One of my favorite Christmas gifts for my kids this year was a celebration of them diving deeply into literature in our homeschool the last several years. I made a snow globe, only instead of snow it was filled with replicas of books they had read over the past few years - some for school but mostly for fun, and for both, this was a memory of something special. For my daughter, it is a celebration of her love for the written word. For my son, it is a celebration of how he has overcome obstacles to that enjoyment. Both loved their globes, especially how they were completely personalized to them.

This is an inexpensive unique gift for anyone, and it’s not hard or expensive to make at all! Here is how to do it.

Foam board, about 1/4 inch thick
A plastic “snow globe” from a craft or hobby store (or Amazon)
Access to a word processing program like Google Docs or Microsoft Word
Access to a color printer
Letter and number stickers
Sharp scissors or knife that will cut through the foam board

​1. Make a list of books read this year. Or do this at the same time as number 2 (which is what I did). If your list is too long (in the hundreds), think about choosing a certain number from each category, or certain authors. If you have access to your child’s library account, you may be able to go into their borrowing history to get names of books read this year.
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2. Copy and paste images of the books into a word processing document. Find the images on Amazon, ThriftBooks, your homeschool curriculum, your library, etc. Make the images about one inch high and just paste them one after the other. Leave a bit of white space in between them. It will make cutting them apart easier later. Print two copies of this in color.

3. Cut your grid into strips. Use a glue stick to paste these strips onto your foam board.

4. Cut each “book” apart and trim it to the size of the cover.

5. Cut the book covers out from your second copy and paste each one onto the back of the corresponding “books” you already made. If you do this strip by strip it will be easier to not lose track of where each of the second book covers is. Having a two-sided book ensures you can see the title however it lands in the globe.

6. Fill your globe with your pile of books.

Using the letter and number stickers, personalize your glove with a name and year. You’re done!

Christmas night, and the day is done,
Opened the presents, had all the fun,
Ate the dinner, saw some friends,
Hate to see the holiday end.

Now in this moment in-between
The hustle and bustle and the manger scene
Before we part with Christmas this year
Is there anything special you need to hear?

Did the Advent themes of hope and love
And peace and joy sent from above,
Did these ring true within your soul?
Did you call on God to make you whole?

Did angels, shepherds, stars and kings
Amaze your heart at all these things?
Did hymns and carols give you voice
With spiritual songs as you rejoiced?

Or maybe the season kept peace at bay
With the busy to do list for Christmas Day.
But it’s not too late to find the wonder
And, like Mary, to think and ponder

On miracles, like Immanuel,
Angel choirs, the first Noel;
On myrrh, frankincense and gold,
On prophecies so long foretold.

On realizing that Messiah came
And that Jesus is His name;
On knowing that through Him salvation
Can be found by every nation.

On seeing the truth that in His face
Is perfect love and boundless grace,
Endless hope, eternal joy
All wrapped up in Mary’s boy.

As Christmas Day draws to a close -
The presents, songs, and all the shows -
Remember when all this is gone
To keep Jesus near all year long.

Kristi Bothur

'Tis the season of gift-giving, and now that we are in our tenth year of homeschooling (HOW did that happen?), I am thinking a lot about the gift that homeschooling is, and the gifts that it has given me over the years. Whether you are a first-year homeschooler or a veteran, do these ring true with you? What would you add to this list?

One of the biggest blessings of homeschooling is the time it gives me with my children. Do you know how much time children spend in school? Assuming seven hours a day, 180 days a year, for thirteen years (kindergarten through twelfth grade), that is 16,380 hours, or 682 twenty-four hour days (910 waking-hour days). That is two to three years total away from home, away from family, and away from your influence. Homeschooling gives us those hours, days, and years back. Homeschooling also gives us time to spend on learning (if more time is needed), time to jump ahead (if a subject is particularly easy), and time to take a break when life interrupts. I will forever be grateful that because of homeschooling, we had the flexibility to jump in the car and drive twelve hours to surprise my mother-in-law for her birthday one year, and then to make the same drive only weeks later to unexpectedly say good-bye to her. Homeschooling gave us those memories without the stress of getting permission from their schools or making up schoolwork.

Homeschooling certainly means we spend a lot of time together in our family. Sometimes that can grate on everyone's last nerve, but most of the time, its a true blessing. My children are four years apart in age, and homeschooling means that they are together a lot more than they would be if they were enrolled at different schools for the majority of the day. We try to take advantage of, and nurture, that togetherness by engaging in activities that suit the whole family, such as Tae Kwon Do or American Heritage Girls or Trail Life USA. We also do some learning together, even with one child in elementary school and one in high school, with read-alouds or music and art appreciation, or watching World Watch for current events.

Homeschooling requires communicating. Teaching my children, checking their work, explaining how to do a problem, discussing what they got out of something they read, having them narrate a story to me - all day long, we are talking. I've begun to realize as my children get older what a gift this is. My daughter is now in high school, and the habit of communicating all day long about her learning has kept the door open for communication about other things, too. Because of the topics we choose for them to learn about, we have conversations about deeper topics than we might otherwise - about friendship (Charlotte's Web), about glory (The Iliad), about virtue (Famous Men of Rome), about God's sovereignty (Community Bible Study), and many other topics.

Time spent together learning and talking can build a closer relationship, which in turn leads to increased trust - in both directions. My kids know that I have their best interests at heart and so come to me with their questions and concerns. In turn, I'm able to trust them because I see their hearts as we hash out issues related to homeschooling, as well as the bunny trails that we go on!

Homeschooling has given my children the freedom to explore and develop their talents. For my son, that has included nurturing his creativity with Legos and digital art, as well as different sports. For my daughter, it has meant time to learn to crochet and to play the ukulele. I love seeing them find and grow in their talents, and to see how they can use those to serve others and to glorify God.

Doing school together means we can weave the truth of the Scriptures into everything our children learn, whether that is history or science or literature or even math. All truth is God's truth, and we talk about truth all the time. We talk about what it is and how to recognize it and how to defend it. We praise God for it and remind each other of it. Truth is a major topic of conversation around our home.

As a homeschool mom, I have a front row seat for the transformation of my own children. I have the privilege of seeing them struggle and overcome in their school work. I get to see those "aha" moments as they realized why something is true or how things they have been learning fit together. 

Could I have these gifts without homeschooling? Well, yes. I have plenty of friends whose children are in public or private school who could relate stories about how they also experience time and togetherness, about the meaningful talks they have, about opportunities they also have to develop their talents and to talk about truth, and about how they have seen a transformation in their children. Clearly, homeschooling is not the only path of blessing. But for us, those have come through our homeschooling lifestyle, and in a season of gift-giving, these are some for which I am profoundly grateful.