Have FUN Creating Holiday Traditions

As you can see on my blog, I absolutely love celebrating holidays. I look forward to using these special times of the year as springboards for teaching since it makes learning so much FUN. I also like continuing our family traditions that can be traced back for generations.

I've never given much thought to the origins of most holiday traditions or symbols in America. I've heard the debates on why or why not families should participate in certain celebrations, and I try to be considerate of everyone's views.

Kirk Cameron is on a mission to reveal the truth about the holidays. He feels too many have been deceived for far too long. Watch this excellent interview.

Last night, my husband and I went to see "Saving Christmas," and I learned a lot about Christmas traditions. I hope many people will be able to experience freedom after viewing the movie.

Recently, I have been taking a Community Bible Study class. We've been digging deep into the Word and learning about 1 Corinthians. It reminds me a lot of the message of "Saving Christmas." Read what Paul says about being released from false teachings.

1 Corinthians 8:4-8 (NIV)- So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

The meat was given as a sacrifice to the false gods and later sold in the marketplace. Paul recognized that he could eat the meat without sinning, even though others felt like it was tainted. Paul knew his one and only God created the meat and he was not bound by the Pagan laws because he did not believe in them. 

This study reaffirmed that I am free from the Pagan laws since I do not believe in them. It makes me sad that so many Christians feel like they are in bondage to certain false customs and traditions. More and more Christians are even going "dark" during certain times of the year and refusing to have no part in a holiday.

I choose to live each day in freedom for I know that only God created every single day of the year and I will give only Him the glory.

Psalm 118:24-"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

God wants us to be joyful and not hide from others. How can we be the light to the world if we are disassociating ourselves and going "dark?"

My study Bible states to be respectful of others and do not cause them to stumble, but we do not have to be bound by fear of offending rigid or legalistic Christians. I have learned that we are only slaves to Him (not to false Gods or the beliefs of others) and we can live freely to enjoy each and every day of the year.

1 Peter 2:15-16-"For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves."

Here are some of the reasons I've heard from fellow parents on why they did not celebrate certain holiday traditions.

I refuse to teach my child about fantasies.

The fact is children love fantasy. Look on a young child's bookshelf and you will find almost all fiction books with most falling into the fantasy genre. Children make-up imaginary scenes throughout the day. My daughter is constantly dressing up as a Disney princess or playing mom with her baby dolls. My youngest son enjoys acting like a superhero and pretends to fight the bad guys. Two of my other sons build imaginary cities with their Legos and on Minecraft. It's part of how a child's brain is wired. Eventually children will outgrow this, but until then, my family will enjoy sharing imaginative stories and having visits from a leprechaun, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, and Santa.

I think most people would be surprised to learn how special days of the year that seem fictional can be traced back to real stories. From St. Patrick to St. Valentine, there were people who did great things for God's kingdom, including St. Nicholas. By the way, Santa was one tough dude! Not only was he a generous man who shared gifts with others, He was a defender of the faith. At the Council of Nicea, Saint Nicholas fought the heretic Arius who was spreading lies that Jesus was not in fact the son of God, but a mere man. Saint Nicholas’ actions produced the Nicene Creed – a statement of faith and belief in Jesus Christ in the Christian church.

I enjoy using Holiday Heroes to link the holidays to Biblical lessons.

In addition, I read these Christmas books and Easter books to my children every year as a tradition to connect the symbolism of the holidays. We also make crafts and enjoy treats to go along with each theme.

I like how Christianity Today states:

God made our imaginations and hardwired us to connect deeply with stories. Jesus himself appealed to people's imagination by telling parables—stories that communicated profound truths. Even if stories are fairy tales, and therefore not empirically true, they still communicate truth. Smart parents will use the Santa story to teach their children to be giving rather than demanding and to experience generosity and grace.

My children may resent me when they learn the truth.

It's ultimately a parent's decision on which traditions they would like to do with their family and exactly how they would like to implement them. They are free to decide to participate in the Elf on the Shelf craze, hang stockings for Santa to fill, or leave carrots for the reindeer. Parents can choose to be completely honest up front or work behind-the-scenes, but no matter what, it is all done in fun and out of love.

I've never worried about my children no longer trusting me when they learn the truth about who the tooth fairy really is. My oldest son was not upset with me when I broke the news to him but actually laughed. In fact, he became the tooth fairy a few times for his younger brothers.

