Holiday seasons, especially between November and January, are busy times. Celebrations like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah, and more seem to tumble on top of each other, with no time in between. For many families, it seems that homeschooling just goes out the window during these times. It is possible to stay sane and continue Homeschooling the Holidays.
If busyness during the holidays stresses your homeschool to the breaking point, the suggestions here will help you not only accomplish your homeschool goals, but also leave room for special holiday time.
When we homeschooled, we did "Christmas school" during the month of December. We worked hard for most of the year and took a little time off during December to make space for the special activities of the season. When my children were teenagers, I allowed them more time for independent study; they work on courses independently into December. For instance, they continued working on science and Latin, but alone rather than with me.
Every December, we chose literature tied either to winter or Christmas. I also used Christmas essay prompts. As they got older, my children helped us with the Christmas letter we included in our Christmas cards. Other families have their children write a newsletter or newspaper to be included in Christmas cards.
When our children were teenagers and we were homeschooling high school, we skipped many enrichment activities, such as logic, Bible, and memorization. We skipped all SAT preparation over the holidays, which works unless your child needs the practice for a January SAT test. We skipped journal writing, research writing, and sometimes (but not always), skipped read aloud activities.
We completed math, science, history, and foreign language over the holidays. These subjects build on themselves. It can be difficult to stop and pick them back up. Instead of doing 100 percent of everything required for a curriculum, you can do 50 or 80 percent during the month of December. It's important to stay sane over the holidays.
My Coffee Break Book series is designed with you in mind! Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy reading about one homeschooling topic, without having to dig through a 400 page book! Never overwhelming, always accessible and manageable, my Coffee Break books will give you the tools you need to tackle the tasks of homeschooling high school.
Homeschooling the Holidays" explores:
December can be a great month to collect delight directed learning credits! My book, Delight Directed Learning, can help you turn your child's passion into high school credit.
You might also find that December is a month when you need to gain a refreshing perspective on homeschooling that will support and encourage you along the way, throughout the year. My book, Finding the Faith to Homeschool High School is a weekly homeschool mom devotional that covers the challenges parents face while homeschooling high school.
I have so much more to tell you about homeschooling through the holidays. Grab my book today and find out how to have a delight directed Christmas!
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