An early addition math game

He doesn't look happy, but he really enjoyed this game!

I drew a rainbow arc and divided it into 11 sections. I numbered them 2 through 12.

Nicholas rolled the dice and added the two together. He them colored that section of the rainbow.

St. Nicholas Day, revisited

Because St. Nicholas Day was on a Sunday, our celebrations were a bit rushed. Not only was there the whole "clergy family" thing to contend with, but the children's choir, which my two oldest are members of and which I direct, was singing at the 8:15 service.

Saturday night, we set out our shoes in front of the fireplace along with a carrot for St. Nicholas's horse.


Daniel tried to confiscate it, but we saved the carrot!


Then we all curled up and read our favorite St. Nicholas Day book, The Baker's Dozen: A St. Nicholas Tale.


We kept things pretty simple, or should I say St. Nicholas did-- just some chocolate coins, a peppermint stick, and a small chocolate St. Nick.


And today, some wooden "cookies" along with another visit with the book.

Nicholas, give me the spirit of giving.
Teach me that it really is
more blessed to give than to receive,
and that to whom much has been given
much will be expected.
Help me to overcome my fears
that if I give generously
I will suffer want.

Advent Evening Prayer

I posted our morning prayer a few days ago. This is what we've been doing for evening prayer.

First, we make the Sign of the Cross.

Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks be to God.

We light the candle(s) on the Advent wreath as we sing, to the tune of the Doxology.
Creator of the stars of night,
Your people's everlasting light,
O Christ, Redeemer of us all,
We pray you hear us when we call.

Come, Sun and Savior, to embrace
Our gloomy world, it's weary race,
As groom to bride, as bride to groom,
The wedding chamber, Mary's womb.

At your great name, O Jesus, now
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow.
All things on earth with one accord
Like those in heav'n shall call you Lord.

Psalm 146
Praise the Lord, my heart!
My whole life give praise.
Let me sing to God
as long as I live.
The Lord keeps faith forever,
giving food to the hungry,
justice to the poor,
freedom to captives.

The Lord opens blind eyes
and straightens the bent,
comforting widows and orphans,
protecting the stranger.
The Lord loves the just
but blocks the path of the wicked.

Zion, praise the Lord!
Your God reigns forever,
from generation to generation.
Hallelujah!

If we didn't read the Scripture or saint's story this morning, we read it now.

Intercessory prayer-- we each take a turn, followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation.
You bring forth light from darkness.

It's all right to cry

Let your tears come. Let them water your soul. ~Eileen Mayhew

There's something within us that abhors tears. We've been conditioned to stop them--both our own and others-- at any cost.

A crying baby is like nails on a chalkboard, and our society seems to have adopted two tacts for dealing: let the baby cry it out somewhere alone, or stop the baby from crying at all.

Crying it out seems to stem from the idea that babies are somehow using their tears to manipulate us, and that this is an unattractive character trait that shouldn't be rewarded with attention of any sort. We have a fear of "spoiling" our babies that, coupled with the extolling of independence as a virtue, has led us as a culture to adopt the practice of leaving a baby alone in a room to cry until they give up.

Typing this out, it all sounds rather ridiculous, attributing a consciousness to the infant that is not there at all. People are afraid that a little tiny baby is manipulating them. So they walk away from the baby and let them work it out on their own, in hopes of teaching them some sort of lesson. I have bright kids, but I can tell you, they were no where close to being this cognizant as infants.

On the other side of the coin, we have people who try to stop babies from crying at all costs. Jiggle them, bounce them, buy an expensive machine that will "interpret" your baby's cries so you know exactly what they need. And if you can't get the baby to cry, feel guilty, because you have obviously failed.

I am here to tell you a secret.

Babies cry, and sometimes there's not a darned thing you can do about it.

Sometimes, babies cry, just like sometimes, adults cry. There's something cathartic in a good cry. It's actually a way our body can shed stress-induced chemicals. Research by William H. Frey has found specific hormones and proteins in tears that are related to pain, stress, and emotions.

Sometimes, babies cry because it's their only way of communicating. Sometimes they're just sad. Sometimes they're frustrated. And while there are some times we can fix what is making them cry-- soiled diapers, empty tummies, and other pains-- sometimes we just can't. In that case, the best we can do is hold them and love them, without fear of spoiling them, and let them know that our love for them is unconditional, whether they are happy or sad. As Dr. Sears says, "You may not always be able to stop them from crying, but you can make sure they don't cry alone."

So what can you do when your baby cries?

Respond quickly to your baby. Look for any obvious reasons for crying-- a wet diaper, a stuffy nose, a hungry belly. Then look for non-obvious reasons. Is your baby overtired? Does he have gas or is he teething? A too-tight diaper cover or hair around a toe can be agony to a little one who can't fix it. Maybe your baby is feeling overstimulated and needs to be moved to a quieter environment.

