Thanksgiving to now...

Thanksgiving was a great day - I got up early so we didn't have much stress over getting everything cooked. I just drifted in and out of the kitchen for half a day, doing a bit here and a bit there. Everyone ate tons of everything, so I guess it turned out well! The kids had a lot of fun making construction paper turkeys (from hand tracings) & hearing Thanksgiving stories again.
 
Now the kids are getting very excited about Christmas. We're moving into insect studies (science) and Christmas Around the World (social studies) this week. I should be getting Microcosmos on Monday or Tuesday, plus we'll be making a library trip in the next couple of days for both subjects. I want to build on something C.O. did in his enrichment class, which was a casting of an animal track, by doing insect castings - just have to figure out the insect part (maybe fake ones to make the impressions?).
 
This week we're also starting to make Christmas gifts for family members... we're doing castings of the kids' hands to frame shadow-box style along with a picture for their Grandma (M's mom); painting pottery (Friday evening) for their Nonna (my mom); and coming up with a project for their Grandpa (my dad). We like to do a lot of homemade gifts as opposed to just buying things - one: they're meanigful, two: the kids love making things, and three: they're less expensive.