where We're Saying No:
1. Serving a Hot Meal 3x/ Week--My kids get up and eat at all times of the day. I have one that's up early, and one that's pulling out of bed just in time for Morning Basket. One is watching the clock for meal time, the other is always eating late to accommodate her dance schedule. So I just cook dinner. Everything else is just on your own.
2. Mom Doing ALL the Teaching-- With two kids in high school, I just can't teach it all. I can keep up with the main subjects, but once kids get into electives and specialized classes, I'm in over my head. Anatomy? Forget it! I've done some outsourcing this year with my senior's Civics class (Michael Farris' American Civics is amazing), and my freshman is the first in our family to use Shormann Math (I love that the high school math is integrated).
3. Chess class-- It hurt to let his one go. It really did. And we still drop into the local Chess club about once a month. But the trade-off for a 2x/week class wasn't worth it. Something had to give. My hope is to re-evaluate next year and possibly host a club in our home. But for now, it's back to playing with big brother.
What are You Saying Yes and No to In Your Homeschool?
Monday, November 10, 2025
Planning a Thanksgiving Unit Study
It's November, and that means just over 3 weeks until Thanksgiving. This year I wanted to share the holiday with my kids in a way that focuses on gratitude, love, and family. So I went searching for fun, nostalgic stories and activities to sprinkle into our homeschool throughout the month. And I came to find that there were so many good ideas that we probably won't get through them all. So if you're looking for some family-centered ideas for your homeschool, I hope you'll find lots of inspiration here.
Reading Ideas:
*An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
--Watch the Hallmark version here
*Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf
*Over the River and Through the Woods by Lydia Maria Child
*Twas the Night before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
*Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson
*Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin
Poetry & Essays:
*We Thank Thee by Robert Louis Stevenson
*Hunting the Deceitful Turkey by Mark Twain
*Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner by Lucy Maude Montgomery
Author Study:
Grammar:
*Thanksgiving Writing and Grammar
Math:
*Thanksgiving Math and Logic Puzzles
*Thanksgiving Dinner Shopping (including sales flyers, budgeting, quantities to purchase for a crowd, etc)
Science & Baking:
Art & Music:
*Over the River and Through the Woods unit study
Handicrafts:
*15 Thanksgiving Yummy & Crafty Ideas
*Hand dipped candles
*Popcorn Garlands
*Corn husk dolls
Family Activities:
*Including the Kids in Thanksgiving
*10 Thanksgiving Ideas for Christian Families
*Giving Thanks Family Traditions
*Thanksgiving Family Traditions
How are you bringing Thanksgiving into your home?
Friday, November 7, 2025
Monday, November 3, 2025
Incorporating a Cranberry Thanksgiving Into Your Homeschool
*This post was originally published on 11/20/23. Enjoy!
A few years ago, we came across the classic picture book, A Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin. This charming story introduces us to Maggie and her grandmother preparing for Thanksgiving. While Maggie and Mr. Whiskers gather firewood, Grandmother creates her famous Cranberry bread... a recipe so famous that she hides it to keep it a secret. As part of their tradition, Maggie and Grandmother each invite a guest to share their Thanksgiving dinner... Mr. Whiskers and Mr. Horace. The story is fun, unexpected, and holds an important message: "Don't judge a book by its cover." Paired with the themes of friendship and hospitality, A Cranberry Thanksgiving has become a family favorite.
Reading A Cranberry Thanksgiving is a great starting place for even more cranberry unit study activities. Included in the back of the book is Grandmother's super secret Cranberry Bead recipe. Apparently, it's not a secret anymore. And while pumpkin typically dominates in fall flavors, this cranberry recipe is really quite tasty. We typically make muffins for Friday morning breakfast, so we've adapted the bread recipe and baked them together after reading the book. They definitely satisfy the "comfort food" craving.
Baking offers a multitude of learning activities. Reading a recipe involves reading comprehension, attention to detail, and sequential thinking. Math concepts abound with measurements, fractions and even multiplication and division. Science is part of the process as well, making it a full activity.
While the muffins are baking, it's a great time to talk about plot, setting, and themes. The book does a great job of contrasting all four major characters and their motivation in the story. And this simple picture book follows a classic story arc, making it a great example to study.
Chalk Pastels also offers a lesson on creating Mr. Whiskers from the book. The lines are simple and basic for beginners, but the end result is very satisfying. It really does look like him! There's also a silhouette lesson for artists who want to take it a step further.
If you have older students and want to take it a step further, here are several other resources we've found:
*Ocean Spray's Cranberries in the Classroom website
*Make a cranberry bog in a cup
*Use cranberries to determine acids and bases
*Create a Cranberry Thanksgiving lap book
*Build a cranberry raft
*and so much more!
What fun activities would you include?
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