Catching Up #5: What Happened In December?

     The holidays were crazy and fun and full of learning opportunities. ;) Of course due to vacations, and family gatherings, I fell way behind on posts but the educating continued!

1ST GROUP CRAFT & ACTIVITY
     Some friends from our church met us at a local park and I prepared a craft for the kids to make paper christmas tree ornaments.

      PAPER ORNAMENTS - Here are examples of the two ornaments we made.

Paper Ornament #1

Super easy and can be fun for any age.

Paper Ornament #2

     SNOWBALL FIGHT - After the craft, I lead the kids in a snowball fight (Southern California style). I rolled up several white socks into balls and gave each team a bag of the "snowballs." All the kids had a blast! There was so much laughing and running, it was very memorable. I highly recommend this activity for the holidays.

SPIRITUAL EDUCATION
     Later in the month, my brother was able to go through the LDS temple.  This is a very big deal in our faith.  Being worthy of going into the temple is a wonderful milestone and I was very emotional and proud of my brother.  This turned into a field trip for my girls.  I believe it is very important for children to have experiences and lessons regarding religion and/or faith.  I am certain that the human mind has a part that is stimulated solely from spiritual experiences. This was a perfect opportunity to explain the temple a little more to M.  She was very excited for her uncle to enter, because she is always telling me she wants to grow up and get married in the temple "like mommy."  The best and most effective way of teaching children is to lead by example.  M has so many wonderfully righteous family members who are great examples.  Since the temple was a very special day, I helped M get dressed up for the occasion.  She was so excited to wear a new dress she had been saving for a special occasion.  These pictures don't do the cuteness justice! She was very proud of her big girl dress.

A LESSON ON COURAGE
     We took M ice skating for the first time! I have been looking forward to this day since she was born.  I love ice skating and hope she enjoys it also.  When we first arrived and M saw the ice, she refused to go on the ice. She was very scared and said she wanted to go home.  My husband talked her into putting on her skates and just standing on them.  We told her that she didn't have to go on the ice but that we would give her a treat if she did.  Yes, we are incentive based sometimes, and I see nothing wrong with it.  The world itself is incentive based.  The treat peaked her interest and she walked over to the ice.  When she got to the entrance to the ice, she started to back away and refused again.  At that point, daddy pulled her out on the ice and hugged her to calm her down.  He assured her that we were both so proud that she was on the ice even though she was scared.  Little pep talk after another, she became more comfortable being there.  Baby steps, baby steps.  By the end of the session, she was smiling, laughing, and skating on her own holding onto the wall. I was so glad we pushed her a bit beyond her comfort level.  I was thinking if we had left when she refused to skate, she would not have learned how to face her fears, and she would not have realized how much she liked ice skating.  Pushing your limits can result in great accomplishments and epiphanies.