Happy Advent!
December 2 found us following our family tradition--we turned up the Christmas tunes, pulled out all the decorations, and enjoyed the first Christmas treats of the season! Usually that Christmas treat is hot chocolate and a batch of cookies, but when you live in the tropics and it's in the mid-80s on the first Sunday of Advent, you skip the cocoa and serve up homemade candy cane ice cream instead! Yummm!

The girls' tree (yes, we have two; the second is a Chrismon tree) and the play-friendly nativity sets ended up in the study this year. The girls had a blast putting up their tree--they even assembled it and put on the lights--and they've added new handmade ornaments every day. Lion's are scherenschnitted and involve copious amounts of glitter, and Bug's are origami. Monkey hasn't contributed any yet, but she's been busy with other projects. The nativity sets have gotten lots of use too, as the girls have done dramatic reenactments of Christmas stories (not just the story, the girls like to change around the PlayMobil parts and play out other Christmassy tales.

This is why we ditch formal lessons during Advent. It gives us a chance to slow down, work on craft projects, write Christmas cards, spend more time reading (including my personal favorite--Dicken's A Christmas Carol), make cookies, play games, sing Christmas carols along with our daily Advent devotional, and make or buy thoughtful gifts for each other.

We have decorations outside too! There's also a wreath on the door
and candles in the upstairs windows. Those little lanterns each feature
a silhouetted nativity scene.

For their school's Christmas recital, the girls decided to form a trio and play "Silent Night." This was their first time playing together (or with any other musicians at all). They were also the only group in their school to perform without a teacher on stage with them. We're so proud! (Hopefully, the video below loaded properly and you can watch too.)

African collar necklaces

Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa!

Our local library sponsored a holiday storytime about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. We attended with some homeschool friends, and learned the origins of each holiday, listened to some fun stories, ate snacks, and completed several crafts. 

Paper & pipe cleaner menorahs