Thanksgiving Photos and Crafts 2014 December 4, 2014

Hello dear ones! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and that you are enjoying the Christmas season. This year we made Thankful jars to store our thankfulness during the month of November. On Thanksgiving we took turns reading our blessings. The person who had the most in their jar, won the first slice of pie. Mom won. I also made these pilgrim hat place settings. I saw the idea online to use these as crayon holders for kids but I wanted it to be more.

Fof the Thankful jars I had Michael paint his handprint and we made it into a turkey. Then we put a thankful verse on the other side of the jar.

Chris did a great job on the ham and turkey. The turkey was a lil late so I didn’t get a pic. Mom and I tag teamed the rest of the meal. I usually cook most of mine the night before. It’s easier that way. We spent the morning watching The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Michael helped me make pies this year.

After we ate we took down all the fall decor and put up Christmas decorations. I needed all the help I could get this year.

Mom helping Michael decorate his room.

Chris went hunting the next day.

Well, that’s how we spent our Thanksgiving. How about you? What traditions do you have? God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Thanksgiving 2013 December 10, 2013

Hello dear ones! We had a busy Thanksgiving back in my hometown. We had three grandparents to visit (all mine), Chris’ parents, and a couple aunts, uncles, and cousins. Before that Mom and Michael put on a puppet theater for me and we learned about the Mayflower. In Jesup we were able to see “Frozen” at the Drive In which was super fun. Also one of my grandparents had an Olmec replica from Mexico. It was neat to see what we learned about in history right in their living room.

We visited Dad’s grave but had to avoid the sprinklers. What a bad day to have the sprinklers on…It was good to see family but even better to come back home sweet home. My Mom and StepDad took care of all the pets for us and I know they were relieved to stop collecting eggs from the chickens etc. We really do live on an ark lol ;).

Here are the links to the neat Thanksgiving activities we did before our trip:

We got our puppet printables here and put them on craft sticks. I used a folder for the stage.

http://teachbesideme.com/this-is-the-feast/

I got the cute play script from here:

http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=37815&esp=PRT/ib/20091013/acq/t_giving_html////txtl////

We did this Thanksgiving timeline game here:

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2011/11/the-1st-thanksgiving-a-timeline-activity-book.html

Michael took the interactive Thanksgiving  journey here:

http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/

Here’s a good Thanksgiving lapbook:

http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.net/reforthlaand.html

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Happy Thanksgiving! November 27, 2013

Crafty Monday: Our Julius Caesar Party (Rome Week 1) November 25, 2013

In this post: Our first week studying Rome and the Caesar family, Julius and Octavian (Augustus). Also links to past Thanksgiving crafts.

Hello dear ones! This will be short and to the point today.  Below is a list of what’s pictured and at the end are links to last years Thanksgiving crafts.

• We ate like Romans with Pita bread and feta cheese. We also had apples with yogurt and honey.
• We read about the Caesars in The Story of the World. Then had a Julius Caesar party with Little Caesar’s Pizza, a Caesar salad, and  a homemade orange Julius. I didn’t follow a recipe but I figured it was close enough. I just put orange sherbert and milk in the blender.
• We watched the movie Caesar and Cleopatra on Netflix.
• Here’s a good way to remember the order of the first Caesars. July comes before August. Julius before Augustus (a.k.a Octavian).  Those months were named after the Caesars.
• We did a small lapbook on Rome from here: http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.net/anroexqla1.html  . That’s where we found out what food they ate.
• We studied pictures of coins with Caesar on them. We couldn’t make a good enough impression so we just wrote roman numerals and Caesar’s name on clay coins.

• We attempted to make a Roman aqueduct out of Legos but didn’t have enough. So instead we made a crude aqueduct out of clay.
• We took our Greek gods mobile and just changed the names to the Roman gods.  We read a story about Cupid and talked about how he shows up in Valentine’s cards etc. We also talked about how we got our planet names from the Roman gods. More found here: http://rome.mrdonn.org/index.html
• Michael drew the Roman Colosseum from his Draw and Write Through History book.
• He played this Roman Aqueduct game found here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/aqueduct.html

That’s it :). We have two more weeks of Rome after Thanksgiving Break and then plenty of free time til January. It’ll be nice to take a long holiday break for once.  Last year, we studied the pilgrims and native Americans. We had many fun crafts so I hope you check them out :).

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/crafty-monday-the-pilgrims-and-the-mayflower/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/a-late-crafty-monday-native-americans-thanksgiving-past-plus-u-k-country-study/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Last Week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/crafty-monday-ancient-india-china-plus-veterans-day/

Rome Week 2: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/rome-week-2/

Rome Week 3: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/rome-week-3-chariots-pompeii-and-the-end/

Thanksgiving Blessings & Advent Prep December 5, 2012

Note: Advent ideas at the end.

