Christmas thus far...

It has been FREEZING here the past week. Like out of control don't go out unless you have to. It is currently 2 degrees and feels like -12.  We haven't checked the mail for 3 days. This whole week has been pretty much like that often even colder. School has been canceled or on a 2 hour delay the last 3 days around here. We rarely have weather like this and I am so grateful. Of course it gets cold here but not like this.So since the weather has been preventing us from going anywhere we have had plenty of fun inside. A day or so after Thanksgiving I put up this photo on Facebook:

and mentioned how we we're ready for Christmas with our decorating, shopping and wrapping, and Christmas cards done. I love decorating right after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy the whole month being together not trying to get things done. In October I gave a short class at our Super Saturday on "Keeping Christ in Christmas and Easter" and besides some activities that were Christ centered my main points were to:
1. Don't plan too many activities that everyone is overwhelmed or stressed. Prioritize what matters most.
2. Set realistic expectations. Don't expect everything to be perfect or for everyone to love each activity.
3. Plan Ahead: get as much done ahead as possible.
When I think about Christmas I rarely remember what I was given especially when I was young (although I am sure it was great) but I do remember what we did.
So I took my own advice and used any extra time I had to look up lots of fun Christmas themed activities with some learning thrown in. We have put them to good use this week and will use them the whole month see: plan ahead!  (I don't want to steal other people's creativity so all these ideas were found online and are here on THIS Pinterest board)

We have learned with :
Hershey Kisses and M&M's

 Matching upper and lower case letters.

 I wrote Uppercase on the bottom of the kisses and lower case on the paper. There were of course some blank ones thrown in.

 Roll and decorate a Christmas tree with M&M ornaments.  

Each number is assigned a color and when Jared rolls it with the dice he finds the color it is and finds it on the tree. He gets to eat one if he rolls doubles.

 Jingle Bell Math: Jared and Lydia love jingle bells so they thought it was pretty cool.

Writing numbers practice and counting.

 Look at that face! Learning CAN be fun.  

Simplified for Lydia. 

 Big and Small comparisons with stockings. Lydia was just as good at Jared at this. They loved filling the stockings up.

Color Sorting with Bows:

Candy Cane Scented Play Doh.
It was fun to see the colors mix in as they played with it and it smelled so good too.

Jared's Favorite: Wrapping Gifts. I took leftover wrapping paper and put in a box with some extra bows. Jared is constantly wrapping up his toys and giving them to us. I love that he is learning about giving and doing it hands on.

Countdown Chain. We made this right after Thanksgiving. It has been so helpful for the many times Jared asks if it Christmas yet. I simply direct him to the chain so he can see for himself. He is asking less and less which is nice. He and Lydia rotate days taking off a link.

You can also see that we have been spending a fair amount of time in our pajamas this week. Its so cold I just didn't see the need to get them dressed and they do have super cute pajamas currently. My Mom got these for them. 

I love them. I love this time of year. I love planning these activities (and more Christ centered ones these were just for our learning time). I love the Internet and the creative people out there. And I love having the opportunity to teach my kids and spend the day with them, that I get to do these things with them because I have the chance to be with them. Not that I don't still need to get out of the house often and enjoy nap time a great deal. Tomorrow it will be 15 degrees so we are getting out of the house! This post makes me feel like one of the bloggers I love to get ideas from so that is kind of fun too.  All these activities were so simple and affordable.  I had all theses things around the house. It's great. It's been really fun to see Jared and Lydia excited for these learning activities and it has helped keep us busy and happy!