Dear Friends,

It’s the last day of October. Tomorrow ushers in a new month. Take a deep breath. Your calendar is likely to start getting busy, and I want you to remember that you are not behind on the Holiday Missions. You can jump in today. Planning your Holidays in small steps really helps reduce your stress.

With a couple of months under your belt on your homeschool year, how are you doing? When I start my homeschool year early in August, I have a long Christmas break planned, and I plan on ending our year by the end of May. This makes me very happy.

Even if you did not start as early as I did, you can make your calendar work for your needs. During November and December our family does more baking and making of gifts. This is a part of our school day. We still do the basics: reading, writing, and math. But we add in time for these hands on activities.

Even as I am writing now, my son is making chocolate chip cookies from scratch. He researched a recipe, pulled out the ingredients, and made his cookie dough without my help. He preheated the oven, and he put the dough on the cookie sheets. He asked me to look at everything before he put them in the oven. He set the timer and put them in the oven.

If I had not spent many years letting my children help in the kitchen, he would not have these skills. I have found that not only do boys like to eat, but I have found that they like to cook, too.

One year for Christmas, my son wanted to make bird houses for presents. He planned this with my husband, and he gathered the materials. They worked together using the saw, but otherwise, my son did these on his own.

Start thinking about ways you can involve your children in gift giving. Even young children can help make gifts, if that is something you want to do for your friends and family.

What kind of school schedule do you have for the months of November and December?

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

My menu plan for Tuesday is taco Tuesday.