Homeschool through the Holidays with a Smile

We all love holidays in this family. I mean, who doesn’t? But getting back to homeschooling after a break is almost impossible! And that’s why we choose to homeschool through the holidays.

If you prefer year round homeschooling and want to continue over the holidays, then you’ll find some ways to do this in this post. They will help you to homeschool through the holidays, with a smile!

Why Should I Homeschool through the Holidays?

This is a very good question. And it’s something that’s entirely up to you and your family. Many homeschooling families prefer to take more traditional breaks. While others prefer to homeschool year round.

We’re year-round homeschoolers for a number of reasons:

• Our children do best with routine and consistency, especially in times of upheaval.
• They cannot manage a lot of structured learning per day. With year round homeschooling, we can do less each day.
• We like the flexibility that year round homeschooling gives us. We can easily take a few days off, without any issues.
• Getting them back to learning after a break is really hard work! It can take months and lots of resistance to get them learning again.

So if these are things you need or struggle with, then maybe homeschooling year round is a good option for you too. So let’s look at ways to make homeschooling during holidays effective and manageable.

Keep it Short, Sweet and Flexible

It might be hard to homeschool through the holidays. Days get filled up with extra tasks and activities. Or you might choose to travel. It can be really tricky to keep to a routine.

What I like to do is to keep it really short and sweet. By reducing the number of structured homeschool hours, kids still feel like they’re in learning mode. But they have more time for doing the fun stuff that happens during the season.

We have a number of core subjects that we prioritize. So we keep up with them, but also cut down on the time our kids need to be doing them. For example, they would normally spend 20 to 30 minutes doing their online math curriculum. During the holidays, they only have to do a maximum of 5 questions.

The kids can also choose when to do their homeschooling. They’re pretty early risers and usually do homeschooling first thing. During the holidays, we can be more flexible about when we actually homeschool. And might even do the structured work in the late afternoon or evening.

Involve Your Kids in Everything

The holidays have so many opportunities for learning. So even if the structured learning is reduced, natural and organic learning can increase. This is especially the case if you include your kids in everything.

1. If you’re travelling somewhere by car, ask them to navigate for you. And if you visit other cities, ask them to find out interesting information about them.
2. Let your kids help you with food prep. The holidays usually mean lots of food, so it’s a great way to get them into the kitchen. The food is often also related to traditions and culture. There’s so much learning to be had there!
3. Teach kids about budgeting and shopping. It’s a wonderful opportunity to teach them about the value of money. Or even better, get them to make gifts if they’re into crafts.
4. The holidays might also be a time when the whole family is together. Children can learn so much from being in the company of older relatives. Or even their parents for that matter!

Homeschool through the Holidays with Books

We love to read holiday-themed books. It’s such a fun way to get into the spirit of the time. And of course, they learn, learn and learn some more when reading! Not to mention that it’s an easy way to engage them.

You can easily create unit studies around a book. With just a little planning, you can have loads of fun, themed lessons. Planning a unit study is easy! And so much fun! Here are some ideas for what to include…

• You can do an author study if it’s more of a classic book. This can easily involve history as well.
• It’s fun to do a themed meal. There are loads of fun meal ideas on Pinterest.
• Books can inspire lots of writing. Kids can create fan fiction, write a letter to a character or invent a different ending.
• The crafting possibilities are endless! Once again, you can search on Pinterest for themed tutorials.
• If there’s a movie adaptation of the book, you have another activity to include. Or your kiddos could even write their own play or movie. How fun!

Final Thoughts on Homeschooling through the Holidays

If you’re just starting out on your homeschooling journey, you might not be sure what you want to do. As with everything homeschool related, there’s a lot of trial and error at the beginning.

You might decide to take the holidays off and find it works out great. Or you might find it really hard to get back into the swing of it afterwards, You might not take time off and feel pressurized and burnt out.

A successful homeschool means finding what works for you. And I’m here to help you find that way! Please book in a session with me, if you need some support.

Follow me Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more homeschool shenanigans, advice and resources. And please book in a coaching call with me if you feel you need some extra support or encouragement.