When I was a child, my parents never had the talk with me about how they were working behind-the-scenes during Christmas. I was left to figure it all out on my own. Did I resent them and later need counseling to sort through my emotions? No. I thought it was super sweet how they spent so much time and effort in creating magical memories for their children. In fact, if I called my father right now and asked him if Santa is for real, he would still answer, "Of course he is."

My parents continue to have family traditions by hiding Easter eggs in their yard every year for the grandkids and even for the adults. Yes, all my siblings and our spouses (ages 30's-40's) run around his backyard to collect the eggs that are above eye-level (our kids get the ones that are lower). The adults are VERY competitive. Heels come off and women are dashing through the grass barefooted in sundresses. It is hysterical! Did I mention that my Dad puts money in the plastic eggs? It is quite a sight to see but certainly one of our favorite family Easter traditions.

Our homeschool group's Easter party at our church.

The Easter Bunny (aka my husband) making a visit to our Sunday school party.
By the way, my boys had no idea it was their Dad ☺

Do I care that Easter eggs are thought to be Pagan symbols? Not a bit. I focus on who created the eggs in the first place, not Pagans, but God. I choose to relate the eggs to wonderful memories of my family coloring eggs and going on hunts together. To my family, the eggs symbolize Christ breaking free from the tomb just as a chick breaks free from an egg. I also use eggs as teaching tools during Easter, such as using the Resurrection Eggs to retell the Easter story and plastic eggs for learning activities.

Most Kindergarten teachers have a leprechaun visit their classrooms while the children are not in the room. Children go all out in creating elaborate traps to catch the leprechaun and his pot of gold. The leprechaun will play some tricks on them and then he leaves them a treat, such as a cookie or cupcake. I never had students return years later to my classroom upset to learn that the leprechaun was not real, but they would comment on how fun it was and how they missed it.

On a side note, I believe God loves these silly traditions and also has a huge sense of humor. There is no other way to explain this true story that happened to my oldest son and I on St. Patrick's Day.

The Great Halloween Debate

This debate is very common in the Christian community. I've heard both sides and never felt convicted to stop participating. My family even volunteered in our church's fall festival that was held on Halloween. I have a hard time accepting that my daughter dressed up as Cinderella or my son as a Ninja Turtle is worshiping false Gods. Just like Paul, I do not believe in false Gods, so therefore, I am not bound by those laws, customs, or dates.

Now to make things more interesting with the Great Halloween Debate, what if it really did not begin with Pagans? Read this article to learn how Halloween might actually be traced back to the days of Noah.

Answers in Genesis also references Psalm 24:1 in the article to emphasize everything belongs to the Lord. Therefore, there is no reason to let Satan have Halloween. It was not his day in the first place!

This year my family went to Disney's Not-So-Spooky Halloween Party and we thoroughly enjoyed it. No guilt. Just pure family fun with lots of yummy candy.

I think Kirk Cameron would smile at my family creating our own traditions since he recently said Christians should be throwing the biggest Halloween party on the block.

Reinvent new meanings for old symbols and traditions.

Christians should be cautious about condemning practices as Pagan just because of their probable origins. Many American traditions and symbols that most Christians participate in and use have Pagan beginnings. They just don't realize it.

• Funeral ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and wedding rings have Pagan roots.

• We still read our Bibles and pray on Thursday, which was originally a day dedicated to Thor (Thor's day). Other days of the week fall into this category, too.

• The fish (Ichthys) people have on their bumpers of their cars has Pagan origins.

• It seems that most popular symbols and traditions used in America for the holidays could be traced back to the Pagans. Evergreen Christmas trees, the giving of gifts, holly, stockings, yule logs, and mistletoe were all elements adopted from the ancient Pagan traditions. The Easter bunny, hunting eggs, coloring eggs, and even the word "Easter" is from Pagan roots. The act of dressing up in costumes, carving pumpkins, and going trick-or-treating is considered to be Pagan. Even Thanksgiving Day is debated to begin as Pagan before it was celebrated in America. The cornucopia and foods we typically eat on Thanksgiving, including turkey, were supposedly used in Pagan feasts.

Do you see how you could go on and on? It is exhausting. The bottom line is legalism robs your joy and is never-ending. The more you hide and choose not to create your own traditions out of fear of offending others and God, the less you can celebrate His blessings and be a blessing to others.

Here is my favorite quote from the movie "Saving Christmas."