Well friends, this is no longer a late Sunday post or even a late Monday. It is Tuesday( a late Tuesday even) and I am playing catch up. I thought when NaNoWriMo ended I could easily get back to normal…but no…..advent/ holiday cheer hit me like a brick. Even having all the decorations up before December first did not give us a big enough head start. So this post and Monday’s post are late and it will be okay. Bear with me :). I’ve fallen asleep the last two nights while uploading pictures…pitiful I know.

Thanksgiving went well. It was thrown together at the last minute since we didn’t know if my Dad-in-law would be in the hospital or home. We had plenty to eat  and great fellowship. We were most thankful that  Chris’ Dad got to come home. Please keep him in your prayers. He’s still not well.

I’ve come to love some of the differences in Chris’ family compared to mine. Everyone is quieter and we watch a lot of t.v. there. I come from a talkative bunch on both sides and they love to play games. It’s nice to have some solitude and to enjoy the backwoods at Chris’ parents. Chris found out that his old room is actually “OUR” room now…according to me.

Chris showed Michael and me a tall tree that he could leap over when he was a kid…..because it wasn’t so tall then. The tree in the pic below was planted about twenty years ago. How neat!

Michael and I enjoyed climbing this tree below.

Aunt Cherrie  a.k.a Aunt Ri is a great tickle monster. Her hubby, Chris’ oldest brother Wesley is beside her. He goes to Afghanistan in the near future.  We will all miss him.

Aunt Stella and Uncle Thomas (Thomas is the next to oldest brother) are admiring the snow people ornaments I made them. We were just missing Brian, Chris’ next brother who is not much older than us. Chris (my hubby) is the youngest of four boys and guess what….there are no grand-daughters. Michael is the youngest of five grandsons.

My guys being macho. Chris taught Michael how to shoot a BB gun. I admit that I was very nervous.

Michael didn’t get much practice before Aunt Ri’s nephew came over to play. Uncle Thomas and Chris took the time to repair a very old remote control car. They are both savvy with computers and wires n such…..so they Frankenstein-ed it I guess.

My Mom in law helping Michael decorate a gingerbread tree.

The results: voila! Note: I ended up finishing it with her because another kid came over to play and Michael lost all interest. Those tiny balls of candy were irritating or maybe my hands were  just slippery.

This part is really cool so I hope you’re still reading ;). Chris told me the story of when his parents first bought the land and his dad carved their initials in a tree. So we embarked on a mission to find that special tree….back in the thick woods.

We were SO excited to find it. The initials are huge but they’re hard to make out. They say “MD”  picture of a heart “PD”.

Look closely. This part is “MD”. My Dad in law used a hammer to carve this.

This is the heart.

“PD”. Did you see it? What a legacy! I hope to print these out for Christmas. It’ll make a great gift :).

Chris and I found our own tree nearby. We found another family member’s carving done when they were a kid. It was an embarrassing discovery for them though. Oops :(.  We wrote ours above so I guess it cancels theirs out.

When we got home we bought a LIVE Christmas tree. The guys wanted a real tree. Upon bringing it home, I remembered why I wanted a fake tree. I am allergic. I’ve had a headache every day. Maybe we will all remember next year.

Michael and I decorating the tree.

Chris and Michael decorating. Critters ate holes in our salt dough ornaments. Only a few survived :(. We will make more this year, Lord willing. Isn’t it great how the deer head looks through the tree? You might be a redneck if…

I was most excited about my centerpiece for the table. At Chris’ folks’ I spent some time watching the Cardinals with his Dad…..actual Cardinals…..the birds…not the team. Hence, the idea.

I got the greenery and fake flowers at the Dollar Tree…also the glass vase. I took a branch from the Christmas tree and real cranberries and put them in the vase with water. I got the cardinal salt shakers and white cloth mats at Walmart…also the napkins. Chris thinks I’m silly. When I looked at my work I squealed. It looked like a blanket of snow on my table.

Gum Drop, Gingerbread, and later chocolate Peppermint candles help balance out the evergreen smell.

Here is a hint of what’s to come next Sunday. We had an interesting time taking our Christmas photos at the park…with the WHOLE family ;). Doesn’t the kitty look cute trying on his hat?

The stockings are hung :).

December 2nd I threw an advent calendar together. I think it turned out good. Each day has a joke and a Christmas activity written on a piece of paper. We also have an advent book that came in Thriving Family magazine. Each night we read a verse and an excerpt about one of God’s names (or characteristics I should say…like Prince of Peace etc…). It has object lessons too.

Michael and I made the deer, Rudolph. Chris didn’t let the nose stay there :(. The Santa hat was as far as he would let us go.

