Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Great Santa Claus Mystery


I was reading a blog yesterday about when to tell your children the truth about Santa Claus. I know that some people think that if you tell your children that there is a Santa Claus, a Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny, you are lying to them. They believe that you should never lie to your children. Eventually they will find out the truth and they will hate you forever. I actually watched a tv program the other day where a little boy found out the truth about many things. You know, those silly things we tell our children when we know they are not true. “Don’t make that face, you will freeze that way.” Or maybe, “If you swallow that watermelon seed it will grow into a watermelon plant in your tummy.” He was quite devastated as he proved that each of these things were not true.

But for those of us who do tell our children about Santa, when do you tell them the truth. My son told me last year that he knew that there was not such thing as Santa. He knew that the presents came from Mom and Dad. We did not have to tell him anything. One of my friends said that she was telling her 8 year old this year. She does not want her school friends to tell her the truth. She wants to tell her herself. Another friend said that her child figured it out a long time ago, but has been playing along with the whole thing so the other kids in the family would not figure it out. It’s fun playing fantasy games. That’s what Santa is, a fantasy game. We all need a little fantasy in our lives.

So if your children believe in Santa, when are you going to tell them?

Thursday, December 1, 2011

It's Holiday Time



December is here. I can’t believe how busy life can get this time of year. I am really struggling to find enough time to sit down and work on our curriculum. I’m actually thinking of declaring this whole month a vacation. Since we do a lot of work during the summer maybe I could get by with that.

A lot of what we are doing is learning related. Baking and shopping are definitely learning experiences. I was shopping a few days ago and saw a little girl hand the clerk her money. Before the clerk could say anything, the father asked the little girl how much change she should get back. It took her a couple of minutes and a little help from the clerk, but she was able to figure out how much change she should get back. What a great real life way to learn.

We are also focusing on some community service projects. One of young friends was in the hospital last year over the holidays being treated for cancer. He and his mother are collecting toys and decorations to take to the hospital this year to other children who are dealing with this horrible disease. We have purchased a few things to take to them. And we are collecting from our friends as well so we can have a few more things to donate to these kids.

Another project that we have been working on this year is to write cards to elderly people in nursing homes who never have visitors. We are sending them to a homeschool magazine who is collecting them to take to a local nursing home.

My son also made a very personal donation this year. He cut his beautiful long hair and sent it to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is an organization that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer or other diseases. To donate hair, you first braid it and then put rubber bands at both ends before you cut the braid off. My son’s braid was 14 inches long.

What things are you doing during this busy holiday season?