Touch and hold your baby when she is crying. It is tempting to buy into the world's explanation that the crying is somehow manipulative in nature and that your child needs to be "trained" and "taught" that she can't just cry and get what she wants. Please remember that your baby is just a baby and is not yet versed in the fine art of manipulation. She is communicating with you in the only language she has. As tempting as it might be to set her in a room and walk away, you will do both of you a disservice. You will be desensitizing yourself to your baby's cries and you will be showing her that you will not answer her when she needs you.

Talk to your baby. Tell him that you're listening and that you hear him and love him. Sing to him songs of love and gentle lullabies.

Make eye contact. Along with holding your little one, this can help her to feel reconnected with you. I suspect sometimes babies feel all alone in this great vast world, and sometimes they just need to know they are loved.

Stay calm. A baby's cries often elicit a "fight or flight" response in a parent. Sometimes, a baby will feed off the feeling of stress and you are stuck in a loop of bad feelings and sadness. Take deep breaths and calm yourself even as you seek to calm your child. Use "we" language: "We're going to be OK. We love each other. We can get through this." If you feel like you are going to lose control, hand your baby to someone or set the baby down and walk away for a few minutes until you can regain control.

It's all right to cry--
Crying gets the sad out of you.
It's all right to cry--
It might make you feel better.

Stained Glass Cookies

From Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas
















YUM!

Rhythms and Routines: Bedtime

So, we've gotten a bit behind in our discussion of rhythms and routines. But, in the words of St. Benedict, "always, we begin again," so here we go!

Last time, we talked about mealtime rhythms and routines. This time, I'd like to talk about bedtime routines.

Sleep is so very important. We cannot function without it, and the quality of your sleep can strongly affect how you function during the day. A peaceful bedtime routine can lay the foundation for a peaceful night and a great next day.

Additionally, out of all our routines, the bedtime routine seems to be the one that most connects us together as a family. No matter how crazy busy our days are, we can all come together at night for a few peaceful moments to reconnect.

Our evening routine starts with what we call "a ten-minute tidy". The living area downstairs is all cleaned up, and then we head upstairs.

Next, we move onto baths and wash ups. One thing I love are essential oils/blends in the bath. Most of mine are from Erbaviva, although I also have one from Green Tara Mama. We try to make baths peaceful times, with songs and splashes and bath toys.

Next, we brush teeth. I keep a small hourglass egg timer in the bathroom to be sure they brush long enough. Each of my kids have their own little baskets with their toiletries in it.

After tidying the bathroom, we put jammies on and make sure our rooms are clean and clothes are down the laundry chute.

After this, we have story.
We keep a good-sized stack of bedtime books in our bedroom, but they really only keep the interest of the little ones. Occasionally, my husband has a read-aloud going at night, usually something of the Tolkien variety, although he did delve into The Children's Homer this summer. Sometimes we tell stories or fairy tales that will play into the next school day.

We follow this up with evening prayers and blessings and then good night kisses and everyone is tucked in. We have little bedtime "altars" in each room.


I feel it's very important for the grown-ups to take the lead in the bedtime routine. This is not the time for making choices. Clearly state what is going to happen next, and then make it happen. This is one reason I like my bedtime routine chart, shown at the beginning of this post. For my older children, seeing it written out somehow makes it more real.

Some bedtime verses:
Good night! Good night!
Far flies the light,
And still God's love
Shall flame above
Making all bright.
Good night! Good night!


The moon is round
Stroke around face
The moon is round
Stroke around face again
It has two eyes
Touch eyes
One nose
Touch nose
And makes no sound
Press finger to lips in a "Shhh!" motion

Circle Time: St. Nicholas

I meant to have this up earlier this week, but we've been so busy with homeschooling and Advent and life, that time just got away from me.

This week, we're centering circle time around the following St. Nicholas story that I found at my favorite St. Nicholas site, the St. Nicholas Center.

Once upon a time there lived far away in the East a pious man, the Bishop Nicholas. One day he heard that far in the West was a big town. In this town all the people had to suffer hunger, the children also. Then Bishop Nicholas called his servants who loved him and said to them 'Bring me the fruits of your gardens and the fruits of your fields that we can still the hunger of the children in that town.' The servants brought baskets full of apples and nuts, and on top lay honey cakes which the women had baked. And the men brought sacks of wheat. Bishop Nicholas had all these things taken onto a ship. It was a beautiful ship, quite white and the sails of the ship were as blue as the sky and as blue as the mantle of the Bishop Nicholas. The wind blew into the sails and sped the ship along, And when the wind grew tired the servants took to the oars and rowed the ship westward. They had to sail for a longtime; for seven days and seven nights.

