Homeschool for the Holidays
It’s the holiday season and things will only get busier as we head toward the end of the year! But you can still find creative ways to homeschool for the holidays. Partaking in festivities doesn’t mean that learning needs to stop completely in your homeschool, right?
That’s one of the awesome freedoms that homeschooling families enjoy: learning can be worked in at any time. The holidays offer a great opportunity to experience new things and explore with education!
So, whether you’re doing holiday-themed learning activities, arts and crafts centered on Christmas or Hanukkah, or festive recipes for others, there are plenty of ways to incorporate fun and learning as you homeschool for the holidays.
How to Homeschool for the Holidays
Do Holiday-Themed Learning Activities
How about a Christmas Writing Journal for your children with 25 fun creative writing prompts?
The 12 Days of Christmas Mini Book: Each page includes coloring and fill-in-the-blank writing. Your child will practice writing ordinal numbers and number words as they count their way through this classic song.
Learn all about cranberries and take on a cranberry raft engineering challenge!
Do a mini unit study around the classic story A Christmas Carol.
This Hanukkah playdough craft post also has some facts about the history and importance of Hanukkah that you can incorporate into a mini unit lesson about the holiday.
Got teens? Have them utilize their DIY skills as a way to homeschool for the holidays with some handmade crafts for others.
Homeschool for the Holidays with Craft Time
Here’s a fun and ornamental Christmas poinsettia craft, which also includes some fun facts about the poinsettia plant.
If you’re into the vintage look, this decorative vintage Christmas tree craft is a lovely project to do with your kids.
Bring your kids in on the holiday cardmaking with these quilled Christmas cards.
You can also do this quilled menorah craft for Hanukkah.
Do Some Holiday Cooking with the Kids
Wintertime makes people want to snuggle up with their favorite warm food or drink. This can be an easy entry point to teach kids math in the kitchen, as well as help them learn family history (with grandma’s pumpkin pie recipe!), and practice their fractions, measuring, and reading skills.
Every family has a few special recipes that trigger memories or have been passed down over the generations. Take this opportunity to share these with your children as you relate memories of eating or preparing these dishes.
You can also do some baking for neighbors or elderly people in your community. There’s nothing that teaches your kids about generosity and caring for others in a fun way like holiday baking!
Here are a few great holiday recipes:
- Chocolate-Covered Holiday Pretzel Rods
- Spicy Crockpot Snack Mix
- Milano Christmas Reindeer Cookies
- M&M Cookie Bars
Learn about Holidays around the World
You can also teach your kids about Christmas or Hanukkah around the world!
Tell them how, in Sweden, Christmas begins on December 13 with St. Lucia Day. One girl in a community is chosen to portray St. Lucia. She then delivers goodies to others while wearing a long white gown and a crown of candles. Other children wear glitter in their hair or tall paper hats with stars.
Your kids might be interested to learn that many European countries celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6. Saint Nicholas, who we know today as Santa Claus (or Father Christmas in some cultures), was a real-life person who gave gifts in secret and helped others. Families celebrate this special day with small gifts, treats, or by doing good deeds for others.
Hanukkah is also a holiday rich in traditions, with global variations based on country, climate, or history. In the Alsace region of France, many families have double-decker menorahs. With sixteen candles, fathers and sons can complete the candle-lighting ceremonies together. In other countries, the latkes we associate with the Festival of Lights are replaced by plantains or special spiced fruit donuts.
As a family, you could also center your holiday cooking around an international theme with this great homeschool resource: Christmas Around the World Cookbook for Kids!
