Thanksgiving for God

I know I already posted about Advent, so I am doing this backwards. But, I believe as a homeschooler that I have an awesome opportunity and responsibility to turn the week of Thanksgiving into a truly spiritual experience for my family. Here are a few resources I plan to use this year to do that.

• CatholicMom.com Thanksgiving Resources - variety of links to coloring pages, articles, crafts, etc...
• Christian Preschool Printables Thanksgiving Ideas - very simple, free, printable crafts, coloring pages, games, and more!
• Cranberry Thanksgiving Ideas - a Five in a Row selection perfect for this time of year!
• Family Fun Thanksgiving - totally secular (from Disney no less) but such wonderfully do-able ideas!
• More Cranberry Thanksgiving Ideas - scroll down for all the links
• Origin of Thanksgiving Holiday - historical explanation with link to President Lincoln's inspiring proclamation
• Origins of Thanksgiving Rites - pretty academic but gives me a good understanding
• Thanksgiving Lapbook Ideas - scroll down for mostly free printables, some with a Christian emphasis
• Thanksgiving Tree Idea - start this now, great idea to show thanks and decorate!
• Thanksgiving Unit Studies - literature-based, some with notebooking pages to download for free
• Women for Faith & Family Thanksgiving Day - history and prayers for the day

I am sure there are other fabulous sites out there, but these are helping me get going! Let me know what great Christian/Catholic Thanksgiving traditions your family has! I am, of course, leaving out the simple traditions I brought from my family, like making our own butter (terribly simple version of shaking heavy cream in a well-sealed plastic jar for a really long time) and watching the Macy's parade.

13 Days and Counting!

Advent really is that close? Are you ready to prepare your family prayerfully for the coming of Christ? I am not even close to being ready! Panic time!


First step, compile all of my wonderful resources from websites and blogs online, so I can reap the wisdom of other fabulous moms and liturgical gurus! I figure I will share this with you, just in case you have any gaps, although I am sure everyone (but me) is totally set with their plans, right?!

• Advent & Christmas Clicking – links to relevant posts, including books, lesson plans, cooking, crafts, inspiration, liturgical ideas, etc…
• Advent Basket – outline of plans for an Advent inspired by Serendipity’s Literature for Young Ladies curriculum
• Advent Faith Folder – lapbook for purchase as downloadable PDFs, wonderful products!
• Catholic Mosaic and/or Christmas Mosaic – complete literature-based lesson plans applicable to the liturgical year, or just print the booklist and enjoy reading the titles!
• CatholicMom.com Celebrating Advent – links to resources, articles, and more
• Celebrating Advent & Christmas: A Family Sourcebook – much of the content of this booklet available free online here
• Christmas Preschool Printables – free printable coloring pages, crafts, games, file folder games, mini-books and more, some suitable for older children, too!
• Christmas Symbols Lapbook – free printable lapbook for the slightly older children
• Christmas Tot Book – free printable lapbook for the youngest members of your family
• Christmas Unit Studies & Booklist – free units, some with free lapbooks, including Christmas Around the World and Twelve Days of Christmas lapbooks
• Domestic-Church.com Advent Fridge Art – my favorite place for crafty inspiration
• Holy Heroes Advent Adventure – free, daily emails with fun and educational activities for your family
• Literature for Young Ladies Advent Plans – another version of the Advent Basket above
• Mondays with Mary - to use the complete lessons for Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Nativity of Jesus, and Mary, Mother of God!
• Printable Liturgical Calendar – exactly what it says, awesome!
• St. Nicholas Center – wonderful stories, activities, and lessons on this saint
• The No-Panic Advent Series – read/scan the posts in reverse order for some fabulous ideas
• USCCB Advent Ideas – some simple and easy plans for daily preparations
• Women for Faith & Family Advent Season Calendar – excellent list of feasts, ideas, and articles

And, of course, we have a great number of favorite books we read this time of year not listed above, and I have not even mentioned searching 4 Real Forums, which I usually do once I have a better outline of my plans (as if what is above is not overwhelming enough!). I will probably make one last order from Oriental Trading Company for some simple fun crafts, and we always have our Jesse Tree and Advent Calendar (with chocolates) for daily inspiration.


When I get my final plans put together, I will try to post them. As always, they will be too ambitious, especially for me this year, but I am hoping preparing my children for Christ’s coming will motivate me to put a little more effort into my internal preparation!