And actually, while it seems like a lot of time off, I personally think that this approach makes a lot of sense.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
My first job out of college was teaching at a private school, and I have to say that cramming in formal<\/em> education between the holidays is tricky. Kids (and teachers) are dreaming about vacation. Everyone has is on a constant sugar high. Everyone wants to do holiday-related things. I\u2019m pretty sure that most public and private school teachers would agree that not a lot of formal learning gets accomplished between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, even though classes are technically \u201cin session.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n However, the holidays present a different opportunity for homeschooling families–the opportunity to make some great family memories, have fun and incorporate some hands-on learning that your kids will always remember.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The many things you find yourself doing this time of year, from honoring well-loved family traditions to baking or Christmas shopping, all present creative ways to learn. Therefore- whether you take a break from \u201cformal\u201d schoolwork or not- it makes all the sense in the world to get into holiday season in your homeschool! Here are 6 creative, educational (and fun) holiday activities that you can use in your homeschool this season!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Many families love to get into the Christmas spirit by reading Charles Dicken\u2019s classic novella, A Christmas Carol. <\/em>Doing so is definitely a fun and educational activity to incorporate into your homeschool during the holiday season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0However, reading The Christmas Carol <\/em>is just the tip of the iceberg. This wonderful little book presents a lot of tangential learning opportunities. For example, in addition to studying themes and ideas of A Christmas Carol<\/em>, you might also want to study the life of Charles Dickens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n And in studying Charles Dickens, you will inevitably come across the way his life was shaped by the influential historical movement of the Industrial Revolution (and the reign of Queen Victoria.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0In studying the Victorian Era, you will find all kinds of other relevant learning to share with your homeschoolers (from Imperialism to many of the Victorian Christmas traditions that we still honor today).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I know I\u2019m starting to sound a bit like the children\u2019s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie<\/em>, right now, but it\u2019s true: The Christmas Carol <\/em>is a wonderful holiday tradition AND a wonderful gateway to learn about history, literature and even theatre!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Here are some ideas\/ resources you may want to explore if you decide to dig into some A Christmas Carol<\/em> inspired learning this holiday season.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Your children may have already noticed that no two families celebrate the holidays in the exact same way. Even in the same country, we all have our own unique traditions. This season, so rich in its various traditions and cultures, can be a great time to teach your children about some different ways that other countries\/cultures celebrate Christmas, and other holidays, too!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This website <\/a>lists numerous countries where Christmas is celebrated around the world. If you have several children in your homeschool, it could be fun to assign each one with a different nation and have them plan a celebration according to that country\u2019s traditions. Or you simply learn a little bit about a different country every day, and consider if there are any new traditions that your family would like to try!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you are studying Christmas and other cultures, don\u2019t forget to also learn about other holidays falling around the same time! It can be a great way to teach your children about cultures and beliefs of which they may not be aware.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The holiday of Hanukkah<\/strong><\/a>, also known as the \u201cfestival of lights,\u201d is celebrated those of the Jewish faith this time of year (especially in America, since it falls around the same time as Christmas.) There are a lot of interesting facets and traditions of this Jewish holiday that you could learn more about in your homeschool.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Some people in the U.S. also participate in the celebration of Kwanzaa around this time of year. Kwanzaa<\/strong> <\/a>celebrates cultural unity among African Americans and also provides a unique learning opportunity for those not familiar with it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Winter Solstice<\/strong><\/a> is more of a holiday of ancient times than of today. However, it would also be interesting to study in your homeschool from a historical lens because it influenced many of the traditions we use today to celebrate Christmas, the New Year, and the transition to winter.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Do you do any kind of Christmas advent<\/strong><\/a> in your home? Advent is the period of time leading up to Christmas (typically the month of December) and it means \u201ccoming\u201d in Latin.\u00a0 Creating some kind of advent calendar or activity as a way to prepare your heart and home for Christmas can be an easy (and educational) part of your homeschool!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are a lot of ways you could customize this idea for your homeschool, whether you make a project of crafting a physical advent calendar, create a series of creative advent activities, or designate a special activity to do for each day in December.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you are thinking about using an advent activity as part of your homeschool throughout the holidays, here are a few ideas and resources to get you started!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For adults, the holidays are full of extra cooking, baking, and budgeting. These super important life skills may already be a part of your homeschoolers\u2019 education. However, whether they are or not, you could consider December to be a good time for a accelerated course!