Homeschooling in December

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

04 Dec 2008 09:51 AM

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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Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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alark (51) 05 Dec 2008 02:47 PM

Thank you for addressing this--you've validated me! We are homeschooling this year after 4 years in public school and I have run into some fierce "student" resistance lately. I think we will take at least part of the month off and just have some wholesome fun!

Valorie Delp (49340) 05 Dec 2008 07:21 PM

We do some things in December but there's too much going on--I don't stress. What we get done, we get done. After all, the books are very, very patient and will wait. The opportunity to dance in the Nutcracker however. . .well, this is the time to do it.

I find that the long winter months are a great time for us to make up lost time because we're stuck indoors and there's not too much else to do. My kids are usually happily compliant and there aren't the distractions of blossoming spring--etc.

ilovemydoggy (10) 11 Dec 2008 12:01 AM

There is a current Giveaway of a 4-DVD set "When We Left Earth, The NASA Missions DVD Set" at http://www.Vaboomer.com Anyone can enter. You can preview the film there also. Great material for homeschooling.