The holidays commonly provide a perfect opportunity for family members to spend time together and step back from the day-to-day schedule. If your child attends a traditional school, he or she is probably familiar with the excitement of holiday break, the first snow fall, gift-giving, parties and the like. These events provide challenges for classroom teachers and many indicate that it is difficult to keep their students on task during this action-packed month. Honestly, many homeschool parents often face the same challenges at home! So, why fight it? Take advantage of this special time of the year and create memories that will last a lifetime.
For my family, the month of December was filled with holiday unit studies, service projects, family read-alouds and baking. We loved to set aside time to learn about different Christmas traditions and carols. Part of this study meant handwriting or spelling and grammar practice for the younger ones, or research essays or presentations for the older learners. And surprisingly, they rarely fussed! They enjoyed the change of topics and pace, even when they still had to “do school”.
Over the years, there were times one (or both) of my children came to the end of the semester behind in a subject or struggling to grasp a concept. I still choose to take a break from the main subjects in order to do more family activities. However, I also dedicated 2-3 days per week focusing on the troublesome concepts. Some years, that meant phonics and reading comprehension practice for my struggling reader. Other years, math games and practical math activities were the focus. I loved giving my children the job of meal planning on a budget for our family. Everything from favorite recipes, to creating the grocery list, and comparison shopping were practiced.
We also incorporated more family games. Some were focused practice games like Clumsy Thief for basic math and money skills, Monopoly (sneaky math!), and Mad Libs for grammar practice. And today, there are countless more options available for family fun that also provide a degree of learning reinforcement for our children. Here are some of our staff and customer favorites:
Parents, give yourself permission to do things differently in December! It is more than okay to place a priority on building family relationships from time-to-time. Consider the learning opportunities that are a natural part of doing creative family activities. This may mean rethinking the everyday things you are doing and inviting your kiddos to join you in the preparations and celebrations of the season. Learning does not always need to be artificial. We are all surrounded by learning activities, we just need to learn to recognize them.
Looking for inspiration? Here are a few of my favorites:
The Magic of Snow Globes Unit Study
Little Drummer Boy Unit Study
Be intentional and unapologetic about making meaningful memories this holiday season. Your family will be blessed, refreshed and ready to start the New Year off right! ~ Deanne
