It’s that “most wonderful time of the year” again! Many homeschool families take the entire month of December off while others continue on with their regular school routine. In years past we have taken a break from our regular studies – even the 3R’s – to focus on some type of Christmas unit. This year, however, because of some unexpected changes in our schedule, we will be sticking with our regular schooling until the week before Christmas.
Whatever route you choose for your homeschool, there are many enjoyable opportunities for learning through the Christmas season. The following are some simple activities that have become cherished holiday traditions in our home.
- Read a different Christmas story each day to countdown the days until December 25th. You can see a list of some of our favorite books here. (You don’t have to start this on December 1st. Just jump right in whenever you want.)
- Make a simple Christmas ornament. Have your child sign and date it, and it will become a treasured keepsake on your tree for years to come. (I have some ornament ideas on my blog – here and here – that I paired up with the reading of particular Christmas books. You can also Google up an abundance of ornament ideas – as simple or as complicated as you’d like – in the blogosphere right now.)
- As you decorate your tree together, you can simply point out the meaning of various Christmas symbols to your children. The evergreen tree itself reminds us that Jesus came to give us eternal life. The lights remind us that Jesus is the “Light of the World”. The ornaments remind us of the beauty of God’s love for us. Candy canes remind us of the staff carried by the shepherds. Bells remind us to “ring out the good news” of Jesus’ birth and His sacrifice for us.
- Sing, sing, sing! Even if you don’t think you have a great voice, your children will not care. Christmas carols are a treasure trove of great poetry set to music that you and your family don’t want to miss out on. And you don’t need an instrument to enjoy singing Christmas songs together. A cappella will do just fine. If you really feel the need for some instrumental accompaniment, turn on your local radio station or break out some Christmas cd’s. Let your children choose a favorite carol and research the history behind it. There are some wonderful stories behind the writing of these beloved songs.
- Bring out the nativity set. Some families enjoy the tradition of setting out one piece of the nativity each day until Christmas, with baby Jesus being laid in the manger on Christmas day. You could research the history of the nativity scene, or creche, to fit in a bit of history. We have a plastic set that we put out all at once because we have little hands in our home that enjoy playing with it so much.
- Although it’s a lesson that can be learned year round, Christmas provides us with numerous opportunities to give to and serve people in need. Community and church groups often collect toys, food, and clothes for families in need during the holiday season. Local soup kitchens often encourage families to volunteer to serve meals on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. International ministries such as Samaritan’s Purse, Compassion International, and many others provide food, gifts, and other types of relief for families around the world. Involving your children in this type of giving is a lesson that can become a special family tradition.
No matter what activities and traditions you enjoy with your family, may you and your family have a blessed season of celebrating together the birth of Jesus.
Written by Shannon, who is enjoying simple Christmas traditions with her children this year, and can be found blogging at Song of My Heart.
I am currently reading for the third time a little novel that is such a treat for me and one that I have a difficult time putting down. It’s a delightful story and homeschool idea book all rolled into one. I’m talking about the book Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola, the veteran homeschooling mother who brought to light the works of Charlotte Mason.
When my husband and I decided to homeschool our children, I did what most new homeschooling moms do – I got online and started researching curriculum. Early on in my search I began to realize that there were many different philosophies of homeschooling. Up to that point, I honestly had not heavily pondered my own educational philosophy. I was simply trying to find a reading curriculum that would work well for my five year old son. As I began to read the vast amounts of online information about packaged curriculums, classical education, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, and a dozen other methods and philosophies, I soon became overwhelmed.
The wood pieces are also used to teach children how to make “Mat Man”, a simple stick figure person. Children also learn positional concepts such as top, middle, bottom, left, and right as you use the pieces with them. This vocabulary, as well as “big line”, “little line”, “big curve” , “little curve”, is used in teaching letter formation with all of the HWT products.
– This product includes a 4″ x 6″ plastic tray, a set of 18 double-sided, laminated capital letter and number cards, and a container of dough. A letter or number card is placed in the plastic tray, and then the child forms the dough into the shapes needed to make the letter and places them over the letter card. The dough is terrific for strengthening finger and hand muscles, as children roll, push, and shape the dough into “snakes” to form their capital letters. The tray can also be used for letter practice with rice, shaving cream, or sand. (Occasionally I am brave enough to do the “messy” stuff because my children are such tactile learners and really do enjoy it. I just make sure there is a plastic tablecloth underneath the work surface for easy clean-up.)
This is a 4″ x 6″ magnetic screen that comes with a set of four magnetic wood pieces (big line, little line, big curve, little curve), and a chalk-sized magnetic writing tool. You use the laminated cards that come with the roll-a-dough set, place one on the magnetic screen, and then use the magnetic wood pieces to stamp the letter on top of the card. When you remove the card, voila – you have made the letter! After working with the magnetic stamps, you can then use the writing tool to trace over the letter card. Once again, when you remove the card, you can see the letter that you’ve made. I want to mention that the writing tool is the size of a small piece of chalk. HWT encourages using short pencils and pieces of chalk to help children achieve a correct pencil grip as they are learning to write. This approach has worked wonders with my own children’s pencil grips.
This is another favorite in our home. It is a 4″ x 6″ slate in a wood frame with a smiley face in the top left-hand corner. The smiley reinforces top, bottom, left, and right, and also reminds children to start their letters at the top. The chalkboard is used in combination with a method called “Wet, Dry, Try” to teach letter formation. First the teacher writes the letter with the chalk, the child uses a wet sponge and makes the letter strokes to erase the letter, and then uses his finger to trace over the wet strokes. Then the child uses a paper towel to dry the wet strokes. Finally, the child gets to use the chalk to write the letter. The child has practiced writing the letter four times using four different methods and typically has had fun doing it!
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