BIBLE:

Memory Verse:

I printed verses 9-10 from our Philippians 2:5-11 pack.

You can download your FREE copy here at our TPT Store.

On Monday, Parker traced his Bible verse.

On Tuesday, Parker cut and pasted his Bible verse in his Bible notebook. He practiced it and recited it from memory.

Character Lessons:

We put our regular Bible readings aside to work on our Kids of Integrity Christmas lessons.

Day 1: A Lesson in Harmony

Jesus is our Yahweh Shalom, Lord of peace. We read about Adam and Eve and how they sinned, grieved God and lost the close fellowship they had with Him. We talked the gift of Shalom – the peace and joy we have as we walk closely to the Lord.

We added a wrapped gift – representing God’s gift of Shalom – on our Christmas wreath.

Day 2: A Lesson in Joy

First, we opened our Bible and read about the prodigal son. We talked about happiness versus joy.

We set up our Playmobil Nativity set, as suggested in the guide. We also discussed how Jesus is the source of our joy.

We put on our spyglasses and went looking for joy in all the wrong places. At the end, we came back to the Nativity and the realization that true joy comes from Christ alone.

Day 3: A Lesson in Courteous Communication

We talked about being friendly, courteous and kind. When our words are harsh, it’s like throwing a stinging snowball in someone’s face. When our words are kind, it’s like a comforting sip of hot chocolate.

It was raining outside so we had an indoor snowball fight! Actually, we had quite a few! 

We enjoyed a warm comforting cup of hot cocoa. Though our snowballs didn’t sting, sweet words and hot chocolate are so much better!

Ebenezer Scrooge, the epitome of everything unkind, came to mind during this lesson. I tried to find a picture book version of A Christmas Carol, but I only found the original story. We started reading it and the boys were hooked! Well, I guess The Turning will have to wait a couple of days while we finish this classic story.

Day 4: A Lesson in Forgiveness

We read about the servant who was forgiven, but he refused to forgive someone else. We talked about how we have no right to withhold forgiveness when God forgives us every time we ask.

We headed to the kitchen to make a batch of pretzel dough. Parker and I followed the recipe in our lesson plan as he measured and filled the ingredients in our bread machine pan and put it on the dough setting.

The dough was a bit dry, so I added water, kneaded it and placed it in the warm oven to rise.

Parker and I rolled it on the counter, used a pizza cutter to make long strips and shaped them into pretzels.

I left them to sit overnight to serve the following morning at breakfast. We dusted the puffy pretzels with butter and salt. It’s not always easy to forgive, but it’s better to be soft and pliable, like our pretzels, rather than hard and unbreakable.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Christmas in Russia:

Since we completed our study of Russia, I decided to puck Jan Brett’s The Nutcracker as our new book to study during the holidays. I figured we could accompany it with a Christmas in Russia theme. Christmas in Russia unit.

We read stories from A Very Russian Christmas as well as excerpts from Christmas in Russia.

Parker read about Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and his grand-daughter, Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden.

Parker colored his Christmas in Russia page while I read Russian Christmas stories.

He recorded traditions, foods, decorations and the-like on his Research Notes (Little Red).

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

We started a new book about economics. Parker really enjoyed learning about the history of money.

I wasn’t sure how much he was absorbing, but to my surprise, he took so many notes about the subject. I was so impressed!

He was so excited to find a picture of the Denarius in his Bible the next day. We had just learned about its history.