December is a difficult month for homeschooling. Home life is all but disrupted from Thanksgiving until January first with family dinners, outings and friends stopping by. So, it is nearly impossible to keep a homeschool routine and keep the lessons going.
In past years, I have gone as far as to declare a winter vacation from homeschooling. In other years, my kids have declared a holiday and refused to look at a book until January. During those years, we just added the lost time at the end of the school year giving us a one month winter break and a two months summer break. So it all worked out.
As they get older however, there is still much work to be done, especially since some of the classes they are taking does not stop until December 15. During this time, I have found that the best way to keep them on track with their work is to get them up early and have them done by noon. Since most holiday activities happen in the afternoon and evening they still have time for a nap (teens seem to love sleep) and holiday fun too.
Many homeschooling families like to just change the way they do homeschooling during the holidays by switching to a more passive approach to learning. For example, instead of daily lessons, you can do an hour or so of math and spelling review, and then go on an outing to a museum, library, or show. You can spend the day volunteering for the needy, or learning new crafts in order to make gifts as well. Personally, I love the opportunity to have periods of unschooling like this throughout the year, to lift the stress of learning from the kids. You’d be surprised at the things they actually pick up during this time.
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