Thanksgiving and Grace

 Are you preparing for the Thanksgiving Holiday,  and Advent immediately after?  This week I need grace.  Grace that replenishes, restores, revitalizes! In adoration this time last year, God spoke to my heart with these words below. It was a reminder that when I give of myself to others out of love for God and neighbor, and they do the same, it will come back to me through someone. It's a circulation of the Love of God.

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

I cannot feel fully restored with a hot bath, a new dress, or cup of coffee. It is within the community that I place myself, if it be holy and blessed with charity, that I will find refreshment. I'm so very thankful for all I've been granted through the will of my Father. I'm so very thankful for all blessings I know He will continue to provide. Shortly after reflecting on God's words to me in adoration, I read the following prayer in our church bulletin that confirmed it.

Amen. Though I must admit I'm feeling consumed more with what I need to do of my own making,  and not enough about what he's wanting to do through me. Prayerful discernment is prudent these next few weeks for myself and most busy parents. Oh the plans I have made, knowing very well I must be flexible and count it all joy if there are changes. It was just last year our whole family was sick for Thanksgiving on through all of Advent. It made for a unique experience for the season, and reminded us about it being a penitential time similar to Lent.

If I grow weary, I put this image I found onto my phone screen for a time which quotes Galatians.

"Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

The USA Thanksgiving is a great kickstart for the holiday/Advent season, as we give thanks for all the grace God has given us. How He's a generous giver if our eyes and hearts are open to recognizing it, especially if we are also generous with our time, talent and treasure. SO my gift to you is a short list of ideas what we do on Thanksgiving Day!

WE ARE THANKFUL FOR YOU

Here is a sample template for making place cards for your guests. Write their name on each and decorate with your own marker or watercolor paintings. Cut out and display on the table settings. Let them write what they are thankful for on the back.

We have a banner we bought a few years ago and each year we sign it and add anything we are grateful for. It has been a lovely keepsake to put up each year with whomever visits, or even if it was just us. I've seen others do this with a linen table cloth. 

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15

GOBBLE GOBBLE

The traditional meal is a Turkey Dinner, with all the fixings of stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls and butter, and pie for dessert. 

The meal where you feel more stuffed than the turkey. So of course a lot of childrens' crafts include turkeys and food, so of course inspired by some art I found online, I made this coloring sheet for my children to watercolor.

They chose if they wanted to redraw it onto watercolor paper, trace it, or simply use the coloring sheet printed on cardstock. Overall, they enjoyed this simple project. Here is the sheet if you'd like to print it out.

This was enjoyed by our 7 and almost 4yo boys.

Thanksgiving Activities in our home might include:

Paper Football Game (table runner)

Crossword Puzzle Team Challenge

Stuff the Turkey - CornHole/Bean-bag Toss

Shake Your Tailfeathers

Roll-A-Turkey dice (drawing) (cut and paste) (w/M&Ms)

Cornicopia Catch (Blindfolded)

Thanksgiving Pictionary

Ping Pong in the Goblet

Table Talk Cards (or Would You Rather)

Turkey Baster Relay (blow feathers)

Traffic Yam Race (roll a yam on floor)

Hunting Turkeys (darts)

Settlers of Catan Board Game

many ideas can be found online, especially through Pinterest.

Thanksgiving Pictionary was so easy to create. I bought wide wood craft sticks that are precolored. On one side I wrote the words and the other side drew feathers,  as pictured. They are in a small pot feather side up. Everyone will choose a feather when it's his or her turn, draw the word,  and we all guess.  Whoever guesses correctly is the next drawer. What other words would you add?

In a hilarious effort,  we had to ban the drawing of a bowl first,  because otherwise people would simply guess a list of foods until they right. Here's a few examples of how much was drawn before the word was guessed.  

Friendship

Cranberries

Mayflower

Charity

My sister guessed "Plymouth Rock" before my brother had even put his marker to the board! It was the best laugh we've all had in awhile. 

This is a classic game that everyone can find enjoyable if they aren't a genuine scrooge. It was also one of those moments I was glad to have a classroom/dining room, ready with a whiteboard. 

We have a box of feathers, for the game "Shake Your Tailfeathers," whereby you fill an empty rectangle tissue box with feathers, tie it around your waist and see who can empty it the fastest. Of course, these goofs think the feathers also make good mustaches! hehe

The other day, my youngest daughter (who likes Little House on the Prairie) surprised me with this pilgrim costume she put together from the dress-up box. It brings me such joy that she still enjoys little girl things, pure things, untainted by the world today. My girls love modesty, simplicity, creativity, and I think we've only begun exploring their talents. I think dressing up modestly, or as a pilgrim or native, would be appropriate.

PRAY A ROSARY TOGETHER!

