December table time goodies

I knew we would be busy doing advent themed stuff in December so I didn't plan any Worlds of Learning activities but what I didn't realize was how much we love table time. All three of us. If I get busy, Lucy will quickly remind me that we forgot "stories and songs" and Jonah breaks out in a big smile whenever I start the hymn or poem. It's one of the ways I am able to maintain a clean kitchen because I can keep him in his seat an extra 5 minutes or so while I finish loading the dishwasher. That boy loves to help unload the dishwasher, even if the dishes inside it are not clean!

I keep it pretty simple. We start at lunchtime with the song, normally when I am done and starting to clean up but the kids are still eating. Then we do the poem and the story. By then Lucy is normally done eating and ready for bible memory verses and her catechism questions. Lastly, I try to either review something everyday (previous months hymn or poem, or our list of rules we did before catachism started) or if she asks, look at the pictures.

If things are starting to fall apart at some point, we just stop and pick up at snack time after nap.  We eat a lot around here so we have lots of chances to fit it in. It's quickly become my favorite "schoolish" type thing and maybe even one of my favorite parts of the day, besides naptime and bedtime, of course. I didn't want to miss out on a month so I found some Christmas table time songs (a planned for a song per week instead of just one for the month but we'll be practicing them during our regular evening advent time as well), a poem and a few pictures to look at so I thought I might as well share them. And we'll spend the month listening to The Nutcracker along with all my favorite christmas carols.

If you have never done Table/Circle Time before but have thought about it, give it a try. If you print these ahead of time and display them near your eating spot, it almost does itself!

  Wol Christmas Extras