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.
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.