Merry Christmas

Lena (4) drew this picture and I love it! Jesus in the manger...

Since we don't do Santa, I feel our focus has been on Christ, and I still feel like Christmas is magical for them. Some people are horrified when they find that out, but my parents never did Santa with us, and I appreciated knowing I could trust what they told me. I always felt bad for one friend who found out late about Santa, and then had a crisis of faith. I am open with the girls about whatever they ask me and tell them fairies and dragons are for fun. I do tell them that it's other parents place to tell their own kids the truth about Santa, so thus far they haven't told anyone that I've known of.

It's cute though because this year we have someone who has been doorbell ditching us with presents from "secret elves". The girls love the notes with poems, and the gifts, but what they really want to do is thank whoever it is. Amy tried to stakeout who it was, and sat so still in our dark kitchen window for 45 minutes!Whoever it is, it's sweet, and I hope they'll show their identity so we can say thank you.

Learning Patience

Sometimes homeschooling is no picnic, especially if you have one student who refuses to buckle down and do her work (that's my kindergartener). It has made me think a lot about what is important in education. On the one hand I still feel like she's learning a lot, and it does seem that sitting still is one of life's greatest punishments for her. But I also want her to learn that sometimes you have to do boring or unpleasant things, and persistence is more important than aptitude. Amy is great at plugging away on things that are difficult for her until she conquers them.  Little Esther is naturally gifted in many areas (she can crochet, sew, is very creative and an excellent drawer) but she throws in the towel when she isn't interested or thinks it's too challenging.

I have told the girls many times of my experience with piano lessons: I was gifted the ability of playing by ear, but when my teachers would discover this, they'd stop playing the upcoming weeks song for me, so I'd have to read the music... which was hard, so I quit. I regret that I didn't keep with it. I have been able to play a lot by ear, but Chopin can't be imitated.

I love my girls