Christmas School! The best few weeks in the Homeschool World!
I (kinda) embraced this cozy-school season last year, but this year, I’m ALL IN. And when I say ALL IN, I mean, I have completely changed it up in the Sloop Household for the Advent season which begins December 1st this year.
So what IS Christmas School? For our family, it’s a time to shift our studies and lighten our loads for the Advent season. It’s a balance of learning and embracing all the things of the holiday season for about 3 weeks. Here is what is starting, er changing, next week, eep!
- Handwriting changes to Scripture and Poem copywork; focused on the birth of Christ
- Bible changes to the book of Luke and the birth of Christ foretold (Isaiah 7)
- ELA and Writing focus on scripture narration and recitation and themed read alouds/picture books
- Art study changes to religious pieces
- Our afternoons change to Baking, Handicrafts, Hands on Activities
- Spelling, History and Science are on pause until January
My daughter will still have her independent work which consists of daily practice of reading and math skills. This usually takes her fifteen minutes to complete. She also is expected to read each day for at least fifteen minutes which I don’t have to mandate…she’s an avid reader which is a gift in itself!
Our math curriculum is divided into book A and book B to be used during the two halves of the school year (before and after Christmas break). We are forecasted to complete book A the second week of December, and we will not start book B until January!
I am using The Treehouse Schoolhouse’s Connected Christmas as my outline for copy work, scripture, art study, and some handicrafts. The unit includes display pages to print for each week, and I have them displayed in our acrylic stands that I typically use for our regular school work: art picture study, bible memory work, and “letter of the week for my boys”. These have been such a game changer this year in keeping things focal, and the transition into Christmas school felt really special when I changed them out this weekend!
I have subbed some books from the Connected Christmas unit’s book list from my own library that we have enjoyed in years past. You can check out our favorites here in this post. I seem to be adding to it each year! I had the Narration Notebook from the unit spiralbound in hopes that it will be a really beautiful keepsake to look back on and to share with family members. When we complete it this month, I’ll be sure to come back here and add some photos.
We will also still be using our nativity activity from Christmas School the last two years. This will be really fun and engaging for my boys who are three. You can read about that here in my last post about Christmas School. I have outlined the activities we WISH to do this month on the calendar pictured below. I emphasize WISH, because life happens! We have a few playdates and parties planned, so all of this was mapped out with that schedule in mind.
For our reading this year, I am not scheduling what book we will read read on what day, but rather allowing my children to pick which ones we’ll enjoy together each day. I plan to have 5-7 books grouped each Monday for them to pick through, then the following week, I will have 5 more books, and so on.
And you know we still have our St. Nicholas Day lesson on the books and our Happy Birthday, Jesus Party with friends at our home on the calendar!
Two crafts I definitely want to do this year with my boys are making pinecone trees (they’re at the perfect age for them!) and making our baby Jesus ornaments. We did this craft at our first Happy Birthday, Jesus party a few years ago, and I think it will always be my favorite. I have a few leftover wreaths and peg dolls for it, so the boys can make their own for their tree in their bedroom.
If you’re looking for some book inspiration, be sure to check out my favorite books for the Christmas season!
Well, that’s the scoop for December over here. I am praying God will allow us to treasure time together this season-even if all of my plans get turned upside down. Cheers to savoring time with your Littles (or even grandlittles?) this season! I’ll be sure to come back and add photos of what we created this month in Christmas School to help you plan for the following year!
Merry Christmas!
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