Sugar Plums Dancing...Snowflakes Falling...Let's Write about December with Free Writing Prompts

As the winter officially approaches, many parts of the world are already under the grips of cold weather – from freezing blizzards to lovely snowfalls – winter weather can bring lots of changes to our lives. Many families are taking a break from traditional homeschooling studies to celebrate Christmas so this is the perfect time to work on writing skills in a more relaxed setting. Don't know what to write? Why not try these free writing prompts? 

Photo Prompts 

Writing Prompts 

Download Here! 

What is your favorite thing to write about in the winter? 

Missed our other writing prompts? 

Book Club: Book Review of Mark of the Raven

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher in return for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy. Thank you.

Secrets and special powers abound in Mark of the Raven, Book One of The Ravenwood Saga, by Morgan L. Busse. While reading and reviewing this excellent work of fantasy from Bethany House, I was drawn into the world of Lady Selene, her family, and the other houses introduced by Busse. I have read quite a bit of fantasy and I will be adding Busse to the list of authors I regularly read.

The story starts with a special ceremony in which the heir to the House of Ravenwood, Lady Selene, receives a special mark and eventually awakens with her new power – that of a dreamwalker. Sadly Selene is informed by her mother that the Ravenwood women do not use their gifts of entering another person's dreams for good. They actually are hired by others to gather information and sometimes as assassins. This realization – of the dark job that the dreamwalkers perform – does not sit well with Selene.

In the background of Selene's tale is that of the ever-encroaching Dominia Empire which had attacked the Seven Houses hundreds of years ago. While Selene is learning more of the past, representatives from the other Houses meet at the Ravenwood Home, Rook Castle, to discuss an alliance against the Dominia Empire. Not all the Lords and Ladies are in agreement as to how to handle the Empire. The disagreement causes more strife.

From the opening pages to the exciting conclusion of Book One, I could not put Mark of the Raven down. I was unsure what the tale would hold for me after reading the description and was very pleased at how much I enjoyed this work of fiction. The characters are very well-developed and by the end of the book, I felt like I knew Selene and Damien (Grand Lord of the House of Maris) well and wanted to learn more about the others in a future book.

The inclusion of magical-like gifts or abilities may cause concern for some but I found the inclusion of the dreamwalking and ability to control water or fire intriguing and fascinating. I have read a lot of fantasy novels and Busse's use of these gifts or talents was presented in a new way.

I recommend Mark of the Raven to those who enjoy fantasy. It is a well-written novel that poses some thought-provoking questions (which were explored on Instagram in late October and early November 2018). I know I will be keeping an eye out for Book Two of the Ravenwood Saga!

Instagram Discussion Questions from #FantasyReadAlong

Two of the answers I shared on Instagram. 

Week One

Selene's new power brings many challenges...which would be the hardest for you? 

Damien raises the sea boundary...how would you respond in his place? 

Family Fun: Winter Crafts and Activities

Now that the weather is getting colder, are you dreaming of hot chocolate by the fire and putting up the holly and ivy? Commercials advertising Christmas gifts are popping up on TV and the sounds of the holiday season can be heard earlier and earlier each year in the malls and stores. All of the Halloween and Thanksgiving items are going on clearance. Are you eagerly awaiting the first snowfall? 

Over the years I have shared our winter arts and crafts and activities at A Mom's Quest to Teach. In order to help find those posts, I am sharing them again in one convenient place – right here!

Do you have a favorite? Or does your family partake in their own fun winter activity? 

Winter Crafts 

Snowflake Sun Catcher 

Snowman Names 

Toddler's Christmas Felt Tree 

Snowman Milk Container Craft 

Do you have a favorite winter time craft or activity? 

Holiday Unit Studies are Fantastic for Homeschooling! – A Review of Homeschool Complete Christmas Unit Study

Disclaimer: I received this unit study for free from the Homeschool Complete in return for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy. Thank you.

If you are looking for an all-inclusive curriculum as a Christian parent, Homeschool Complete might be the perfect fit for your family. Thematic units contain lesson plans that cover multiple subjects including mathematics, language arts, and physical education. There are a variety of activities in each unit to help you really meet the needs of your individual child and family. Because Homeschool Complete offers such great flexibility I was very happy to review their Christmas Unit Study (K-6).

What is in the Christmas Unit Study?

The unit study is designed for K-6 grades with a variety of activities to accommodate beginning, intermediate, and advanced level students. For example, while both our children could work on saying the sounds for Lesson 4 in Part A of the student workbook, our five-year-old was able to read the words and we were able to complete the fill in the blank questions, too. And our three-year-old daughter (with help) was able to complete the matching activity (Worksheet 4a). As they get older, we will be able to reuse the Christmas Unit Study and look at the section on contractions and comparison of three digit numbers from Lesson 4.