"We need to make traditions of our own. We need to infuse old symbols with new meaning. We need to arrange our lives and our homes so that every single thing points to Jesus." ~Kirk Cameron

The Believer’s Freedom 

By His grace, we have been brought from the darkness and into the light. We are free in Christ. HERE are some wonderful verses that demonstrate your freedom, which you can use to make wise choices on how to celebrate your faith and create family traditions. Let's go back to the example of meat Paul used in 1 Corinthians. 

1 Corinthians 10:25-26- Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

 1 Corinthians 10:29-30- For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?  

I encourage you to stop listening to others' opinions about their personal convictions and pray to the one and only God and seek His wisdom.

Have fun creating holiday traditions with your loved ones,  

Merry Christmas from Teaching with TLC!

Hello sweet friends! I wanted to let you how much it has meant to me to be able to share with you for the past five and a half years of blogging. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you, and I am very thankful for every comment and email I have received. You are the reason I have continued to keep sharing, and I hope that I have in some way provided you with encouragement and inspired you as a parent and educator.

I will be unplugging from blogging for the next couple of weeks but wanted to wish each one of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a new year filled with abundant blessings.

FUN Christmas sites you don't want to miss!

My sweet blogging friend, Shannon from Technology Rocks Seriously, has been busy compiling several Christmas sites and apps for the past year. Last December, my kids absolutely LOVED her top picks and were on-line playing the sites she selected to be featured. This year Shannon launched a new site Christmas Fun for all of the top Christmas educational sites, apps, and games she has reviewed and used with her students.

There are themes such as Christmas tree decorating

gingerbread houses

 and even Rudolph games

Her new site makes it VERY easy for my kids to hop on-line to play Christmas games without having to surf the net to find the best. I love it because it is a BIG time-saver for me trying to find the best games on-line, and I am at peace knowing a mom/teacher has already reviewed the sites to see which ones are kid-friendly.

Thank you Shannon for compiling these resources and placing them all in one simple location. Parents and teachers appreciate all your work to help make learning fun!

Enjoy everyone!

25 Christmas Writing Prompts and Activities

December offers plenty of writing opportunities that are both fun and engaging. Here are holiday writing prompts and activities, which include: persuasive, expository, narrative, story starters, step-by-step directions, poetry, and more for the 25 days of Christmas writing. Enjoy!

 •What are you most grateful for this holiday season?

 •What is your favorite Christmas book or movie? Describe the plot and explain why it's your favorite.

•Make a Christmas wish list.

•Write a letter to Santa.

•Write persuasive paragraph convincing your parents (or Santa) why they should get you a particular gift you really want.

•Is Christmas too commercialized? Explain your answer.

•Write your favorite Christmas recipe.

•Make a top ten list of your favorite Christmas traditions.

•Interview a grandparent or elderly neighbor to learn about their favorite childhood traditions at Christmas.

•How many Christmas gifts do you think a child your age should get? Explain your reasons.

•Pretend that you can get each person in your family any Christmas gift you want even if it's very expensive or difficult to get. What would you give each person and why?

•Write about the best Christmas present you have ever received. Why was it so special?

•Write a paragraph or poem using the five senses describing Christmas day at your home. What do you see, feel, hear, smell, and taste?

•Create an acrostic poem using the words "Merry Christmas."

•Write your own Christmas carol. You can use a familiar tune or compose an original tune for it.

•Imagine that you were one of the shepherds who heard the angel announce the birth of the Christ child. Write about the evening. What did you see? What did you hear? What did you do? How did you feel? 

•Write a persuasive paragraph convincing a skeptic that Santa Claus really does exist.

•Use your imagination and write about one of your Christmas tree ornaments that magically comes to life.

•Fill out an elf application for Santa and explain why you are the best candidate for the job.

•Write about your first day at your new job as an elf.

•Who would you rather have as a friend: one of Santa's elves or a snowman that magically came to life? Explain your choice.

•Persuade Santa why he should keep the reindeer and sleigh or switch to a jet. Discuss the pros and cons of each.

•Write a different ending to The Gingerbread Man.

•Write about when you come downstairs on Christmas morning and find Santa stuck in the chimney. Explain why he got stuck, how you get him out, and what happens next.

•Write a story with the title "The Year that Christmas was Almost Cancelled." Describe the problem of why it was almost cancelled (some examples- reindeer had the flu, a bad blizzard, sleigh malfunctions, and toys not ready). Explain the solution of how Christmas was saved.