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Home economics used to be a major part of a child\u2019s education, but since it\u2019s been a non-mandatory part of school, a lot of young-ish adults have to learn how to fend for themselves the hard way. You know what I mean: the whole \u201cI can\u2019t adult,\u201d phenomenon.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The holidays are the perfect time to teach your children how to learn practical skills that will help them out when they are grown: how to make family-favorite recipes, how to prepare a home for company—even simple rules of etiquette. These things are worth knowing, and they are becoming a bit of a lost art.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n You get the idea! There are a lot of ways you can bring practical learning into your homeschool during the holidays via cooking, cleaning, and decorating (plus the extra help could be really nice for you, too!)<\/p>\r\n Another part of home economics is household finances. We all know that Christmas is a time of year that puts even the savviest adult budgeteers to the test.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Use this as a life lesson and find some ways to involve your kids with making budgets and keeping up with spending! I\u2019m not saying that you have to pull up all the household spreadsheets and say, \u201clearn this,\u201d to your teenager (I mean, you COULD).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are a lot of small, non-overwhelming ways you can teach your kids about budgeting at Christmas. Here are a few ideas:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Creativity is such an important part of learning, and those who homeschool are especially fortunate to learn from getting creative, whenever possible!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This holiday season, inspire your kids’ creativity<\/strong><\/a> through prompting them to come up with some thoughtful, DIY gifts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Help your kids brainstorm a gift list (this can easily overlap with the budgeting activity, if that\u2019s something you plan to do) and think about what sorts of things they could make that would be meaningful for others.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here are a few ideas to consider as you help your child plan his\/her DIY gift.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Lastly, a heart-shaping, learning activity to do with your children this holiday season is to help him\/her find and support a meaningful cause. This time of year, we often get so wrapped up in what we want, and what we \u201chave to\u201d do. Guiding your child to get invested in a meaningful cause is a great way to help him\/her make a personal connection with the concept of reaching out to others.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Have a chat with your child\/children to find out what types of issues make them want to get involved, and do some research together to choose an organization to which they\u2019d like to contribute in some way (either financially or through volunteer service).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Depending on the age of your children, you could ask them to independently make a plan of action for how to help this organization\/cause or you could be part of the planning process.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Either way, making a plan for how to get involved is a great activity that fosters critical thinking skills and a heart that\u2019s willing to help others. One thing to consider as you plan:\u00a0 if your child wants to support a cause that is asking for financial contributions, how will he\/she raise the money for that cause?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n (If you attend church, you may also check with your church leadership to see what kind of service opportunities are available to your children via your church community. Choosing something local will yield opportunities for them to be physically involved.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This is a formative activity that will shape your child\u2019s heart and affect how he\/she interacts with the world for many years to come, which certainly makes for a very meaningful learning opportunity!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n As you can see, there are many ways for your children to learn non-traditionally throughout the holiday season. Do you plan to keep up with formal school plans throughout December, or rely more heavily on a learn- from-life approach during the holiday season? Which of these learning opportunities do you take advantage of already, and what would you add to the list?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Written by: Kathryn Gustafson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility. You have the opportunity to work your school schedule around your life, instead of the other way around. For many, this might mean schooling at night, or forgoing traditional summer vacations in favor of smaller vacations throughout other parts of the year.\u00a0 For some homeschooling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4300,"featured_media":16288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408],"tags":[453],"class_list":["post-11244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homeschool","tag-holiday-homeschooling","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7\u00a0 Educational Holiday Activities for Homeschoolers<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a01. Read and Discuss A Christmas Carol\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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2. Learn about Christmas\/Holiday Traditions Around the World\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Other holidays that fall around the same time:\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
3. Advent Activities\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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4. Home Economics<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
5. Budgeting\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n6. Get Creative with DIY Gifts!\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n7. Find a Cause to Support\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n