In Defense of Santa Claus

One of my favorite bloggers (my daughter Alice) wrote a wonderful post in defense of Santa Claus. Bravo! I love it. Santa brings us to the crib and kneels with us at the manger. As one wonderful Santa at a nursery in Merrifield, VA told our children when they were young (but not too young), "Santa is the clown of Christmas." He is indeed. He entertains us with his antics coming down the chimney like an acrobat and rising up it again. (How does he do that?) His flying reindeer charm us with their impeccable training.

After he told the children about his own lowly place in Christmas, this amazing Santa showed them a nativity scene and talked about the birth of Jesus. I still remember it bringing tears to my eyes as I listened and watched him with my wide-eyed little ones. And he may be there still. After all, Santa is ageless.

Don't spoil the Christmas magic with a joyless focus on literalism. Watch Miracle on 34th Street and celebrate Kris Kringle.

I Love Home-Schooling!

I love home schooling. I did it for five years with my youngest (and one year with her older sister) and it was the most fun an adult who misses being a kid can have. We planned cooking day every six weeks or so to fill the freezer with easy meals and listened to a book on tape while we worked. We co-volunteered at a local nature center doing their pre-school program which turned into an art/English/social studies project once a month. We went on regular fieldtrips to Gettysburg, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the National Arboretum, the Capitol, Mount Vernon, you name it. It was just plain fun!

So I share with you the post of another home-schooling mom who also happens to be my oldest who went K-8 through Catholic schools but is now home-schooling four of her five children. Yes, even a one-year-old can be described as a home-schooler. It's amazing what those little ones are picking up in the home classroom.

So enjoy visiting Frodo Seven to read about their Lunch with Big Sis'. If you are thinking of home-schooling you can get an idea of what it's like by reading the life of a home-schooling mom. Home schooling is certainly challenging, but not as hard as you might think - and always an adventure.