We ended up with a winter wonderland this week. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so much fun. There were snowmen, steaming mugs of hot chocolate, beautiful walks and cozy stories. We played games, had pretty tea times, went on field trips and enjoyed a wonderful time learning.

The upstairs Christmas tree looks lovely, so there’s that too. The advent books are wrapped, one picture book to open each day. And the presents are all wrapped up as well! In the Snippets from Around the Web section of this post, you’ll find out why I’m not crazy for having things done so early.

Also, it has been a productive week of homeschooling! You can read all about it in the This Week in Homeschool section below. And, of course, I’m sharing some great books and other goodies as well.

I’m looking forward to a cozy, relaxing weekend. Here’s hoping you have the coziest of weekends too!

~Mary-Ann

This Week on TGFL

Here’s what’s been happening on The Grace-Filled Life this week:

• Why Did We Choose Home Education? – Knowing why you make decisions helps you stick with them during hard times. Read all about the two reasons why we’ve chosen to continue homeschooling.
• An Omer of Manna: Finding Joy When Life is Hard – God is so faithful! I had the privilege of sharing a little bit about His faithfulness in my life with a beautiful group of homeschooling mommas last week. I decided to also share about it on TGFL as well.

This Week in the Outdoors

We’ve been out a few times this week, hiking and running up and down the escarpment stairs (a 289-step stairway up a cliff). On Tuesday night, as snow fell softly, my eldest and I huffed and puffed our way up those stairs more than four times. On Wednesday, we climbed a 269-step stone staircase. Just once, but it felt good. We’re training to climb the CN Tower in Toronto in the spring. And although I don’t enjoy the cold temperatures, it does feel really good to get out and do this.

This Week in Books

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Between the five of us, here’s what we’ve been reading:

Picture Books and Readers

• Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla – One of our favourites.

Chapter Books

• Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey – This is the absolute sweetest book about a little twig doll with a hickory nut head who must figure out how to fend for herself through the winter. We’re reading it aloud during Morning Time and enjoying it so much!
• Quest for the Lost Prince by Dave and Neta Jackson – After reading about Samuel Morris in our morning devotions, my daughter decided to learn more about him with this biography from Trailblazer Books.

Adult Reads

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley – One of the pastors recommended this book in a sermon on Sunday, so I was really thrilled when I found it in the library at my home educator’s meeting on Monday night! It’s church history in an easy-to-read and-absorb format. Brilliant!
• Home Education by Charlotte Mason – I’m continuing to work my way through the first volume of Charlotte Mason’s writings on education.

This Week in Homeschool

Last week, we learned about the weather; however, we didn’t get around to doing this fun water cycle project until this week. It’s a little chilly out so we’ll see how it works!

In our nature study co-op this week, we learned about moss and lichen. It was a fascinating lesson that included a hike, teaching time, story, nature journaling and homemade terrarium.

Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo was offering free admission on Thursday, so we headed over to meet some animals. The highlight was most definitely the snake feeding. We learned so much! The girls chose one animal from the zoo to research further next week. They both picked the ring-tailed lemur.

We finished the week off with a trip to the science centre, which is always fascinating. The highlight for me was watching the seven-foot Tesla coil in action. Click here to watch the video.

Snippets from Around the Web

• Did you know that people who decorate early for Christmas are happier? Apparently, there’s science to back this up!
• Heart-to-Heart Homeschooling, one of my all-time favourite blogs, has some great tips for how to spark your child’s imagination with kid lit. Definitely worth a read!
• Have a child who bucks at doing schoolwork? Find out how to incorporate interest-led learning into your homeschool. (Side note: I need to do more of this.)

Don’t forget to check out The Grace-Filled Life Facebook page. It’s your one-stop place for encouragement, inspiration and laughs throughout the week. You can also find TGFL on Pinterest and Instagram.