Sunday morning our church lit the first advent candle. Our Pastor preached about hope, and of course Jesus Christ is our hope. We no longer wait for the hope of a first advent. Christ has come already as savior. His second coming will be much different. He came first as a baby but he returns as a warrior King riding a white horse. He is humble and merciful yet also strong and righteous. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come!

My family in front of the Crismon tree at church. Each ornament (Crismon) represents something Biblical.

Here is our advent ideas. I’m only writing the ones you can use too. Some activities can be repeated.

• Family pictures for Christmas cards
• Advent celebrations at church (hanging of the greens, church musical, etc…)
• Make gingerbread creations (Nativity, houses, trains, and so on)- in our case we used graham crackers
• Decorate a cardboard house with lights and the works (we haven’t found a big enough box for this yet)
• Read a Christmas book (The Christmas Box, The Gift of the Magi, and The Christmas Candle are wonderful)
• Watch a Christmas Movie
• Make Tickets to use for a magic ride to see lights. Popcorn and Hot chocolate included.
• See the Guardians. We don’t do Santa or the Easter Bunny but honestly the movie looks funny so we want to see it.
• Christmas parade
• Christmas Concert with army band. This one’s free so I’m excited. Maybe you could catch your high school band’s concert?
• Make Christmas cookies for the Nursing Home staff & write Christmas cards for staff and residents. We usually just give them to the residents that we play Bingo with.
• Decorate cone Christmas trees (ice cream cone, green frosting, M& M’s?)
• Make mini Christmas pizzas with cookie cutters
• Make yarn card holders/ centerpieces. In my last Christmas post I had directions for these. My Grandma taught me.
• Christmas party- we have one with Sunday School but may have a small family party too. Ideas for the small party include: singing carols, dancing to Christmas music, playing minute to win it games, and having grinch punch :).
• See the Nutcracker for a Mother-Son date.
• Go to the mall and eat. Enjoy window shopping.
• Decorate cookies again but for the neighbors and Chris’ office.
• Read THE Christmas story in Luke or Matthew.
• Watch The Nativity.
• Go see a live Nativity. Last year, we went to one that took us through Bethlehem and then out to the manger. It also went to the cross and the gospel was presented afterwards. It was all done in a corn maze. Michael said it was magic.
• Make Cookies in a jar and Rice Krispy snowmen
• Candle lit dinner with soft music in the background. Eat something fancy?
• Make Salt dough ornaments (this isn’t on our list but we’re doing this for our homeschool  craft).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Happy Thanksgiving! November 21, 2012

Hello dear ones! I hope you’re gearing up for a lovely holiday :). And if you’re not stateside then I pray you will still enjoy a spirit of thankfulness. Last year, I had the privilege of cooking most everything on my own for Thanksgiving. It was fun but this year it’ll be nice to relax and eat my Mom in law’s food. So far it looks like my father in law will be coming home for Thanksgiving. Keep praying. Lord willing, then that’ll be a great reason to celebrate thankfulness. I nearly promised you Thanksgiving videos so here they are :). Recipes if you scroll down 😉

A Dover Thanksgiving
~ here is our amateur play. We found the script online. It’s on my  fall Pinterest. This is the same one we did with Mom the other year. The bloopers from that one were the best. Sorry I can’t show them ;).

Chris- the narrator and Massasoit

Amber- all the Pilgrims

Michael- Squanto and the other Native Americans

Michael reading Thanksgiving poems

We did not write these. I can’t remember where we found them. We had them last year too.

Water Gate Salad Recipe

This is one of my favorite desserts that my Mom taught me. Don’t let the greenness fool you. Even Michael agrees that this dessert tastes awesome despite it’s color. When I was a kid I wouldn’t try it because it was green. One day someone dared me to taste it and then it became my favorite dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 large bowl of cool whip
• 1 package of instant pistachio pudding
  mix 3 oz
• 1 can med crushed pineapple (not drained)
• 1 1/2 cups small marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (we use pecans)
• optional: whole red maraschino cherries (cut in half and drain juice)

Directions:

1. Mix cool whip and dry pudding mix
2. stir well
3. add pineapples
4. add marshmallows
5. add nuts
6. mix (add cherries for Christmas usually. I like them every time though)
7. cool in fridge for 2 hours

Green Bean Casserole

This is usually what I take to family dinners but it’s great for an at home meal too.

Ingredients:

Double recipe if having a big Thanksgiving. I always have to.

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• Two 14.5 oz cans of cut green beans
• 1 1/3 cups french fried onions

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In 1 1/2 qt. casserole, mix all ingredients except 2/3 cup french fried onions
3. Bake 30 minutes
4. Stir
5. Top with 2/3 cup onions
6. Bake 5 minutes or until onions are golden.

