Today was our 3rd family presentation.  And let me just say the prior 50 experiences seem to have paid off!  We decided to tell the school about our up-coming trip to Guatemala.  I introduced us and wrapped up.  But the boys told everyone about the places we’re planning to see.

For about a minute each.

But still.

They just turned 6 and they are comfortable standing in front of a group of 75+ people – adults as well as other kids – and talking knowledgeably about a subject!

These boys - the sons of a mother who truly would have opted in college to be shot rather than having to give a speech in front of a class (fortunately, as it turns out, her professor didn’t allow for the former option, so Mamacita had to get over it).

I was up there with them, so I don’t have a picture.  But, as is part of the deal with these things, I DO have witnesses!  Some of whom have watched from the beginning.  The first year when two tiny 4-year-olds hid behind my legs as I presented something we were learning that year.  (They were supposed to be speaking along with me, but no…).  The second year, when they didn’t exactly hide behind my legs but would only give one-word answers to questions I’d thought of ahead of time.  And now, year three, they’re speaking.  In complete sentences.

AND we don’t have to do the “big” family presentation again for another year.

So, for those of you who think we home schoolers are plotting to take over the world, why yes, yes we are.  My kids can never be President, but who wants all that stress anyway?  They’re gonna be ready for something.  Can’t wait to see what.

(I like to paper my gardens before I mulch, to keep the weeds down longer.)

Now I realize that there are some moms out there gasping in horror.  Yes, I did scan a few sample pages before I got rid of them all.  But no, I don’t keep any actual papers.  Sacrilige, I know.  What WILL the boys have to look at when they’re grown?!  But there it is.  I hardly deserve to be called a home schooling mom. 

BUT it did help me get my garden beds from THIS mess:

to THIS:

… in one afternoon.

Ah, yes, there ARE several DISTINCT plant varieties in that garden bed.  I THOUGHT so… but became unsure for a while.

Reduce, recycle, reuse, right?

Plus some day when I’m adding a new plant to the bed, I’ll run across a misshapen letter “Q” as I dig … and just smile. 

What do you do with YOUR children’s old school papers?

And so it has justified getting it’s own dedicated space. 

I spent the last week organizing our stuff and then laminating and hanging wall-charts that go with what we’re learning this year, and at this point, the room’s pretty much all it’s ever going to be for this school year anyway.

And all down-low where short people can see (makes me smile every time I walk through).

And so I post for the benefit of our friends who have already done the same and whose ideas I’ve already stolen and for those who love to steal ideas as much as I do:

Bookcases of supplies, Oregon Scientific Smart Globe [we recommend!!!], maps, solar system diagrams, large bouncy balls to sit on when we’re having trouble with “the fidgets” and can’t handle a regular chair, backpacks for co-op days, CD player, pencil sharpener, wall-pocket chart for memory work

(until the chandelier gets moved to its rightful place, the desks sit under it “so I don’t bump my head on it”…’cept I still do, when I’m leaning over to see the boys’ work… )

Phonics charts, Family Values chart, library books on all the topics we’re currently studying, art supplies, etc.

(yes there will  be a banister on that side of the stairs… someday… probably before our next adoption home inspection)

Heriberto’s favorite thing – the kids’ monthly calendar, which he checks every day to see what things are coming up…

(room done; Christmas decor still to be removed…)

For now, though, here’s the story of the First Christmas, foreshortened a bit by this Mama who’s about done spending time with hot glue and toilet paper tubes! 

The Christmas Story

(Taken from Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2: 1-40, Matthew 2:1-21)

During the reign of King Herod of Judea, God sent an angel named Gabriel to the home of a young woman named Mary who lived in the town of Nazareth in Galilee.

He said to her, “Greetings, highly favored one!  The Lord is with you.”

Mary  was startled and a little bit scared.  But the angel said to her, “Don’t be frightened.  God loves you very much and is pleased with how you are living your life.  He is going to give you a child – a son – and you are to name him Jesus.  He will be unlike any other person and will be called the Son of God.  He will be the King over God’s people forever.”

“How can this happen?” Mary asked, “I am a virgin.”

 The angel explained, “Nothing is impossible with God.  The Holy Spirit will come and make this happen, so that the child to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 Mary answered, “I am the Lord’s servant; so let everything happen as you have said.”  And Gabriel left her.

