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Family dinners. Christmas shopping. Church gatherings. Christmas caroling. Winter sports. Decorating the Christmas tree. Co-op Parties. Gift Exchanges. Work Parties.
The list could go on and on. The holidays are such an amazing time of year, yet if we’re not careful, they’ll do more harm than good. Who wants a mom who is stressed to her max, broke and hangry? Not me!
Add home education and you’ll wonder if trying to homeschool through the holidays will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back!
The rush of the season is hard to beat but with these 7 practical tips, you can make sure your homeschool survives the holidays!
7 Easy Ways to Homeschool Through the Holidays
Slow Down:
Sure, your kids need history, art, Latin, music, PE, geography and science. However, it really won’t kill them if they miss it for a few days. I’ve found it’s much easier to catch up on these things than it is the absolute essentials, like math and grammar. When things get crazy and we begin to feel overwhelmed, we stick to the basics. We don’t stress about what we aren’t doing.
Learn Through New Avenues:
The holidays create extra stress, but the dropping temps also make it hard to get outside and burn some energy. Instead of worrying about how you’ll ever make it through your science book, try taking a trip to the indoor aquarium or science center. Allowing yourselves to get away from the busy routine at home and have some fun will be good for the whole family.
Teach Life Skills:
The holidays are the perfect time to hone in on your kids’ housekeeping skills. Allow them to help bake cookies for the neighbors, plan the Thanksgiving menu or peel the potatoes. Including them will help them grow more confident in their kitchen skills. But don’t let it stop there! Now is the perfect time to learn how to scrub the toilets, take out the trash or set the table properly. Give them some extra responsibilities and explain that part of being a family is helping out when Aunt Susie is coming to stay.
Stay Home:
It’s really quite simple. The more you stay home, the less money you spend, the less time you waste, the less stress you have. (Okay, that MAY depend on how the kids are acting!) Do as much of your Christmas shopping as possible online. With sites offering free shipping that is nearly as fast as going to the store, you can’t beat it! It is easy to get carried away and buy more than intended so be sure to make a list first and only purchase things on the list. Not only can you find great deals but your kids can do their schoolwork while you load your online shopping cart! Double win!
Worried your kids will be bored out of their minds if you stay home? Don’t fret! There’s PLENTY of ways to keep on learning, without going insane. Grab a board game or snuggle up on the couch and learn through exciting movies and TV shows!
Get ‘er Done:
Wake and shake, baby! Don’t waste any time in the mornings but instead get right to work. When our schedule starts to fill up with parties and cookie swaps, on top of normal appointments and classes, we don’t mess around. First things first. School is our priority, so we start marking things off of our list right away. It’s amazing how quickly we can get school work done when my kids are stoked about going ice-skating with their friends. Make a list of what has to be done and get to it!
Plan Accordingly:
We all know the holidays bring their own stress to throw into our ever-growing pile of worries. Plan your days carefully, so you can get more accomplished each day. Try to make all appointments for afternoons so you can spend the morning doing school work, without being rushed. There are so many activities that you can’t control, so be sure to schedule the ones you can wisely.
Let It Go:
It’s easy to stress out about getting behind schedule but it’s okay. Once the holidays are over, you’ll have plenty of time to catch up. Choose one subject a day to “double up” on and do 2 lessons that day. This doesn’t stress the kids out and you can be caught up in no time! We like to plan ahead and start school at the beginning of August so we’ll have plenty of time to get to the halfway mark in our studies before Christmas. (This also helps allow wiggle room for the first gorgeous days of Spring, when school is the farthest thing from our minds!)
While the stress of the holiday seasons is expected, it’s still hard to manage. By using these 7 brilliant tricks, you can make sure the season doesn’t derail you homeschool completely! With a little work, you can homeschool through the holidays with no trouble at all.
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