I plan on taking the week and some of next week off. I’ve got a lot of writing to do.  So here are some pics of our week. Michael only had two days of school. It’ll be nice to vacation.

We did some Angry Bird Math.

Printables on math section of my Pinterest.

I made this sorting game, using Angry Bird candy.

Angry Bird Fractions and Michael’s chapter book “Peanut Butter Pilgrims”.

We learned a bit about manners with this book and we made a pumpkin pie spinner that shows what Michael’s thankful for.

We made these thankful turkeys into thank you cards to give out at Thanksgiving. Chris and I made some too.

Money Games- how many to make a dollar and how many to make a quarter

Michael finished his big thankful turkey

And we started putting up Christmas decorations. I wanted the house to be ready when we got back. I’m hearing Christmas music everywhere so I’m ready for the transition!

Christmas magnets on the fridge (Nativity and snow people)

The kitchen is done…

Time to light up the Carousel

Michael’s bedroom is ready

Btw, it snows everywhere in this house. Michael’s homeschool room/ Chris’ office is ready.

The living room is almost ready. I’m still adding to the Christmas village on the piano. So I’ll show that at a later time.

Christmas books including The Nutcracker and The Christmas Box. My own Christmas box/ Memorial box is in the center. It has some of Dad’s things and a lock of his hair.

The corner is lonely. The ornaments are waiting for a tree. The question is will it be fake or real?

So now it’s time to leave you and enjoy my holiday. I pray I get a lot of writing done. God bless and remember the High King lives…and He loves you!

~Amber Dover

Native American Crafts:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/a-late-crafty-monday-native-americans-thanksgiving-past-plus-u-k-country-study/

Pilgrim Crafts:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/crafty-monday-the-pilgrims-and-the-mayflower/

A Late Crafty Monday: Native Americans & Thanksgiving Past (plus U.K. Country Study) November 13, 2012

Note: I mean’t to post this earlier but I’ve been busy with a sick kiddo & crafting Christmas gifts.

In this Post: Native American crafts, U.K. crafts, Thanksgiving crafts from the past, Fisher’s of Men Bible Craft, and Mini Pumpkin cakes.

Hello friends! I hope you had a lovely weekend. We had a busy week with Native American crafts and our homeschool group did a U.K. Country Study that was a lot of fun. We’re already gearing up for Thanksgiving over here at the Dover’s. This week we will be looking at the Pilgrims but you’ll have to wait til next Monday to see the crafts ;).

Two years ago, Michael and I painted a Thanksgiving scene. We used it as a backdrop for our “Thanksgiving” play. Nana (my mom) came over and played a Native American with Michael. I was a pilgrim. It’s kind of funny and NO ONE watched it but it was still fun to put on. We’ve put on other family plays before just for the heck of it. Chris usually narrates or films.

We read several books about Squanto and the Mayflower etc. Did Michael retain them? Not at all…so maybe this year he will finally soak up this knowledge. He’s reading a chapter book on Squanto and I got every Thanksgiving book I could find at the library for story time. We will see….

Thanksgiving Past:

Peg doll Native Americans & paper bag teepee

Camp Site Painting

Thankful Tree

Native American Picture Writing

Native American Rattle, Canoe, & Teepee

Native American Crafts this Week

crafts here: http://pinterest.com/doverette/fall-crafts/

Arrows

Vest & Head dress

Paper Canoe

Michael added this to his Native American play set and felt garden.

Bead Necklace

Medicine Bag

I bought this kit at Michael’s Craft Store.

I love Michael’s faces while sewing :).

Michael at Plymouth

Mini Pumpkin Cakes

These are simply spice cakes with cream cheese frosting and caramels for stems. Michael and his buddies Olivia and Liam added the orange sprinkles.

I found these money magnets at the Dollar Tree.

U.K. Country Study

Our homeschool group had a lovely country study. All the moms brought British food. We had tea sandwiches by Hannah, Bangers and Mash (Rachel), tarts, and the British flag (Rachel). We had hot tea with milk, the way I like it :).

Hannah read books about being a knight. Rachel showed us how to make a coat of arms shield and a “tea” card.

Each section on the shield represents something. The  left top corner is Michael as an astronaut, top right is a cross for our Faith, bottom left is a Zebra to represent E.D.S. the hereditary “zebra” disease that runs in our family, and bottom right is our family. The Zebra is for awareness and remembrance of my Dad.

Our Bible craft for the week is about being Fishers of Men, meaning reaching people for Christ.

I leave you with the videos we watched on Native American tribes.

God bless & remember the High King lives!~ Amber Dover

Pilgrim Crafts:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/crafty-monday-the-pilgrims-and-the-mayflower/

More Thanksgiving Crafts:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/happy-thanksgiving/