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Long before our girls were homeschooled, I tried to incorporate a study of Christmas Around the World into our Advent season. I must admit this is much easier to do in a homeschool setting. We simply have more time.
We are leaning strongly on curriculum found at teacherspayteachers.com by "The Teacher Next Door." It is called Christmas Around the World for Older Children. It is a great resource that includes mini-geography lessons as well as a story of Christmas customs from Canada to Japan and many places in between. We complete one country each morning and supplement with resources such as Countries of the World: An Atlas with Attitude and Maps. I have also found the picture book A World of Cookies for Santa very useful.
We also us the book Celebrate Christmas Around the World. I believe I have my mother to thank for passing this resource along to me. It covers a few countries not covered in the curriculum above. For those countries that are covered by both resources, this book provides crafts inspired by the country and often cooking projects. This book also incorporates Christmas carols. For example, this morning we studied Austria and learned how Silent Night was written in a small village in Austria. To supplement our discussions of Christmas carols, I use The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook, which provides a history of many favorite Christmas songs.
We use science curriculum from Elemental Science and I was thrilled when they sent me an email announcing their 25 Activities for Christmas Science. You can purchase this resource as a digital book and download it immediately for use. So far, my girls have enjoyed observing the difference in how a candy can melts in cold versus hot water. They have also built Lego mazes.
Long before our girls were homeschooled, I tried to incorporate a study of Christmas Around the World into our Advent season. I must admit this is much easier to do in a homeschool setting. We simply have more time.
We are leaning strongly on curriculum found at teacherspayteachers.com by "The Teacher Next Door." It is called Christmas Around the World for Older Children. It is a great resource that includes mini-geography lessons as well as a story of Christmas customs from Canada to Japan and many places in between. We complete one country each morning and supplement with resources such as Countries of the World: An Atlas with Attitude and Maps. I have also found the picture book A World of Cookies for Santa very useful.
We also us the book Celebrate Christmas Around the World. I believe I have my mother to thank for passing this resource along to me. It covers a few countries not covered in the curriculum above. For those countries that are covered by both resources, this book provides crafts inspired by the country and often cooking projects. This book also incorporates Christmas carols. For example, this morning we studied Austria and learned how Silent Night was written in a small village in Austria. To supplement our discussions of Christmas carols, I use The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook, which provides a history of many favorite Christmas songs.
We use science curriculum from Elemental Science and I was thrilled when they sent me an email announcing their 25 Activities for Christmas Science. You can purchase this resource as a digital book and download it immediately for use. So far, my girls have enjoyed observing the difference in how a candy can melts in cold versus hot water. They have also built Lego mazes.
While searching Instagram to get ideas for my own December reading (definitely follow the hashtags #dickensdecember and #bringbackchristmasghoststories), I happened upon a wonderful new resource from everyday-reading.com. By simply registering with the site, you receive a free children's reading Advent coloring calendar. This blogger even explains how to send it for printing to Staples or Office Depot to be printed as a large blueprint. We unroll this calendar each day and color as we listen to our Advent read aloud, Jotham's Journey. The calendar also provides a special suggestion for Christmas books each day, such as drink hot chocolate while you read. Today's suggestion was to ask a librarian for a recommendation. My niece is a librarian so we texted her for suggestions. Among other recommendations, she suggested Louisa May Alcott's A Christmas Dream and How It Came to Be True. Because Anne had just mentioned Louisa May Alcott (whom she remembered being referenced in The Penderwicks--her all-time favorite book), we decided upon that story.
Finally, I recommend listening to Maestro Classics Stories in Music The Nutcracker, which has Jim Weiss narrating the story of The Nutcracker over the music. This is wonderful to listen to in the car. Due to the tie in to Messiah, I also recommend Classical Kids Hallelujah Handel, which my children love.
I am sure other resources will pop into my mind that I have failed to mention here and I will attempt to update these recommendations throughout Advent. I hope this provides a nice starting point for your own planning.
I am sure other resources will pop into my mind that I have failed to mention here and I will attempt to update these recommendations throughout Advent. I hope this provides a nice starting point for your own planning.
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