 Now Mary was engaged to marry a man named Joseph,

but when he found out she was having a baby and knew it was not his child, he planned to break off the engagement quietly.  He was a good man and though he was upset, he did not want to publicly humiliate Mary for what she had done.  But after he had made his decision, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him about God’s plan and Mary’s role as Jesus’ mother.

“She will have a son, God’s Son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” the angel told Joseph.  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had told him and married Mary and brought her into his home.

But during that time, the Roman ruler, Caesar Augustus, decided he wanted to count all the subjects in his empire, so he issued a decree that everyone man had to take his family and go to his home town to register.  So Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he was one of David’s descendants.  There were so many travelers in Bethlehem, however, that they could not find any place to stay.  Mary was very close to having her baby, and finally, one of the innkeepers felt sorry for them and offered them the use of his stable.

While they were there, Jesus was born.  Mary wrapped him up in strips of cloth and put him in a manger.

Just outside of town, there were shepherds living out in the fields, taking care of their sheep that night. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the space around him lit up.  The shepherds were terrified!  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I have great news to tell you!  Today, in Bethlehem, a Savior has been born; he is Christ the Lord.  You’ll know it’s him: he’s wrapped up in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly, a crowd of angels appeared, calling out “Glory to God in heaven, and peace on earth for his chosen people.” 

When the angels left, the shepherds hurried into Bethlehem to see this baby about whom they’d been told.  They found Joseph, Mary, and little Jesus lying in the manger.

They were so excited they told everyone they passed as they returned to their sheep.  The people who heard them were surprised!  But Mary quietly thought about everything in her heart.

Eight days after his birth, it was time for Jesus to be circumcised and dedicated to the Lord, so Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple in Jerusalem.

There was a holy man in Jerusalem named Simeon who sensed the Holy Spirit prompting him to visit the Temple that day.  God had promised Simeon that he would not die before seeing the promised Messiah.  When he saw Jesus, he knew this was the One, so he took him in his arms and thanked God for him. 

That same day, there was also a prophetess named Anna who lived in the Temple and was waiting for the Messiah.  When she met Mary and Joseph and Jesus, she knew he was the One, and she also thanked God for him.

Meanwhile, Magi from the east had seen a star in the sky and traveled to Jerusalem looking for a newborn king. 

They arrived at King Herod’s palace, expecting the baby to be there.  But King Herod knew nothing about it and was very worried because he didn’t want a new king to have been born.  He asked the chief priests and teachers of the law to tell him where the Christ was to be born, and they told him, “in Bethlehem.”

So King Herod called the Magi back to meet with him secretly, and he told them to go to Bethlehem, find the child, and then report back to him so he could go worship him too.  The wise men went on their way, following the star till it stopped over the house where Jesus and his parents were.  They were overjoyed to meet him, and they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

But they were warned in a dream not to return to King Herod, so the wise men went home a different way.

When they had left, God sent an angel to warn Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus and run away to Egypt because Herod was jealous of Jesus and wanted to kill him.  So Joseph packed up his family, and they fled.

Herod soon realized he had been tricked by the Magi and that they weren’t coming back.  Furious, he ordered his soldiers to go to Bethlehem and to the villages around it and to kill every boy who was two years old or younger.  He would be the only king, he thought.

But God had already protected Jesus and his parents and they were safely out of the way of Herod’s soldiers.  Once Herod died, an angel visited Joseph in another dream and told him it was safe to return to Israel.  But when Joseph heard that Herod’s son Archelaus was the new king, he decided to avoid Judea and took Mary and Jesus to Galilee instead.  And so Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

—————————————————————————- 

(The Whole Cast)

I’m homeschooling the twins this year, but I didn’t want them to miss out on the humor of looking back on their 5 year old handiwork.  So this Christmas season, we’re building our own extended Nativity scene, a little bit each day.  We read part of the story every morning (2nd time through the whole thing, already); and then we build whatever we decide we want to work on.  And when we’re bored with it (or the paint’s still sticky and we can’t move forward till it’s dry), we stop.

Today was King Herod & his soldiers (mostly because the boys couldn’t wait to make spears).  Tomorrow?  Who knows.  But I’ll be sure to post the complete masterpiece when we’re done!

TO BE CONTINUED…