Easy Educational Activities for Your Homeschool Winter Break

 
Come December I am R-E-A-D-Y for a break!  This year is no exception.  We’ve had a good schedule this year with well-spaced breaks. 

But I dread the lack of structure to our days.

Well, I don’t dread it for myself. I love ’em.

But my boys thrive on a consistent schedule.    So planning fun activities is important for our days.  But I am not a crafty, Pinterest-type mom.  I need low-prep, open-and-done type things.  If I have to print it out, cut it out, set up 15 different things, it’s not happening!  These low/no-prep activities fit my needs while also fitting the needs of my kiddos.

Chalk Pastels

We discovered Chalk Pastel lessons from You Are An Artist last year when we studied the Winter Olympics.  Dating back to elementary school, I have thought of myself as someone without any skill for art.   I decided to try them out, still, and I fell in love.  For one of the few times in my life, I felt like I wasn’t a failure of an artist.  In the last year, we have gone through several lessons.  We are currently working through the Christmas set and this may be our favorite one yet.

Winter-themed Shows

We love educational shows & documentaries.  From fun shows like brainchild and Inside Lego at Christmas to more serious shows like Rick Steves’ Europe.

RELATED Check out my list of 50+ winter-themed shows.

Math Storybooks

Math in storybook-form seemed weird to me.  And then came Ben.  And Life of Fred.  They aren’t traditional but if you have a kid that gobbles up storybooks, try math ones.  We like the Sir Cumfrence series and Fractions in Disguise, too.

Apps

Editor-in-Chief (Critical Thinking Company)
Balance Benders (Critical Thinking Company)
Mind Benders (Critical Thinking Company)
Geometry (DragonBox)
Algebra 9+ (DragonBox)
Algebra 12+ (DragonBox)

Great Thanksgiving Listen

With a mission to “preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world”, StoryCorps is one of my favorite things on the radio.  Their stories every Friday morning warm my heart. 

When I learned they have a program for kids to do this, my ears immideately perked up.. 

The Great Thanksgiving Listen is designed for kids to learn the stories of their families.  There are lesson plans and videos designed to help you walk through the process of preparing for the interview.  I had my kiddos each pick two or three questions from the provided lists to interview their grandparents.  It was a great learning experience for them and for me.