For a fun twist, use a Christmas decorated container or box and place all the prompts into it. (I cut the prompts into strips and fold them.) Your kids can choose a writing prompt each day, and write their response in their journals. 

You can also place the container in the middle of your table, and use these prompts to spark great conversations. Have your child pick a topic, and go around the dinner table discussing it. 

 Have fun!

For additional ways to make writing fun, check out- 101 Ways to Make Writing FUN!

Fun Reindeer Activities

My kids and I ♥ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer so this year I decided to have an entire morning devoted to fun reindeer activities.

First, we read the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

We learned facts about real reindeer with this book.

We made reindeer food to use on Christmas Eve.

Source: teachingblogaddict.com 

We completed these free reindeer learning activities.

We created cute reindeer art projects and made adorable reindeer cookies.

We sang the classic carol and practiced playing it on the piano.

We played reindeer games on-line at this AWESOME site!

And of course, we watched the movie Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer while enjoying hot chocolate and eating a couple of our reindeer cookies.



Isn't she the cutest reindeer you've ever seen?

Even our dog joined in with the festivities. :o)

Click Here to read about our recent Candy Cane Day.

Click Here to read about our Polar Express Day last year.

Enjoy!

Toy of the year that is fun and educational!

I never taught my second and third child the letter sounds. I am for real! When they were beginning kindergarten, I started to do more formal school using Hooked on Phonics Beginning Reading and Explode the Code and guess what? I quickly realized my kids knew all their letter sounds and even many additional phonics skills without any teaching from me. It was like a miracle! I was completely shocked as I spent hours each week teaching my oldest son phonics the good old-fashioned way with phonics programs.

So what was different this time around? First of all, my boys were hooked on LeapFrog: Letter Factory They watched it over and over and knew the songs backwards and forwards. I love using music to teach kids. It really makes learning stick!

But I believe the main teaching tool was their LeapFrog Leapster. They played it on car rides, waiting in restaurants or for appointments, in their beds at night if they couldn't fall asleep, and so on. They did not have any video games at that time so this was their favorite toy.

LeapFrog's latest edition is the LeapPad2 which resembles more of an iphone or ipad. Boy, is it nice! In fact, it is so nice that it's voted toy of the year!

My two-year-old is addicted to using my iphone ever since she was 10 months old. I did not like her sneaking my iphone when I wasn't looking using my iphone because she would accidentally drop it so I picked up a LeapPad2 since it was more cost efficient than replacing my phone. I was quickly reminded of the educational value of these toys! My two and three-year-olds are already learning their letter names and sounds, again with no instruction from me. How awesome is that!

If you are looking for a toy from Santa that will get used for years and is fun and educational, then this may be the one. Enjoy!

Books that focus on the real meaning of Christmas

The past few days I've been reading some of my favorite Christmas books to my boys. Okay, I really have at least 20 favorite books to read aloud at Christmastime, but here are some of the ones near the top of the list that focus on more of the reason for the season.☺

First, we started off with The Gift of the Magi which is a beautiful, classic story where a young husband and wife each gives up a most treasured possession to buy the other a wonderful gift. This is an inspiring tale that speaks volumes about the sacrifices we willingly make for those we truly love. It is a symbol of the true meaning of giving and also discusses how the wise men invented giving presents, after presenting their gifts to baby Jesus.

Next, we read The Legend of the Christmas Tree which explains the history of Christmas trees. You'll discover the wonderful story of how the evergreen tree first became a symbol of Christmas and a way to tell people about God. (One hint- the shape of the Christmas tree is also the shape to explain the trinity.)

Today we read  The Legend of the Candy Cane, which tells the story of the candy cane with much emphasis on Jesus. Children are always in awe when they learn about the symbolism of the candy cane. Read the poem below to see some of the symbols that are mentioned in the book.

Look at the Candy Cane.
What do you see?
Stripes that are red
Like the blood shed for me.
White is for my Savior
Who’s sinless and pure.
“J” is for Jesus My Lord, that’s for sure.
Turn it around
And a staff you will see.
Jesus my shepherd
Was born for Me!

After reading this book, I had my children make several candy cane art projects, such as these:

My kids also watched this video to learn how candy canes are made.

Make sure to check out last year's post on some more of my favorite Christmas books.

Now go warm up some hot chocolate and cuddle with your kids while enjoying your favorite Christmas books.