What does Homeschooling during the holidays look like? Many new homeschooling parents are wondering the same thing. Do you take a two-week break like the school-boards do? Or you do take the full month of December? Should you homeschool right up until Christmas and then take a day or two off? What’s the best way to approach the holidays? 

This year is especially weird. Normal holidays during a global pandemic – that’s just not going to happen. How can you keep things fun and light for your kids despite the fact that there’s no Christmas plays, visits to grandma and grandpas house, and holiday parties with friends? 

Our best advice: Make little things fun. Put huge hype into things like ‘Pizza night’, driving around looking at Christmas lights, baking Christmas cookies together (unless baking with your kids stresses you out – no judgement here). Spend time reading Christmas books together, watching Christmas movies and talking about the plot of each story. On the latest podcast Lindsey and I talk about just that. Because, just like you, we are homeschooling moms living through a global pandemic and trying to find some semblance of balance through all the chaos around us. 

Whether you celebrate Diwali, Hannukah, Lunar New year, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice or Christmas, I’m sure you want it to be a special time for your children and you. So, let me remind you, that just because life is vastly different now, and things are unreservedly different than they were before, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy the holidays and cater to your children’s sense of magical peace. 

Light a few candles, make some hot chocolate, snuggle up close and enjoy this special time with your children. Yes, things are not the same. But in everything and every situation, there is something positive. Like the fact that this holiday season, the lack of business translates into more time spent in a peaceful state with your family. The hustle and the bustle are on the back burner, and peace and quality time are front and centre. 

So, enjoy it. Enjoy these little moments, enjoy the sound of your child reading. Enjoy the glow of the candles or Christmas lights. Enjoy the stories, enjoy the time. Because time is something that is taken from us all too quickly. My hope is that despite the difficulties of 2020, and the changes that have been brought as a result of it. You and your children will look back at this year with fond memories of all the time that you got to spend together. Lindsey and I truly believe that this holiday season is one that you both will always remember. 

Listen to this week’s podcast to hear Lindsey and my best advice when it comes to homeschooling and the holiday season. We talk about things like when you should take a break, what you can do to keep your kids up to date with their learning skills, fun things you can do together and more. 

We genuinely hope that you will enjoy this week’s podcast and find a sense of wonder in the mundane. And happiness in the crazy.

 

Find The Schoolio Podcast Episode 9 ‘Homeschooling and the Holidays’ on your favourite podcast streaming app.

Or click the link below to listen directly on Spotify.