Tag: Christmas

Embracing New Family Traditions in Homeschooling

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog5 Comments

Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks and that means Advent starts soon after… where oh where does time go?

If you’ve been around my blog for long then you probably know that I try to do Advent studies with our Homeschool in place of our regular homeschool activities… this year is no different. I really want my family to be able to FOCUS on the REAL REASON BEHIND THE SEASON… not just the HOLLYWOOD VERSION. This gives us time to enjoy our family and helps to eliminate some of the stress from trying to get it all done.

We’ve been making some gradual changes in our home that may or not be for you. We have cut back on the number of gifts that we give and we try to be more intentional on the gifts we give. Often we will purchase ‘experience’ gifts that we can enjoy together as a family.

Free Printables for Holiday Shopping plus some tips for buying for special needs kiddos!

We also have different activities that we do every year like our POLAR EXPRESS PARTY which gives the kids a chance to show off some of the skills we’ve been working on using real-life activities. Below are some of the books that I recently ordered for our Advent Activities… some of these may actually end up incorporated into our Polar Express Party but not sure exactly how yet. We have some links to FREE materials further down in the post.

Free Printable Shopping Guide – Makes Christmas Shopping So Much Easier!
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Free Printables for Holiday Shopping plus some tips for buying for special needs kiddos!

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

Are you tired of shopping already? Maybe you don’t have a clue what you even need to get? Why don’t you print out these guides and get rid of some of the Holiday stress that is already creeping in… these will also help you to be a little more intentional with any purchases you do make. Plus there are lots of helpful suggestions about gift ideas to go along with the easy to use guides.

Free Printables for Holiday Shopping plus some tips for buying for special needs kiddos!

Friendly Reminder – Holiday Planning

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

Hey everybody!

I know it has been very busy around here and it seems that we truly have been jumping from one challenge to another here lately but we are surviving! We pray that you are doing well too and that everyone is starting to feel like they can breathe a little easier with all the events that have unfolded around us recently.

I really don’t want to think about the holidays yet but they are fast approaching. I know that they will be a little different this year but that’s ok. We are so blessed and thankful for all that we already have. I just wanted to throw out a couple little reminders of things that you can do now if you are planning any special dinners or events. We know that getting family and friends together can help lift everyone’s spirits and we like to try to have a few special events a year… this year has been a little extra but that’s ok.

Now is the time to start looking for Christmas decorations… if you wait much longer then they may be gone. Take a few minutes this weekend and look over your plans for Advent, Christmas, or Polar Express to see what things you may need to get so that you can start buying them now. If you are planning to do something for St. Nicholas Day then now would be the time to start looking for those gold-covered coins and any study guides or activity ideas that you would like to use.

Continue reading “Friendly Reminder – Holiday Planning” →

Ultimate Holiday Planning: A 12 Week Strategy

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog14 Comments

Here are some posts that I put together last year about Getting Ready for the Holidays, maybe they can help you have a less stressful holiday season this year. I will update posts as I change things but they may give you a starting point.

You can also print out the Event Planning Guide or the Planning Notebook under the Printable Library Tab to help you get started with your plans!

Getting Ready for the Holidays Weeks 1 & 2

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 3

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 4

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 5 – The Week Before Thanksgiving

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 6 – The Week of Thanksgiving

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 7 – The Week After Thanksgiving

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 8 – 3 Weeks Before Christmas (St. Nicholas Day)

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 9 – 2 Weeks Before Christmas (Polar Express)

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 10 – Week Before Christmas

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 11 – Week of Christmas

Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 12 – Week after Christmas (New Year’s Day)

You may also find a printable grocery list handy:

Weekly Meal Planning and Grocery List Printable

Special Winter Dinners w/Printable Recipes & Links

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog3 Comments

I know you are probably sick of hearing me talk about the new meal plan that we are using but it is the BOMB! The only issue the kids have been having is that they don’t look at the breakfast days separate from the numbered days… I haven’t come up with a solution to that yet as I really like having all the days for a week on one sheet but I think they’ll catch on soon enough.

Continue reading “Special Winter Dinners w/Printable Recipes & Links” →