This year, we've decided to create our own tradition for the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, inspired by the Christian tradition of Advent. We just recently dismantled our Thankful Tree; we all really enjoyed the process of writing down all we are thankful for and filling our tree, and we'll miss it. I wanted to find a way to extend that practice in some way, and carry it into the rest of the holiday season. We've never been big into the Christmas-equals-presents way of thinking; we do things on a MUCH smaller scale. A few mentions of Advent by some Christian friends sent me to pondering, and I did a bit of research into what Advent is all about and winter solstice celebrations. We had a family discussion and decided to create a tradition with which we all could be comfortable.
So, on Sunday, we created the centerpiece (pictured below) for our table. We used greenery and pine cones from our yard to create it. Our plan is to light the candle at dinner each night, and each of us will name at least one hope/wish/prayer for others. Our goal is to focus outside of ourselves and bring some light into this dark season.
 | |
| our "Advent" centerpiece |
is Leonhard Euler. Now, before reading this week's story, I'm not sure if I could have told you much about who Leonhard Euler was, and what his contributions to math were, but the GREAT thing about being responsible for our kids' education is that we can learn with them. Who cares if we all don't know something...we can figure it out together! 
game. Lauren mostly observed this time around. This game is like a math version of Scrabble...players make number sentences on a board that is much like a Scrabble board. The number sentences build on each other like a crossword puzzle, and the pieces have point values. It was fun, and challenging!
. This is a game we've played many times, and it's a favorite. We really need to work on better game playing attitudes...but that's another story!
, and each week we've been reading one of the stories. I first heard about this series of books on the site 
by Dr. Anne Millard. I showed it to the girls after dinner, and this is the result: 
audio book, and then moved on to 
by J.K. Rowling. (The girls are currently listening to 
on their own.) Next was a 
that included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and four other stories; we just finished that tonight. Now we've started 
by C.S. Lewis on audio.
. We read a chapter or two aloud several times during the week. We wanted to get this on audio, but there is only one copy in our library system, and there is a waiting list! We have the books anyway, so we're reading the old-fashioned way. This is an interesting series; it gives an overview of world history in a narrative fashion. Sometimes a bit dry, but overall, not bad. We've found when reading/listening to the other books in this series that it creates jumping off points for us to find out more about something that sparks an interest.
by Mary Pope Osborne; the 
by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon; and a series of six books by Vicki Cobb, 
, Broken Bone, Stomachache, Skinned Knee, Earache, and Cavity). 
by Elizabeth Gilbert, and I am liking it very much. I want to watch the movie when it comes out on DVD, but am hoping that I won't be disappointed. I still plan to go back to finish up the 
...so many books to read, so little time!!
over the summer, and today we started reading it and doing some of the activities together.
