5 Ideas for Relaxed Homeschooling this Season

The Christmas season can be a time of pressure. Pressure to make sure your kids have not fallen behind in school. After all, they will be confronted with relatives they rarely see, and they need to make a good impression. Right? Wrong. Homeschooling parents do not need to prove anything to anyone, not even to disapproving family members or friends. As you work on raising your children the way that works for your family, you can let the character-building activities that you worked on throughout the year speak for itself. By this I mean the times you took away screen time to work on attitudes or the time you required two siblings to work together on a project to strengthen their relationship, not allowing them to let the sun go down on their anger. You have been working on establishing biblical principles in their lives, which will speak for itself. If your daughter does not have all of the states and capitals memorized or every single times table nailed down, does it really matter? If the quizzing does begin, tell the inquisitive family member that they are not allowed to ask your child any questions that they do not know the answer themselves without checking Google. That will usually end the quizzing. Rather than trying to catch up and teach your child everything that you feel like you may have missed over the past few months, stop and think about the reason for the season and enjoy it. Enjoy the season that you are in and allow for more relaxed homeschooling. Here are five ways to enjoy a relaxed homeschool during December.

1—Ditch the Books

Chances are your traditional educational materials have been gathering cobwebs over the past few weeks. Let them remain hidden. This is the time of year to relax and remember what is important. Forgetting about the traditional books, pull out educational unit studies on theme with Christmas or winter in general. Dig out some lapbooks and change the way you look at school between now and the end of the year. Schedule school activities lightly and allow room for all of the extras that tend to come up this time of year. Even if you do not actively plan any extras, they tend to pop up out of nowhere so be prepared so you can truly be relaxed in your homeschooling as the weeks go on.

2—Create Seasonal Binders

If you still want to be certain your child is getting in some math, writing, and problem solving into their daily routine, be creative about it. Print out Christmas-themed math sheets from the SchoolhouseTeachers.com Christmas Corner. Print out or write out writing prompts for each day, and place blank paper in a binder for him to use. Create a checklist of only four or five items that you want them to accomplish each day between now and the end of the year (minus weekends and Christmas week) and make sure they check off everything that they have accomplished. Here is an example of a relaxed homeschooling checklist for a single day for the month of December.

* Write out the six and seven times tables.

* Read a chapter from The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

* Work on a fun Christmas-themed math worksheet.

* Work on part of a Nativity lapbook.

* Copywork: The Christmas Story: The Biblical Account

3—Hands-On Time

If you want to skip a binder altogether, stay relaxed in your homeschooling by pulling out the science experiments that you have been meaning to get to this year. Have fun in the kitchen with chemistry, physics, or botany experiments. Pick one to work on a day or a week and do not be afraid to let your kids get messy all while learning at the same time. Try a Snow Storm in a Jar, Candy Cane Chemistry, or Hot Chocolate Science.

4—Giving Back

Make cookies for neighbors, sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home or care center, have your teens offer to shovel the driveways of the elderly, or host a Christmas cookie exchange at your home to give neighbors the opportunity to get to know you better. Use the time where many people’s hearts are open to receiving from others and share the love of Jesus with them in a way that will bless them.

5—Family Memories    

To help ensure a stress-free relaxed Christmas season, focus on creating family memories. Have a campout in the living room by the Christmas lights, watch your favorite Christmas movies by the light of the fire complete with hot chocolate and candy canes, or go for a drive and look at the Christmas decorations around town. Use this season to relax, have fun, and draw closer together as a family.