We are into the Christmas season. Enjoy all the beautiful lights on the homes in the neighborhoods. We would take our children on scenic routes with the holiday music playing. Are you looking for fun and free things to do with your kids? And speaking of fun with your family, check out this calendar from Indy With Kids. Click on the links in the calendar to find out more. Many of the events aren't limited to only to that day.
Questions about what you may be seeing and doing:
- People ringing bells outside stores. Christmas is a time of giving. These They are volunteers for the Salvation Army which is the philanthropic arm of the Universal Christian Church. You can donate your pocket change in the red bucket to help with their programs.
- Putting up and caring for a real Christmas tree. If you decide to put up a real Christmas tree, remember that it is a living, cut plant (like a bouquet of flowers) and needs to be watered to keep it alive and from becoming a fire hazard. Wherever you buy your tree, they will wrap it and help you tie it on top of your car. You will need a tree stand (pick one up at Goodwill, or Lowes or Meynards or WalMart). Trees can drink up to a gallon of water a day. Give your tree some time to relax before your start to decorate.
- Do not turn off your furnace. Turn it down to 6o degrees, but do not turn it off. Freezing temperatures may freeze your pipes and you will come home to a mess.
- Notify the police that you will be out of town and the dates. They will keep track of your home.
- Stop your mail. Mail will stack up and indicate that you are not home.
- Get your flu shot. As you travel you will be exposed to regional colds and more. Your flu shot will help you not catch that, at least!
Let's Lunch: We have a request for a new opportunity to enjoy each other's company and explore our community and learn about great places to eat and visit. Are you interested? Let me know.
We took a field trip to Goodwill and to the Antique Mall in Westfield. Most of us found some great bargains and deals and discounts. Each booth had merchandise marked down anywhere from 30-50%! Some of us decided to gamble and wait and come back later for deeper discounts! When I went back on Thursday some of the booths had already lowered prices!
December 11: Join us in the large kitchen off of the gym to back and decorate Christmas cookies. Bring your rolling pin, cookie cutters and if you have a mixer bring it, too. We will mix up batches of traditional cookies and then hold a little cookie walk to share our treats and handiwork.
December 18: Join us for our holiday party and our last meeting of the year. Bring a dish to share and a white elephant gift to exchange in a fun holiday game.
International Friends Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00, Room 100
If someone famous or very popular comes to town with their entourage, it can create a great deal of excitement. Huge crowds gather, streets are shut down, and police may be needed to manage the people and the traffic. In John 7, Jesus is talking with his brothers about whether or not he will leave Galilee, where he has been teaching and performing many miracles, and go to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. He knows that if he enters the city with his brothers and the other pilgrims he will create a stir. He also knows that the Jewish leaders are plotting his demise. His brothers want him to do his teaching and miracles in Jerusalem, where more of the important religious leaders will see him. They are still not convinced that Jesus is who he says he is, the Messiah sent from God.
We had great discussion about the beginning of this story. We discussed how difficult it is to know what to believe, particularly when the government or other leaders are controlling what information we get. We also talked about sibling rivalry, a problem that has been plaguing humans since the children of Adam and Eve!
December 11: Join us as we continue to look at this dramatic story.
Parents With Children: Thursdays during our English classes.
Children: 9:00-10:10 and/or 10:15-11:30
Parents with Children: 9:00-9:20, 9:50-10:10, 10:15-10:35 or 11:10-11:30
Check in with the nursery before classes or start with us to be paged for the changing of the children.
We enjoyed Frosty the Snowman cookies (check the dairy case for these cute cookies to quickly bake at home) and hot chocolate and watched the classic Frosty the Snowman. We found a great number of vocabulary building words for parents: silly, corncob, come to life, juggle, ticklish, melt, wishy washy, see the town, catch me if you can, traffic cop, tracks, sail, sleep/steep/deep.
We listened to a teacher read the book Snow by Roy Mckie and P.D. Eastman, but here is another really fun version where the "reader" sings the book instead of reading it! We always talk about singing to remember and to pronounce words. This is a great example.
We made snowmen, sorted colorful snowflakes, played shape and color identification games and sang and danced to a song about Snowflakes Falling to the Ground. See Carolyn for our activities.
December 13: Join us as we celebrate Christmas trees and the meanings behind decorations. We will sing and dance to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and so much more.
scenic routes: not going directly some way to just enjoy the view
fire hazard: something that can cause a fire.
booth: a small store within a larger buildingmerchandise: items for sale
marked down: prices are reducedentourage: a group of attendants or associates, as of a person of rank or importance
pilgrims: persons who journey, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion
create a stir: disrupt
demise: death
sibling rivalry: when children in a family compete for attention
plaguing: bothering, pestering, annoying
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