Postcard from Italy St Nicholas Center Collection

When they arrived in front of the big town it was evening. The roads were empty, but in the houses there burnt lights. Bishop Nicholas knocked at a window. The mother in the house thought a late wanderer had come and she asked her child to open the door. Nobody was outside. The child ran to the window. There was nobody outside the window either. But instead, there stood a basket filled with apples and nuts, red and yellow, and a honey cake lay on top. By the basket stood a sack which was bursting with golden wheat grains. All the people ate the gifts and once again became healthy and happy.

Today St. Nicholas is in the heavens. Every year on his birthday he starts on his journey down to the earth. He asks for his white horse and journeys from star to star. There he meets Mother Mary, who gathers silver and golden threads for the shift of the Christ Child. Mother Mary says to him: "Dear St. Nicholas please go again to the children and bring them your gifts. Tell them, 'Christmas is nigh and soon the Christ Child will come.'"

The earth is wide and great. There, where St. Nicholas cannot go himself, he asks a good and pious person to go to the children and take them apples and nuts and tell the children of the coming of the Christ Child.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=300

We sing Jolly Old St. Nicholas, of course. Another song, Here Comes St. Nicholas, can be found here. You can find even more St. Nicholas songs here and here.

Of course, little ones best participate actively, so we throw in this echo story "St. Nicholas, the Generous Bishop" from the St. Nicholas story.

We're all rather squirrely this time of year, so our circle time is much looser than usual, but this is it in a nutshell-- a story, some songs, an echo fingerplay, and then we're off.

Advent all around!

I love some of the posts I've seen around the blogosphere about Advent: Lighting the Path to Christmas.

Over at Rockin' Granola, she posted some beautiful pictures of the stained glass cookies, as well as some great ideas on using some of the stories.

Eileen at Little Acorn Learning created a beautiful Advent calendar with lovely stars.

If you're using the Advent book, I'd love for you to let me know so I can link you from my blog as well!

And this is why we tell the story...

"Once on this Island" is one of my all-time favorite stories. Great score, beautiful music, powerful lyrics, all attesting to the incredible power of a good story told. What's not to like?

In our family, we tend to approach Advent with an eye towards social justice. At a time of year when we've just celebrated the bounty of the harvest and counted all our blessings, it seems practically criminal not to look towards those who do not live in plenty and who seek justice.

One of my favorite Advent books is Winter Saints by Melissa Musick Nussbaum. In just a few short days, we've already heard the stories of Isaiah, St. Catherine Laboure, Dorothy Day, St. Andrew, and Rosa Parks. And we're only on the first week of Advent! We'll be keeping company with a "great cloud of witnesses" and what I really like about Ms. Nussbaum's book is that she approaches Advent with an eye towards social justice well.

While reading the story of Rosa Parks to my children, I realized that the story was told differently to me as a child. When I first heard it, Rosa Parks was almost portrayed as lazy, a tired seamstress who just didn't want to sit where she was supposed to on the bus.

In reality, Rosa Parks was a tireless woman who had been studying the works of Ghandi and the concept of non-violent protest. In reality, Rosa Parks was the mother of a two-week-old daughter and had just worked a full day when she was arrested. In reality, Rosa Parks had known for a while that she was going to take a stand--or a seat--for equality. The Montgomery bus boycott wasn't a spur of the moment action, but a planned protest, and when Rosa Parks said, "Do what you have to do. I am not moving," she did it knowing full well the repercussions of her actions.


There is a temptation, when telling the stories of heroes and saints, to make them out to be victims. They're oppressed, put down, treated unfairly. I'm coming to realize that this does them a huge disservice. In many cases these saints and heroes walk up to their fate with eyes wide open, knowing the consequences of what they are about to choose... and they choose it anyway. That's what makes them saints and heroes.

And this is why we tell the story. We tell it not because we want our children to feel sorry for those who have gone before them, but because we want them to be empowered by them. We want them to hear the stories of brave men and women who chose what was right and true and just not only when it was convenient to them, but even when it was not.

For out of what we live
And we believe,
Our lives become the stories
That we weave.

Advent Morning Prayer

I wanted to share with you what we're doing for Advent morning prayer. This is in place of our devotions.

We make the Sign of the Cross.

Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Then we sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel and light the Advent wreath.

Psalm 85: 9-14
I listen to God speaking:
"I, the Lord, speak peace,
peace to my faithful people
who turn their hearts to me."
Salvation is coming near,
glory is filling our land.

Love and fidelity embrace,
peace and justice kiss.
Fidelity sprouts from the earth,
justice leans down from heaven.

The Lord pours out his riches,
our land springs to life.
Justice clears God's path,
justice points the way.

Scripture reading. This is very short, only a few verses. We're following the schedule in the Advent Seasons of Joy book. We also might have a short saint's story at this time.

The Lord's Prayer

And we end with one of the kids blowing the candles out.