Avoiding the Holiday Slump (in your homeschool) in 4 Easy Steps

Ever feel like the holiday season brings more stress than joy? As y’all know, my goal is to help parents put the joy back into their homeschool journey, so let’s take the holidays back!! I'll give you a hint, the answer is fun sheets... ok that's not the answer, but it's definitely a fun part of it! Per normal, I've got an awesome new freebie for you today (all the way at the bottom) and a TON of free bonuses throughout the blog, so be on the lookout for all the blue words. 

It’s ok to choose not to do school. GASP  I know haha but simply planning to NOT do school is perfectly fine (yes, even if the public school in your area isn't breaking the same time you are). 

Having said that, make sure you know your state laws before sitting down to plan. We personally follow a year round school schedule, so we're never in danger of not hitting our minimum days. Also, see step # 3 for some ahem creative school days. I'd also note that it's not wise to take days off "just because" if you have nothing going on... you never know what else may come up throughout the year that would be a better use of your off time. 

I'll give you a real life example here: Thanksgiving and Christmas are usually one day holidays for us. I'm from New Mexico and my husband is from Maine; up until recently we've lived in Indiana, so we usually just spend the holidays in our own home. We usually take the day off and that’s it. We school the day before and the day after... don't worry though, if you've been following me for any length of time you know how much fun I insert into our homeschool, so Glori isn't missing out on any of the holiday festivities. Just noting that we don't typically take time off because there isn't really a need to and I'd rather schedule the time during the warmer months when we're having pool parties and hitting up the local ice cream shops. 

This year; however, we live closer to Brett's family, so we'll be spending a few days with them and I may or may not have already planned a  Black Friday shopping day with my MIL. Listen, I already told y'all I'm a shopaholic so don't judge me. 

Although we won't be doing traditional school while we're gone, Glori will have tons of fun sheets and educational items to keep her brain going. She'll be the only kid during certain moments, so instead of handing her a screen to keep her entertained, I'm planning ahead. She'll definitely get to earn some screen time because it is the holidays after all, but the fun sheets help her practice some of those skills she’s been working on without knowing that she’s practicing so when we come back to school she's not out of the rhythm. 

The days leading up to the holiday, be extra diligent in sticking to your schedule. If you planned a school day, do school. If you planned a day to clean your house, clean it. It can be incredibly tempting to throw the plan out the window and cuddle up on the couch with a mug of cocoa and a hallmark movie, but if you do this, when it comes time to take the days that you scheduled off, you're going to feel behind and be tempted to sneak in some work between fun things and it’s just going to be stressful for everyone. 

Side note: I highly suggest planning a cozy movie day on the couch, or maybe a couple cozy movie evenings on the couch, but do so intentionally. You'll feel much better planning it instead of scrapping  your to-do list in a moment of weakness. 

Learning happens in lots of ways OUTSIDE of workbooks. Even if you're choosing to take some time off of traditional school, here are a few ways to still do school without touching a workbook.  I'm not an unschooler: I 100% see the value in traditional schooling, BUT there is a time and place. Even public schools have Home Economics (Future Farmers of America where I'm from, Home Ec in most of the other states). Wanna know what we did in there? Cooked and cleaned! 

I could give dozens of other examples, but my point is to learn to view learning through a real world lens instead of having tunnel vision of what a school day "should" look like. Again, I'm all for traditional school work and think it's a necessary part of every kid's eduction, but I'm also for learning real life skills, and as homeschoolers we have the privilege to do BOTH. Our children get the MOST well rounded education available, IF we choose to give it to them. 

Homeschooling should be fun regardless what month it is, but ESPECIALLY during the holiday season. We plan lots of field trips, themed days, and movie days and we even have an annual homeschool party (where we invite all of Glori's friends, not just the homeschooled ones) each year for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day. 

I went to public school up until 8th grade, and we had TONS of fun days, party days, half days, and days off during all of the holidays. Christmas we took two whole weeks off! So don't feel guilty if your schooling looks a little different around the holidays, that means you're teaching your child that learning is fun.

If you’re going to have a themed day where you make any of your own decorations, worksheets, coloring sheets, etc. consider selling them. I teach a lot of homeschool moms to monetize their social medias by simply sharing what they do already! The number one question I get is "how do you know what to make?". Here's my rule of thumb, if I make it for my kid, I make it available to my audience either as a freebie or a paid product depending on what it is. 

A perfect example is my Unicorn Sermon Notebook. Last night a mom told me how amazing it was for her child and what a wonderful idea it was. Y'all! I literally made it because Glori was having trouble sitting still in church and all of her friends were bringing coloring books and toys which we didn't allow her to bring. That's how the first product of the BossKids Club was born. 

99% of my products are made as a solution to a problem I come across in MY family. I figure if I  have that problem so do other homeschool moms. Why not make a business out of something I'm already doing. If that sounds interesting to you, check out the BossMom Creator Club below. 

I hope these tips help take the stress out of your holiday homeschool. Here's a freebie for you to enjoy with your little ones during the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm also including some pages for YOU to both enjoy and use to make your holiday go smoothly.