A Day in the Life of a Homeschooler: Holiday Edition

The holiday season is often depicted as a time of peace and joy, but as any homeschooling parent will tell you, it can also bring its fair share of chaos. From trying to maintain a balance between holiday festivities and educational activities, to managing the increased energy levels of excited children, things can get pretty hectic. So, let's pull back the curtain on a not-so-idyllic day in the life of a homeschooling family during the holiday season.

Before we start, these are the best tips for surviving the holiday season:

Maintain Regular Routines: Keeping to your child's usual bedtimes and mealtimes is important. Even amidst holiday festivities, try to stick to regular routines as much as possible. This can help provide a sense of security and structure for children, which can be particularly comforting during the excitement of the holiday season.

Set Realistic Expectations: Don't overload your child with too many activities or expect them to sit quietly for long periods of time. Set realistic goals for both schoolwork and holiday activities, and be flexible in adjusting these as needed.

Implement Relaxation Techniques: If your child tends to get easily agitated due to the highly charged holiday atmosphere, relaxation techniques such as yoga, deep breathing exercises, or deep pressure squeezes can help them calm down.

Balance High and Low Energy Activities: Provide plenty of opportunities for both quiet and boisterous activities throughout the day. This can help high-energy kids expend their energy in a controlled manner and can make transitions between activities smoother.

Keep Them Engaged with Holiday-Related Activities: Incorporate holiday-themed activities into your homeschooling curriculum to keep your child interested and engaged. This could include holiday-themed math problems, writing letters to Santa for language arts, or learning about holiday traditions around the world for history and geography.

Homeschool Morning Routine

After breakfast, we dive into our core subjects – math, science, and language arts. However, during the holiday season, we often try to add a festive twist. For example, we might study the geometry of snowflakes for math or explore the science behind why salt melts ice for our winter-themed science experiments. For language arts, we might read and analyze classic holiday stories or write our own holiday-themed narratives. For the younger kids, we have these fun winter-themed worksheets to help break up their day and still keep them learning.

Homeschool Afternoon Routine

By lunchtime, the kids' focus is starting to wane. We usually take a break for lunch. Some days we will try a new holiday recipe. This is a great way to sneak in some learning and also make some memories. Have your kiddos read the recipes (reading!), do the measuring (math!), and clean up the messes after (life skills!).

Post-lunch, we aim for some geography and history lessons about holiday traditions around the world. However, these frequently turn into impromptu dance parties as we try out different cultural holiday music or get side-tracked by crafting homemade decorations that look nothing like they did on Pinterest.

Homeschool Evening Routine

As evening rolls in, we hope to wind down with some creative activities. In reality, the crafting often involves more glitter on the floor than on the paper, and rehearsing for the family holiday play devolves into giggle fits and improvised lines.

Finally, our day ends with a read-aloud session on the couch.

Here are some of our favorite Christmas read-alouds.

A day in the life of a homeschooler during the holiday season is rarely as picture-perfect as it might seem. It's chaotic, messy, and sometimes downright exhausting. But amidst all the pandemonium, there are moments of genuine learning, laughter, and love. After all, the holiday season isn't about achieving perfection; it's about embracing the joy and warmth that comes from spending time together as a family, even if it's a bit chaotic at times.