Cp-Op Lesson Plan, Week 3

This week was our third week of Christmas Around the World at our homeschool co-op, and we “traveled” to Germany, one of my favorite stops so far. I didn’t realize just how many of our beloved Christmas traditions started in Germany. Advent, Christmas trees, St. Nicholas and beautiful handmade decorations are some of the many traditions we know and love that have German roots. We started class by talking about Advent, a time of waiting and preparing our hearts for Jesus. I shared how, in Germany, families light a candle each Sunday leading up to Christmas. It’s such a simple yet powerful reminder that Christmas isn’t just about presents it’s about Christ, the Light of our world.

The kids loved learning about St. Nicholas and how German children leave their shoes out on December 6th, hoping St. Nicholas fills them with candy or small treats overnight. It sparked so many giggles and stories about what they’d hope to find in their shoes! Germany is famous for its Christmas markets! Greenery strung with red ribbon and twinkling lights decorate wooden stalls selling handmade ordainments, spiced nuts, intercut miniature house, mulled wine, gingerbread, wooden stars and hot bratwurst sausages are a true signature of the season. The children noticed how Germans decorate with real greenery! Growing up in the Vegas dessert, plastic Christmas trees and writhes are the norm. This led to a sweet conversation about how simple things like pine branches, candles, a string of dried oranges, and beautifully crafted wooded decoration can make Christmas feel truly authentic.

One of my favorite things to share was a tradition called Knocking Nights, when children dress up as Mary and Joseph and go door to door, asking for shelter. It was such a touching reminder that Christmas is about welcoming Christ into our own homes and hearts. For our craft this week, we made clove-studded oranges, the classroom smelled amazing! The kids had so much fun pressing the cloves into the oranges and creating their own patterns. It felt so festive and cozy, like the start of the Christmas season.

No lesson is complete without something sweet; and this week I made Stollen. A traditional German Christmas bread filled with fruit and nuts dusted with a blanket of powdered sugar. Each student took two slices home, and I loved imagining them sharing it with their families, a little taste of another culture’s way of celebrating the same Savior we love. Recipe is below.

Co-Op Lesson Plan

I have fourteen students, and our lesson is one hour long. I also have two helper teachers. As all you moms out there know, keeping the attention of fourteen 5–7-year-olds is a big challenge in itself. So, I deiced to break the lesson up into three parts, geography, Christmas traditions, and craft time. Each child would also take home the Christmas treats I made for them. Here is the co-op lesson plan I made, I hope you find it helpful!

I start every lesson with a name circle. Each student says his or her name and we repeat their name as a group. Hopefully we all know each other's names by the end of the semester!

Geography:

• Look at the map of the world and ask, "how many contents do we have?" Sing the content song. Link to my world map

• Give hints about the country we will be learning about. Challenge one of the students to find the country on the map.

Christmas Traditions:

• Pick out three to four Christmas traditions unique to the Germany.

• Read from the curriculum and ask question comparing to our own Christmas traditions to those in Germany.

• Show videos if appropriate. I showed one video for Germany, German Christmas Markets.

Craft:

• Christmas theme craft, provided by the Gather 'Round curriculum or something that I came up with.

• Germany craft: clove studded oranges.

  • Supplies for the craft: cloves and oranges.

Curriculum:

• Christmas Around the World, Teacher's Guide

• Recipes Around the World

How to make Stollen, German Christmas Bread

Ingredients:

Makes one large stollen loaf

For the mix in's:

80g (1/2 cup) golden raisins

55g (1/3 cup) candied peel, chopped

20g (1/4 cup) sliced almonds

40ml (1/4 cup) dark rum (can substitute with apple juice)

For the dough:

120ml (1/2 cup) milk, warm

1/2 tablespoon Dry active yeast

50g (1/4 cup) sugar

240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

85g (6 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4oz marzipan, (I bought mine at Trader Joe's, but you can also fine it here.)

60g (4 tablespoons) butter, melted (you'll brush this over the bread once it's baked)

Powder sugar for generous dusting

Method:

1. Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it.  Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum overnight.

2. Place all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes.  Remove the dough ball, lightly grease the bowl with a little butter, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour (likely closer to 2 hours depending on the temperature of the environment).

3. Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit and nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough).  Using the dough hook, knead the fruit and nut mixture into the dough until combined.  If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  

4. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll into an oval to about 1 inch thickness. Roll the marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough. Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan. Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump (see video). Place the stollen on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 40-60 minutes until puffy.  At that point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).  

5. Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Let the Stollen sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen (this will allow the butter to seep in), then generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen is still warm.  Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides.  Let the stollen cool completely. Give it another dusting of powdered sugar once cooled.

6. The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to "ripen" in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture. Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.

As I was cleaning up at the end of class, I couldn’t help but smile. I’ve only been teaching for three weeks, but already this co-op experience has been such a blessing. God keeps reminding me that learning and teaching go hand in hand. He equips us for what He calls us to do. Every week, I get to see how His story weaves through every culture, every tradition, every heart. Because no matter where you’re from or how you celebrate, the message of Christmas is the same: Jesus came for us. And that’s something worth celebrating, in every language, in every home, all around the world.

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Next week, we’ll be “traveling” to the Philippines, and this one is extra special to me because, I spent Christmas in the Philippines many years ago, and I can’t wait to share a little piece of that experience with my students (and with you!).

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