How to Wait Well for Christmas

Advent … is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts… If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer.  Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts.  Ours is a great responsibility not to waste this Advent time.  ~ Edward Hays

May I share a collection of gifts that have gathered in our home over the years to help focus our minds and quiet our hearts during the weeks leading up to Christmas? ...  

Do you do a Jesse Tree?  ~ Adding a Jesse Tree to our home traditions is the single most important part of our waiting for Christmas.  It focuses our minds daily on the Babe in the wooden slates and why He is the Gift.  {A beautiful printable Jesse Tree family devotional is available here.}

Preparing our Giving? ~ I've had to ask myself ... How do we prepare well in our waiting to give a gift to the Babe who we are celebrating?

During the days leading up to Christmas, coins can be earned by loving others.  These coins are then used to "do for one of the least of these"{Matthew 25: 34-40} by buying a gift of clothing, or food, or water for someone who needs these basic needs.

Giving Gifts with a Mission ~ Purchasing beautiful gifts that give a livelihood to those who create them makes the giving and the getting a huge blessing!  Some purposeful shops that are just lovely can be found here:  3 Cords, Haitian Creations, Mercy House, Amazima. {If possible, take some moments to read the stories behind these shops and the women who create with their hands and their hearts.}

Advent Reading for Mama ~ Seeking time to sit quiet and read good words is a gift to myself.  Don't  frazzled days tend to become a bit less tangled as we turn our focus to Him? : Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas

Hands to Work and Heart to God? ~ Last year around this time, this picture found itself attached to my fridge because of these spirit quieting words from Karen Andreola .  A must read for every mama in December.



Related Links:

Treasuring God in Our Traditions ~ Noel Piper

Deepening the Roots of Christmas

The Advent Book {sitting near the top of my wish list}

{Please feel free to share your gifts in the comment area or at the classroom Facebook page.}

Teaching Tip Tuesday ~ When the End of the Term Lingers Near ...

Bless you for all the days of gathering children around and wrapping hearts with wisdom and guidance and minds with knowledge and opportunity.  

Bless you for the daily giving up and the relentless laying down.   

Bless you for the courage to wake up each morning and actually raise yourself out from beneath the covers and put one foot in front of the other and walk with grace throughout the day. 

 Bless you for seeking more of Him, in spite of failures and pains and mistakes, because this is how He is glorified and you are carried through. 

Bless you for enduring and for growing through the perseverance.  

Bless you for learning hard, and living hard, and loving even harder.

As preparations for your child's term portfolio are being made, can you take time to exhale and count the blessings from this first term?  Expectantly yes,  there were up days and down days, but isn't it through the blessings and the "curses" that we learn to give thanks in all things?

As you piece together your child's term portfolio, allow it to simply reflect your child's learning experiences, be it becoming a hula hooping genius, or a math counting whiz,  or a story writer for the very first time.  Allow your child to choose prize pieces of work that he's delighted to show, and then take time for yourself to choose samples that you feel are wise to share.  

There is no set formula in fitting a portfolio together - your portfolio is what your family makes it and never are two exactly the same.

General portfolio guidelines are provided here under the Portfolio Submission links,  but you are free to extend those guidelines to represent best what has been being learned within your home during this past term.  Specific forms that may need to be included in your child's portfolio, depending on grade and activity choices, are available to be printed here: Portfolio Forms

How do I share my child's portfolio?
In the past, families have mailed their child's portfolio to my home address.  However, within the last year or so, many families are choosing to send learning samples online.  Some families email learning photos on a weekly basis, while others choose to email an entire portfolio at one time at the end of the term.  Also, some families have chosen to share learning photos through Picasa web albums or through Skydrive.

Home visits are available for families who live in the Lower Mainland area.  If interested, please contact me to arrange a date and a time.

Blessings as you near the end of this first term, and Congratulations!