WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

Even though I have only been blogging since August of this year, I am going to take a short break for the rest of the year to spend time with my family.  

However, I need to be cranking out articles to have ready to go at the first of the year (What? you thought I wrote those the day before posting?), so I would like some feedback from you.

I have posted a survey of general topics on the right side of my home page.  Please take the survey.  Also, for specific questions you would like addressed, leave comments below. You can comment anonymously if you prefer.

Thanks for taking the survey. Thanks for reading my blog.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

What About High School? Planning Homeschool High School

When homeschooling high school, having a plan and keeping records becomes more important.

Beginning with 9th grade, a 4-year plan is necessary.

How do you make a 4-year plan?

Tips for Planning a Homeschool Graduation

PLANNING HOMESCHOOL GRADUATION

Even though it is only December, it is time to start thinking about and planning your homeschool senior's graduation.

There are many options available to you, so the first step is to decide what type of graduation ceremony you and your student desire.

So far, with my five homeschool graduates, I have organized and planned three different types of graduation celebrations.

Family Favorites Friday: Pumpkin Biscuits and Lucy's Orange Cream Fruit Salad

After my How to Survive Holiday Cooking post last week, my friend Kathy from 9Peas requested the recipe for Pumpkin Biscuits.  Not wanting to disappoint her, I am posting that recipe as well as Lucy's Orange Cream Fruit Salad that I mentioned in that post.

 I am happy to report that I must have intended to post these recipes when I made them to freeze last month because I found the pictures that I took in anticipation of the post.

Both of these recipes can be made ahead and frozen.  I have included instructions below.

Gifted Hands

When I had only a baby and a toddler, I did a lot of reading. This was mainly because the baby did not sleep well.  I tried letting her cry it out when she was 5 months old, but after 2 hours of non-stop crying, I gave in.  After that, I held her while she napped and I read a book.

It was during this time that I read Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

Surviving Holiday Cooking

After years of watching my mother and mother-in-law spend a huge chunk of time in the kitchen when everyone visited with their families, I was determined to try to avoid some of that stress.

Family Favorites Friday: Family Games

Our game shelf  testifies that we like to play games.

We tend to play more games when we are on vacation together or when everyone returns from the four corners of the earth for holidays, but we do like to play games.

Some of our favorite games are:

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

When it comes to Christmas traditions, most families either have them or wish for them.

When I got married, I fell into the 'wish for them' category. I longed for a 'story book' Christmas with a lovely tree surrounded by a happy family, singing Christmas carols, eating Christmas cookies and drinking hot apple cider or hot chocolate.

That longing was the driving force behind making sure my children grew up with Christmas traditions: activities they could count on happening from year to year. Sights, sounds, and smells that they would associate with Christmas and family.

No matter which category you belong in, I want to share some of the traditions we have developed over the years. Feel free to share your traditions in the comments.