I wanted to get this out quickly, so I'm sure I'll revisit this post after the holiday and refresh with new photos of what we did, and any new ideas that emerged. We wish you all a grace-filled Advent and a blessed Thanksgiving Day. Peace be with you! O Come Emmanuel!

Brick Building Challenges

 

A long while ago my children were in an email group that had daily brick building challenges, and it was an easy way to get their imagination gears working beyond the typical house and car they'd build. I cannot recall who shared the ideas, but I kept a list and added a few of my own. Recently I made a set of cards to set out for my children, one a week, for them to try this year. Because most of the ideas are not my own, I'd like to share them free for you to print and do with your family.

>>CLICK HERE FOR BRICK BUILDING CHALLENGE CARDS<<

**If you're interested in us creating a Catholic Brick Challenge set, please comment below! 

If you'd like to share images of your creations, you can send them to homegrowncatholic@gmail.com or visit me on Facebook

Classroom Penmanship Posters

 

As I'm setting up our homeschool classroom for a 17th year, I wanted to have a small poster for handwriting/penmanship, especially with two third grade level students learning cursive. So many similar posters available online are expensive, so I created this $2 set of 6 printable Classroom Penmanship & Prayer Posters in a *you chose* green or black chalk board style. We should be spending our money on good books, not letter posters. Visit my shop for your copy! https://www.etsy.com/listing/1260874224

Read to the end for a FREE POSTER

Alphabet Primary Handwriting

 

Alphabet Cursive Handwriting

 

Alphabet Typed Font

 

Alphabet Cursive without guidelines

A School Day Prayer

 

The Our Father Prayer

All images come in a black or green option. They were created to print as 8.5x11" posters, but can be printed smaller. The main two posters of print and cursive are also included as a jpeg if you wanted to try to print them larger. 

Visit my shop for your copy! https://www.etsy.com/listing/1260874224

The wood frames I used can be found here: https://amzn.to/3J9ZScE

**CLICK ONE OF THESE BELOW TO PRINT FOR FREE!**

Holy Housekeeping

Housekeeping: Taking Care of Our Domestic Church

with Deep Clean Dollars & Weekly Chore Cards

As part of teaching the value of quality, hard work and how to save-spend-share, I'm hiring our children for Deep Clean services this summer. They want to earn money, and I need the help. What would you be willing to pay? What tasks would you include? Hopefully the pay is just enough to be an incentive and fair, but reasonably within budget. No limit to how many they claim.

>CLICK HERE< for the Digital PDF File 

with 28 Chores and blank cards, 

an Inspirational Poster, and Chore Charts

**Read to the end for a freebie! I'm still putting this chore system to the test. I did find a nice card holder at Target yesterday that fits them to our needs. I'd love to hear back how you implement and like these chore cards.

Overall the house is finally getting many things Deep Cleaned, and the children like the Chore System. Happier helpers when they choose the chore vs assigning it. My 13 year old was by far the most ambitious. I actually had to set a limit for him, so everyone had a chance and he actually could get it done. The chores also are rotated so everyone has a chance to try something, and no one person is stuck with diaper duty or dishes every week.

The chores range from easy for a young child to challenging for a teenager. These are things that are done less often, and most parents would appreciate the help. There are also a few Weekly Chore Cards if you wanted to add those. 

By assigning a *dollar award, the children will not only be incentivized but each chore will be expected to be completed and done to the best of their ability. Expect the first time to include “Training on the Job.” (*Cards DO NOT have dollar/reward amounts on them. You will fill that in yourself.)

They may also be taught the process of hiring and training, as well as how to Spend, Save and Share. I did reiterate to them that if they only do half the job, they only get half the pay. So as they learn to do more of it themselves, they earn more. 

Our hope is that it will encourage good work ethic for the child, growing in responsibility, and learning new skills. Also there are lessons in patience and healthy expectations of the parents. Overall, the attitude we have should be growing in the desire to serve others with a heart of joy and love for one another. 

As Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Wash the plate not because it is dirty, nor because you are told to wash it, but because you love the person who will use it next.” (Bonus Quote Poster Included) 

>CLICK HERE< for the Digital PDF File 

with 28 Chores and blank cards, 

an Inspirational Poster, and Chore Charts

The entire set of Weekly Chore and Deep Clean Cards are available in my Etsy shop, but I wanted to offer you a FREE set of the Weekly Chore Cards below to see how you like it.

If you're looking for a simple place to write out your chores for the week, you can print out this form and visit my post about Planning Our Home Life for a few more versions. Keep in touch with how it worked for you in the comments! Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see me change, update or create too.

What are some other things I've found helpful in managing a large family household?  Check the side bar topics for all my thoughts.  Visit my new Amazon Recommendation Shop for things we have in our home and enjoy like kitchen items, books, and favorite movies! 

 https://www.amazon.com/shop/homegrowncatholics

May God bless all your endeavors!

*Mary and Martha, pray for us!*

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1275122993/housekeeping-chore-cards