Gifts

Ever try ranking your blessings?

That's what I'm musing about today on the Sonlight Blog.

The Greatest Story

I'm blogging today on the Sonlight blog about the Greatest Story ever.
Wishing you a wonderful day as you celebrate His coming!

Favorite Christmas Activities

I'm blogging about some of my favorite Christmas activities on the Sonlight blog today. I'd love to hear about yours, too! Please leave me a comment over there!

Pre-Christmas Excitement

Visit the Sonlight Blog to read my post about how to keep your kids occupied during the week before Christmas.

Traditions and Non-Traditions

Visit the Sonlight Blog to read my post on Traditions and Non-Traditions.

4th of July Learning Activities

Here are some links I found with great ideas for learning about and celebrating Independence Day! Enjoy!

Crafts:
Firecracker Favors
Fireworks Flowers
Fourth of July Wreath
Independence Day Crafts
Independence Day Shaker
Parade Stick
Patriotic Candle Jar
Patriotic Flip-Flops
Patriotic Punch Cups
Stars and Stripes Shirt

Printables:
Fourth of July Coloring Pages
Fourth of July Crafts and Games
Fourth of July Worksheets
Independence Day Coloring Pages
Patriotic Pinwheel
United States Coloring Pages
U.S.A. Paper Airplane

Recipes:
Fourth of July Cake
Fourth of July Desserts
Fourth of July Jello Salad
July 4th Treats
Lemon Bar Flags
Patriotic Cake Balls
Patriotic Crispy Rice Sparklers
Patriotic Pastries
Red, White and Blue Delight

Memorial Day

"Memorial Day, the last Monday of May, is the day we honor Americans who gave their lives in military service.

This holiday was originally called Decoration Day and honored soldiers who had died during the Civil War. Immediately after the war, various towns in the North and South began to set aside days to decorate soldiers' graves with flowers and flags...

The first widespread observance of Decoration Day came on May 30, 1868, which Maj. Gen. John A. Logan proclaimed as a day to honor the dead. General James Garfield (later the twentieth U.S. president) gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery in remembrance of fallen soldiers, saying that

'for love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.'

Afterward, 5,000 people helped decorate the graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers.

Over the years the day became an occasion to remember the dead in all American wars, and came to be known as Memorial Day.

On the Thursday before Memorial Day, in a tradition known as 'Flags-in,' the soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small flags before more than a quarter million gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol twenty-four hours a day to make sure each flag remains standing throughout the weekend. On Memorial Day the president or vice president lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the cemetery.

According to the U.S. flag code, American flags should be flown at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, then raised to the top of the pole. At 3:00 p.m. local time, all Americans are asked to pause for a moment of remembrance."

--The American Patriot's Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb

Resurrection Cookies

How do you celebrate Holy Week and Easter in your homeschool? One year, when my children were younger we made "Resurrection Cookies" as a family the night before Easter. It was a meaningful devotional time and the confections were yummy! Here's the recipe we used:

Resurrection Cookies

• 1 cup whole pecans
  
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• Plastic Ziploc Baggie
• Wooden spoon
• Rolling pin
• Tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. (Do this before doing anything else.)

• Place nuts in baggie and beat them with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3
• Open the vinegar and let everyone smell it. Put 1 teaspoon into the mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, all He was given to drink was vinegar. Read John 19:28-30
• Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11
• Put a little salt into each person’s hand. Let them taste it, then brush the rest into the bowl. (If you have lots of kids, put a pinch of salt in yourself, and then let each child taste the salt…otherwise there will be too much salt in the recipe) Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27
• So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Sprinkle a little sugar into each person’s hand. Let them taste it, then brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16
• Beat with mixer on high speed for 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents our purity in God’s eyes because our sins are cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18
• Fold in nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60
• Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and TURN THE OVEN OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door shut. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66
• Now go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22
• On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the third day, Jesus followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9

He is Risen!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Do you have plans to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your homeschool? I don't have anything special planned this year... but boy, my friend Farrah @ Light in the Sphere does! She's going all out to celebrate the "wearin' o' the green" with her little boy! Check out her post on how they're going to turn the water green and all sorts of other mischief! Sounds like fun!

Other years we have enjoyed reading about the "real" St. Patrick. One especially good biography is Flame Over Tara. It is part of Sonlight's Core 6 program.