At the heart of the Christmas Unit Study is the story of the birth of Jesus from the book of Luke. Each lesson introduces new parts of Luke to your children so you can work on memorizing it (or just enjoying it like we did). After the reading of Luke, there are a number of different activities you can complete for the different subject areas.

Sample Activities and Lessons

There are so many great ideas and activities in the lessons that I could see this unit study lasting more than the recommended two weeks for our family. As both our children are younger, we have been spending a short amount of time on the lessons each day spread throughout the entire day. In fact, we were able to complete one of the activities while waiting for dinner to finish baking. How is that for flexibility for the homeschooling family?

Flexibility and adaptability are two of my favorite things about homeschooling. I was able to adapt some of the reading of vocabulary activities to also include writing for our five-year-old. For example, in Lesson 1, one of the activities lists asks the child(ren) to read eighteen words. I wrote out some of these words in our son's notebook for him to read and write.

Some of the activities in the lessons include the following:

• Read a recipe and make gingerbread cookies 
• Count the days until Christmas using a paper chain 
• Put words in alphabetical order 
• Read A Christmas Tale by Geronimo Stilton 
• Play Alphabet Toss 

Learning about positive and negative space using stencils and tracing objects.

What We Like

From the Daily Calendar Routine to the ideas for physical education activities, we are really enjoying the Christmas Unit Study. We really enjoyed working on the different art projects such as using stencils and cut-out shapes to create positive and negative spaces as well as creating paper ornaments for our tree. 

Establishing a daily routine of identifying the date, days of the week, and months of the year has been a great thing to add to our homeschool day. We had been working on these skills but now the kids ask for each day if I should forget ever since we started using the Christmas Unit Study. 

• Each lesson lists the materials needed (for example, the books, crafting supplies, worksheets, or even baking supplies) 
• Very adaptable 
• Each lesson lists the skills – so if you are looking for something specific to work on you can just reference the first page of each lesson 
• Variety of books recommended and used 
• Lessons include language arts, math, and physical activities 

Learning about time and making a clock

Our five-year-old son said his favorite part of the Christmas Unit Study has been learning how to read a clock. I think working on this particular skill has allowed him to feel more grown-up as he is navigating the world of time more and more on his own. Our three-year-old daughter enjoys any project that allows her to draw, color, or create something – which this unit study has plenty for her!

Personally, I would recommend the Christmas Unit Study for families from Homeschool Complete. I find it has been a perfect fit for us as we approach the holiday season. I look forward to continuing to use the activities in the different lessons as we get closer to December 25. 

How do you spend the month of December? Do you use unit studies or take a break from homeschooling? Let me know in the comments!

A Gift Guide When Shopping for Teenage Boys

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Shopping for others can be somewhat daunting and challenging. As our own children get older – or those in our family grow up, it can be difficult to pick out the perfect gift they will love and use – especially if they are a teenage boy.

What is your go-to gift for a teen boy? Do you ask the teen? Sometimes it might be easy because the parents will tell us they are saving up for something – a new gaming platform, sporting equipment, or a concert or trip. Other times they might even have an online wishlist. But what if they don't make it easy?

For the Gamer

The one thing our teen seems to go through is Xbox controllers. Perhaps you know of a young man who is also hard on their gaming controller? If it is within your budget you could purchase a new controller or a gift card to go towards a new one. They even make custom ones.

Headsets are a great option for teens who are allowed to play online games with their friends and family. And just like controllers, they often break and need to be replaced.

If the teenage boy has a favorite video game series, you can bet there are product tie-ins. For example, our son has a Destiny watch and socks. Other gaming series that sell merchandise include Fallout, Minecraft, and Bioshock.

For the Reader

Depending on whether or not your teen enjoys reading, you may or may not find our suggestions helpful. We have struggled for many years trying to find books that our teen enjoys to read for fun. While he liked the Harry Potter series, he wasn't reading them nonstop to find out what happened to Harry and his friends. However, he does enjoy Star Wars comics and reading books about World War II. This recommended reading list has been my husband's go-to list since he was a teen himself. We have provided several suggestions from it for our teen son.

Comics are also a great choice – I recommend finding your local comic book store and supporting them. We are fortunate enough to have one in our town.

 

 For the Sports Enthusiast

To go along with the gaming theme, you could get a custom Xbox controller if your teen is into the NFL. And of course clothing is always a great idea when it comes to buying gifts for growing teens. From t-shirts and hoodies to jerseys and hats, there is such a variety of items available for any sports fan to wear to show their team pride. There are also fun items like Fathead decals or a tabletop foosball table.

Other Fun Ideas

One thing our teen can't seem to get enough of is candy. We don't buy it for him often – usually just the holidays – so candy would be a great gift idea. Even snacks you ordinarily wouldn't buy make for a great gift (and are perfect for snacking during the winter break!).

For the artist, new sketchpads, art pencils and pens, or other drawing materials is a great idea. For the musician, maybe a new case for their instrument or music by their favorite band.

Do your teens have a favorite gift they have received?