A Veteran Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Keep Christmas Simple & Fun

December can be a fun time in your homeschool. Or a trying one. 13 Decembers have taught this homeschool mom a tip or two!

I love Christmas. The sparklier, the better. But follow-through & I aren’t great friends. And, some years, I’m clawing my way to the finish line.

After more than a dozen years of homeschooling in December, I’ve learned a few things about getting through the month without losing your mind.

It’s OK to do nothing.

You aren’t going to run your kids’ memories of Christmas. The spirit of the season won’t be lost. And you won’t look bad on Instagram.

I promise.

There have been years when I went all out for our homeschool and years when our days didn’t look any different than September or May.

If you don’t want to do anything this year, that’s fine. Struggling to get it together? Pick a book & a movie and call it done. Or do nothing.

Just buy it.

Sometimes, it’s better to settle for done than perfect. I can always find something wrong with a product or reason why I should save the $$ and just do it myself.

And that’s awesome. If you’ll get it done.

But if this is the hold-up on doing something fun & keeping your sanity? Just buy it. Enjoy what you like about it; ignore what you don’t.

Need some ideas?

• Every year, Elemental Science puts out an ebook of science activities for the holidays. They are easy to complete & require mostly household items.
• A Pop Culture Christmas mini-unit requires very little prep & is full of easy-to-do ideas.
• Try out BraveWriter with a unit on The Christmas Carol, Little Women, or The Birchbark House.
• Grab my Christmas Lego challenge cards. Download, print, and you’re ready to go.
• Let someone else do the teaching. Here’s a list of some Christmas-y classes over on Outschool.

Take it on the go.

If your season is an especially busy one, keep your at-home work the same, but take Christmas learning with you.

1. Audiobooks are a fantastic alternative to jammin’ out to your favorite Christmas playlists. You can’t go wrong with the audio of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Get even more ideas for Christmas & winter. (for all ages)

2. We all know the hilarity of MadLibs. Keep a couple of the Christmas editions in the car & you’re ready to create stories between errands & Christmas parties.

3. Do you use a tablet in your homeschool? Grab my (free!) It Happened One Winter ebook & learn history as you wait at appointments or before that Christmas caroling party.

4. Documentaries & other educational shows are an easy way to learn on-the-go. Grab a big list of ideas here, in addition to the titles below.

• Night on Earth: Frozen (Netflix)
• Everest, Beyond the Limit (Amazon Prime)
• Christmas Celebrations Around the Globe (PBS)
• Kingdom of the White Wolf (Disney+)