Christmas time is approaching quickly.  We are all busy this time of year with baking, wrapping gifts, and decorating our homes for Christmas. It is the time of year when we are all looking for ideas on how to add more fun and learning to our kiddos homeschool.  This is THE the perfect time to incorporate some fun reading into our homeschool lessons! You can use books as part of morning work or in place of worksheets while completing math problems, for example.   You may be thinking “I don’t have time for reading!” but these books are short enough that they won’t take up much of your day. Include them in your regular routine or as a special treat after dinner! Plus, it’s an opportunity to spend some quality family time together by reading aloud or doing other activities related to the book. What better way to get into the festive spirit than with stories?

MAKE IT A FUN GAME?  In addition to the reading list below, I also have some really cute and super fun cards you can print to make a game out of the choosing of the books.  Print these out and place them in a bag or a jar, and let the family take turns picking out the next one.  Enter your email address below to get your Free Printable 12 Books of Christmas Cards:

 

 

FREE Printable 12 Books of

Christmas Cards

Enter your email address to grab your cards. You will be added to our newsletter to receive SKrafty updates about freebies like this and other happenings! We won’t spam you!

 

 

 

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If you are looking for some Christmas book suggestions, I’ve got 12 great book ideas that can be used from elementary through high school. I have included some classes as well as some newer, but really great Christmas books.  Most of these books contain Christian content because, well what is Christmas without Christ? Each of these books will keep the attention of everyone from the youngest to the oldest.  Keep reading for my Christmas family reading list:

Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray

Jotham’s Journey by Arnold Ytreeide

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

The True Gift by Patricia Maclachlan

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

The Drummer Boy by Ted Dekker

The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry

One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham

The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

Oh my goodness y’all.  Where did November go?  And October?  Is it really Thanksgiving next week?  These past few months have just flown by so quickly, and it is almost time for the Christmas season! Our calendar is filling up with Christmas events, choir concerts, etc.  PLUS, we are on baby watch with our FIRST grandson on the way!!!!  You can probably guess which of those we are most excited about. 😉  

GO HERE TO SEE OUR TOP 12 BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS LIST AND TO DOWNLOAD OUR

FREE PRINTABLE 12 BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS CARDS

Growing up, we always tried to put our Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving which means it is time to start thinking about getting the house prepped for decorating, getting the tree out, and prepping for any crafts we want to add to the tree and the house.  One of the things we usually do is try to make lots of homemade ornaments and decorations for our tree every year.  I wanted to share a super cute idea for these DIY Christmas ornaments made out of clothespins!  The supplies needed are few, and the project itself is super easy, but SOOO PRETTY!!!  You can make the tree one, star or poinsettia one..OR you can make all three! That is totally up to you.  Keep reading for instructions.  

DIY Clothespin Christmas Tree Ornament

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DIY CLOTHESPIN CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT HERE

DIY Clothespin Christmas Star Ornament

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DIY CLOTHESPIN CHRISTMAS STAR ORNAMENT HERE

DIY Clothespin Poinsettia Ornament

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DIY CLOTHESPIN CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA ORNAMENT HERE

I also have a FUN giveaway to go along with this super cute craft!  Keep reading to learn how to enter the giveaway. 

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas – a time for gratitude, togetherness, and celebration. The Christmas Blessings Giveaway is in its 8th year, and we are excited to once again bless not one family, but two, with some cash for the holiday season! I’m teaming up with an amazing group of bloggers with the hope of making this Christmas the best yet for TWO families by giving away $500 in Paypal cash to each family.

What would you do with that money?!

While we wish we could bless many more families, we were able to come up with a big prize for TWO families – $500 each (delivered via Paypal) – that we pray will make a big difference in their lives this Christmas season – whether it’s to fulfill their kids’ Christmas wishes, pay off some bills, or to help build some savings, our prayer is that it helps to lessen any financial burden and/or fills a specific need.

There are lots of entry options in the Rafflecopter form below – the more you enter, the better your chance of winning!  I know it can seem tedious and time consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $500 worth it? I think it is!  Plus, all of these amazing bloggers donated their own money toward the cash prizes, so this giveaway wouldn’t be possible without them.  I hope you’ll take the time to check out each one. Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.

The giveaway will run from Monday, November 15th through Wednesday, November 24th (ends at 11:59pm EST). Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn. You must have a Paypal account to win.  By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers.  Please be sure to read the Rafflecopter terms and conditions upon entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I read an article a while back about a Mississippi boy who went missing after possibly chatting with someone online.  This wasn’t anywhere near my house, but still it hits very close to home as my children play games and talk to their friends using apps like this boy was using to chat with others. (Note that he has now been found).

Kids are no longer just sitting in their room playing video games alone.  Many online gamers use built in online voice chat functions in popular games like Fortnite, PUBG, etc or talk with each other using an app like Discord to chat while they play.  If they aren’t using voice chat they can still communicate with each other using type chat or in game features like books on Minecraft.

These are real people with real lives and sometimes really bad intentions.  Conversations with total strangers are just a click or keystroke away.

This. is. scary.

The main reason we created the SKrafty Gaming Community was for my kiddos to have a safer place to play online that is moderated, filtered, and with other like-minded players.  This post is not about just doing away with gaming or even Discord.  Although I don’t suggest Discord for any kiddo who doesn’t have the maturity to handle it as it is a wide open portal to strangers and inappropriate built-in content online.

One of the things the dad says in the news story is this, “I didn’t know”.  He didn’t know that his son was chatting with strangers on an app.  I am not writing this to blame or place fault on the dad, but as a warning to others.  PLEASE know how your kids are talking to their friends and WHO they are talking to!  Privacy is just not something you can afford to give them these days.  This story about the boy in Mississippi is not an isolated incident.  I hear stories frequently about parents who catch their kids chatting inappropriately with strangers online using Discord. I don’t blame Discord for this or any other group chat application or game.  Many of these aren’t evil by themselves, but it’s what others do with them that can cause the problem.  The problem is NOT necessarily Discord, but that he didn’t know.

What can parents do?

1) Keep a finger on the pulse of your child’s online activities.  Know what games they are playing, who they are in talks with, what apps they are using.  Ask them.  Look at what they are doing online!  I know some may disagree with this due to “their right to privacy”, but keeping them safe is so much more important in my opinion.

2) Keep any online gaming activities in a public part of the house.  This is not foolproof as we parents do often get distracted.  BUT..it’s a great way to keep them included in family activities and monitor what they are doing.

3) Make them come up for air.  Gaming is fun and can be beneficial, but it’s good to allow them to explore other interests, complete responsibilities, and get some exercise.  Moderation is key in everything.

4) Have a filter such as Covenant Eyes on your kid’s computer.  It is VERY important to note that this app won’t really help with filtering their apps like Discord or game chat.  However, it is a good start to get an idea of what kinds of things your child is doing online, and will also help to filter out inappropriate web based content.  The BEST filter for that kind of thing is PWOS or “Parent Watching Over Shoulder”.

5) Tune in to your kids.  Listen to them.  Many of these kids are lured off with the idea that their online friends “get them” or “know what they are going through” or “value them more than their family does” or any other online need they have that needs to be filled.  True online friends ARE important and valued and loved.  I know because our family has many online friends who I would consider some of our very best friends.  However, this is not a replacement for real life, in your face, relationships with your family.

6) Disciple them.  One day they won’t be under a parent’s watchful eye & protection, and sadly that time will come faster than we’d like.  Take time now while they are still under your roof to have important discussions about online relationships, safe surfing, etc. Teach them about intentional web use vs. random browsing. As Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”.  Guide them to guard their hearts now to avoid heartbreak later.

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