From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
The books are wrapped and numbered, the figures for our nativity not yet. Sounds like a good excuse to watch a movie tonight after the kids are asleep. I had so much fun looking through the holiday books and putting them in an order that made sense to me. I like to start with the more wintery books and move into the Christmas books as the month progresses. I also like to try and put books into the Advent "theme" week from Steiner. I'll share some of my favorites soon. I felt wistful as I was wrapping them... how much longer will J and L want a picture book a night? Ack!! Someone remind me that my 9yo and 7yo aren't actually moving out of the house anytime soon.
I almost forgot that I had purchased the wonderful "Advent: Lighting the Way to Christmas" from Seasons of Joy last year. I'm so glad I didn't forget I had it. I think it is beyond wonderful, and honestly, I can be a pretty harsh critic. It has general ideas for the whole month of Advent and then the rest is broken up into the four weeks. Each week has at least one story (some have two or three), music for singing or playing, craft ideas, activites and recipes. You could order it today and with very few supplies be ready to go the next day. No affliate deal here, I just think it is well worth the $10 is costs. I've also purchased several other of her guides and been pleased with them, but this one is by far my favorite.
Marsha Johnson at Waldorf Home Educators has a wonderful 4 week lesson plan available for free in her files called "Stories of Light". It can be found in her files then age specific curriculum > second grade > Stories of Light. We used it last year and had a wonderful December filled with stories and activites about Hannukah, Advent and Solstice.
Other Wonderful Advent Links:
Ideas for the First Week of Advent - from Carrie at Parenting Passageway
Baby Steps fo Celebrating Advent - If this is your first time, just pick a few little things to do. The first time we observed Advent with intentionality, all we did we add to our nativity scene day by day, instead of putting it all at out once.
If you have some favorite inspirational links, or would like to link to your own blog, please feel free to do so in the comments. See you tomorrow for the first light of Advent!
