TAKING THE MONTH OFF FOR THE HOLIDAYS! Gasp! For those of you who are new to homeschooling this most likely sounds crazy and/or lazy. Either way not something you want to waste one second of your time on. Can you have fun in your homeschool during Christmas?
This doesn’t mean you’ll be taking time off from learning–learning occurs every day. But maybe you can take a break from the schedules and academic lessons. We like to call this Christmas school. Christmas school means lots of hands on fun with projects, cooking, singing, watching movies, and doing random acts of kindness.
We never stop learning. It just looks different. Every morning we meet together to read the Bible, Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, and the readings from our A Gentle Advent study have long been companions at Christmas time.
There is memorization of scripture, winter poems, or Christmas songs. Menus are made for our annual Christmas cookie decorating party. I try to always get the kids into a service project like Operation Christmas Child.
I keep the screen time parameters in place UNLESS we do it together or it’s a rest day. What is a rest day? A day after some sort of event is marked for rest where sleep late, do nothing, and rest. This gives my sensory seekers/avoiders time to reboot as well as this mama with an autoimmune disease.
We have a no screens before 3pm AND work done, such as chores. This way instead of clearing a month for nonstop Xbox, I am encouraging more free thoughtfulness. HOWEVER, all of my kids work better listening to something so they are allowed to have their phones to listen to a podcast, audiobook, or video as long as they have them within sight.
This is especially hard for my autistic child. Free time is a hard executive functioning skill to achieve. This time of the year presents a perfect time for working on those free time skills.
Christmas in my house is filled with extra cooking. Art projects on every window. Cards being written by hand with special notes. Lots of hands on ready to do projects. Lots of accomplishments and rewards to go around.
One thing I am firm on is we NEVER stop reading. For us that is one skill that if not used will wilt like a parched plant. A little bit everyday keeps us progressing.
I resist the urge to keep pushing even if we lose too much time in the fall to doctor appointments and illness. Now we are behind. Umm, there is no behind in homeschool. Even slow progress is still progress. We need this time to recharge and learn in a fun new way.
What do you do? A month? Two weeks? A day or two? Nothing?
We’ve always taken the entire month off. At first it was an accident of moving, and needing the month to prep the house we were leaving (military at the time) and search for a home in the new location.
But the second year, it was the depression that did me in – SAD plus 2 of my angel dates, combined with my dad’s birthday (We lost him in ’07), and my oldest son’s birthday…. With Christmas, New Years, and my youngest son’s birthday just a few days after New years… yea. It’s a rough time of year.
Ever since, I just plan for taking the whole month month off. It’s what works best for me, so I don’t get stressed. We usually stop worrying about textbooks and just live life from Thanksgiving through to the second week of January. If something gets done, it gets done… if not, que sera sera. We read, bake, watch Christmas movies, enjoy the snow when we have it, video games, and just have fun and relax.
It’s what works for us. I had no idea anyone else does this. You would not believe the side-eyes I get from Dr.s and other homeschoolers in the area when the topic comes up. *sigh* But whatevs. It’s our lives, not theirs. As long as the kids are progressing at a steady rate, they can’t complain about my methods. 🙂
I have tough time telling my kids to get off the TV and computers!! Should take them out to the nature more 🙂