Homeschool Holiday Handicraft Gift Exchange

Part I: The Event

It still amazes me that last year we didn’t know of any other homeschool families in our area. I attempted to gather some moms together through a “Mommy and Me Playdate” at our church, and as fun as it was —my kids were such good sports about playing with toddlers—I know my kiddos longed to spend time with other homeschool kids their age.

God has grown our church since and we have a number of families (kids of all ages) who homeschool. What a blessing! And so this year, I started a small co-op for members of our church who also homeschool and our monthly gatherings have been such a blessing. So far, we’ve learned about medicinal plants from a Florida state park ranger, learned about beekeeping from a local bee farm, and finished the year with a handmade gift exchange!

The idea behind this exchange was to make something (less than $5) that you can easily make multiples of for the kids in your age category. We had three groups:

• Elementary (Kindergarten through 5th grade)

• Students (Middle & High School)

• Moms

This turned out to be such a fun event and we were all surprised how creative and thoughtful each person’s gift was. Each person had to “present” there gift and share about the process of making it or how it could be utilized. Some of the kids were nervous to share but it gave them an opportunity to practice a casual form of public speaking. As our homeschool group continues to grow, we will certainly have to scale our events accordingly. My secret dream is to have a “handicraft market” where they can practice business skills by making, selling, and bartering their items.

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Part II: The Gifts

Peppermint Playdough

Skye wanted to make play dough so we made two colors (natural and red), added in some glitter, and peppermint oil. We rolled it up and sliced it so it would look a little like a piece of candy.

Ninja Stress Balls

These stress balls were a little stressful to make, ha! Made of flour and balloons, we had a lot of fun as we saw them come together one by one. Cora drew on all the eyes and the kids loved them!

Leather Cord Holders

Kaiden wasn’t sure what to make and so we found a tutorial on Pinterest to make these leather cord holders. They are actually super handy and now I want a bunch for all around our house. The hardest part of this process is hammering the buttons on. I did discover through this process that I do enjoy working with leather which led me to create my gift for the other moms…

Leather Key Chains

I stamped the words “Coram Deo” which means “living in the presence of God” along with their initials on the other side.

Lavender Bath Bombs

I also had a lot of fun making these. The lavender buds are from a friend’s home in California and the calendula flowers are from my Summer garden. I haven’t tried them out but my friend who received one said they are heavenly. I will have to take her word for it!

These are not all the gifts the other kids made but this does show you some of the creativity of them! Pictured: Homemade Cookies (from a family that use to sell their cookies at Whole Foods!), custom pet portrait ornament, leather bookmark, hot chocolate bomb, and clay coin holder.

Lastly, here are the gifts the other moms made: crocheted beanie, shell necklace, dried orange ornament, orange kombucha, clay ornament set, and a knitted coffee sleeve. This event was a success and I’m so grateful to each child and parent who put so much into this exchange proving once more that homeschooling can be such a creative endeavor. I’m overjoyed that God has brought these families to 5 Bridges and am grateful to have a community of friends doing this homeschool journey alongside me. Soli Deo Gloria.

Reflecting on a Year of Home Education (2022-2023)

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

One of the requirements of a Florida Home Education is that the parent compiles a portfolio showing each student’s progress for the year. I just finished putting ours together and I’m grateful that it’s forced me to reflect on the last year and see all that God has done.

Choosing to homeschool is a calling. I never imagined that I would be that parent. I looked forward to the day that all my kids were in school so that I could focus on my own personal ambitions, Deeply Rooted Magazine being one of them.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Oh, has this become a life verse! 😂

God gave me what I wanted for a season but when Ethan went into full-time ministry, we learned to adapt to an entirely different schedule. We realized that our kids spent the best portions of their day away from us. By the time they got home, they were tired, we had more schoolwork to do, and there was a lot of emotional unpacking to do from their day. (We found this to be the case both at public and private schools.) By the time homework was done, it was dinner, and then bedtime. Add lots of church-related events, hospitality, and soccer practice. It was too much.

In addition to the chaotic schedule, we recognized that someone else was doing the primary discipleship. For 7-8 hours a day (not including the bus) they learned from their teachers, whatever books their teachers assigned, and their peers. In public school, every aspect of their learning was divorced from the knowledge of God. Although our kids did have opportunities to share the Gospel and we had many awesome opportunities to witness our kids discern through topics (like evolution), we knew this wasn’t a great long-term solution. But even private schools came with a myriad of issues and inconsistencies. (Additionally, we found that our kids were learning way more inappropriate things from their friends at the Christian school than they ever learned at the public school.)

The choice to homeschool gave us the time we wanted back and it also gave us the opportunity to custom-tailor their education. Not only could we be intentional about what they are learning, we could also consider each unique personality, interest, and learning style.

The beauty of homeschooling is that it offers so much flexibility. Some days were tough. A friend told me that sometimes school is less academic, and more discipleship. This is true when you are with the same people 24-7. But! Homeschooling offers more time for those deeper conversations. Some of the greatest lessons my kids have learned are not academic but involve spiritual, everyday application. Also, whenever an idea wasn’t clicking (or even when it was) we made the time to explore a little bit longer and linger on a lesson. Even better, we took what we learned and got hands-on with it, whether by working with our hands or physically exploring ourselves.

All in all, we have no regrets about our decision. Homeschooling is both intentional and strategic, utilizing the God-given gifts our kids have been entrusted with. It can work in harmony with a family, deepening family bonds and benefiting the home. I can personally testify that my children are happier and less stressed. I have seen such a positive change not only in my kids but in our family as a unit. There have certainly been days where I’ve felt inadequate and questioned my ability to teach my kids, but overall, I’ve loved learning alongside my kids and teaching them truths that are rooted in the knowledge of God. 2022-2023 was a great year and I’m excited to see what the next one brings. Soli Deo Gloria.

We planted these from seeds and had so much fun watching them grow and eventually produce vegetables.

They helped me build our garden beds!

Ethan taught the kids how to chop wood and build a fire.

We used Simply Charlotte Mason for most of our curriculum. I plan to write a review on it!

These are some samples of their written narrations.

Kaiden was able to play at our local public school and Ethan was able to still coach!