If the busyness of the holiday season leaves you feeling rushed and stressed, Christmas School may be exactly what you need. Take time to slow down, enjoy your loved ones, and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
HOMESCHOOLING
Christmas School
November 25, 2024
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December is coming and in our home that means Christmas School is about to begin. For our homeschool curriculum, we will be reducing our traditional studies, while adding an advent devotional to replace our regular Bible study. Our read-aloud stories, crafts, and activities will all be Christmas focused, and our days will be intentionally slowed down.
What is Christmas School?
If you are new to homeschooling or maybe you’ve never heard of Christmas School before you might be wondering what exactly is “Christmas School”?
Christmas School is a time to slow down and reflect on the true meaning of the holiday season. For many homeschool families, traditional learning or subjects may be paused or reduced, and a greater focus is placed on advent devotionals, Christmas-themed unit studies, and holiday crafts and activities.
One of the greatest things about Christmas School (and homeschooling in general) is the ability to tailor it to your family’s needs. Just as homeschooling looks different from family to family, Christmas school is also an area where a lot of variation takes place.
Our Christmas School Plan
As I mentioned in the intro, our homeschool curriculum will change dramatically come December, when our Christmas School begins.
Our Christmas School plan is based on four parts – traditional schoolwork (reduced to math and language arts), a Christmas devotional (based on advent), holiday themed stories, and a specific holiday activity, craft, or event for that day. We have always had a literature-based homeschool so books about Christmas, both chapter books and picture books, will play a large role in our Christmas School.
Our 2024 Christmas School will go from Monday, December 2nd through Friday, December 20th. After that, we will go on Christmas break where we will not homeschool at all until after the New Year.
Christmas School Outline
Below is a tentative Christmas School day plan with times, so you can get an idea for a loose-based schedule. Some days will have more structure while others will be more open-ended. We typically start school around 8:30am so that will likely stay the same.
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8:30am – 9:20am – Math and Language Arts
9:20am – 9:40am – Christmas Devotional
BREAK
10:00am – 10:30am – Read-Aloud Picture Books and/or Chapter Books
10:30am – 11:30am – Holiday Activity, Craft, or Event
LUNCH
The afternoon is intentionally kept open. It may be simply free time, or it might be used for other activities like watching a Christmas movie in the afternoon, visiting with friends, or just enjoying each other’s company. One of our primary goals during this time is to slow down so we’re going to try really hard not to overwhelm our calendar.
Read-Aloud Books for Christmas School
Having a literature-based homeschool curriculum means that we always have a read-aloud going. For the Christmas season, I like for these books to switch over to a holiday theme. Although our Christmas school won’t technically start until December, once November begins, we will usually begin our holiday-themed read aloud books so we can get a few in before the end of the year.
For this year, we’ll be reading through three different chapter books which include the classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the hilarious, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, and the newest book of the three, The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling.
Picture Books for Christmas School
Along with our read-aloud Christmas books, we’ll also be reading some holiday themed picture books. There are a couple of picture books that we read every year, including The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore and The First Christmas Night by Keith Christopher, but I also plan on working in a few more from our 25 Days of Christmas Picture Books list.
Christmas Advent Books for Kids and Families
For Christian families, December is the time for advent. In our house, we like to pause on our current devotional or Bible study and switch to an advent themed reading each day.
There are so many Christmas advent books for kids and families to choose from. Some years I buy a new one and other years, we read through a favorite one from previous years. Below are some of the Christmas Advent Books for Kids that we have used or are on our list to purchase for upcoming years.
Christmas Advent Books for Families with Younger Children –
These advent books are ideal for children as young as preschool through elementary school. However, even though they were created with younger kids in mind, I think kids of all ages can take value from them. I know I do!
The Advent Storybook: 25 Bible Stories Showing Why Jesus Came by Laura Richie
In this family advent book, several stories of the Bible are presented to point to the birth of Jesus and how everything fits together. Each story begins with a key biblical reference, followed by a detailed story, and finished with a question. The stories are not too long and would probably be best suited for children between the ages of 4 through 8 years old. There is also a coordinating coloring book that would fit nicely with each reading that also includes 25 ornaments to color – perfect for a Jesse Tree tradition.
The Way to the Manger by Jeff Land and Abbey Land
This family advent includes 25 short devotions with discussion questions for both children and parents to participate in. The answers can be filled out yearly as journal responses so you can look back on them and see how things have changed throughout the years. This book also includes weekly projects that can be completed as a family.
This was our family advent book that we used last year. It is absolutely adorable and even though my daughter is older, and we will be using a more mature advent book for this season, I still plan to incorporate some of the lessons from this book into our current advent study.
The format includes a weekly devotional with reflection questions, a prayer, and activities, which include additional readings in the Bible. The front and back inside cover also includes a daily advent activity for days 1 – 24. The activities include things like “Hand out Candy Canes” or “Visit Someone Who Needs Cheer.”
This family advent book includes a short Bible verse each day followed by a hands-on activity. Along with the activities included, there are also Jesse Tree Ornaments to be added to your tree each day. This children’s advent book has some wonderful craft ideas, but you might want to supplement it with a more traditional advent reading or find these readings in your children’s bible to make your daily devotional a little more in-depth.
Discovering Christmas: A 25-Day Advent Devotional with Activities for Kids by Amanda Jess
A family advent book that is perfect for families with younger children, readers will find short and relatable advent devotionals with questions to discuss afterwards. The lessons also include small crafts or activities to round it out. The daily devotional finishes with a prayer.
The Story of Christmas Story Book Set and Advent Calendar by Carolyn Croll
This book set is such a unique idea since the stories are laid out in calendar form. Read the stories in sequence to hear the entire Christmas Story. Make sure to have a small tree on hand to hang the ornaments on when complete. This makes the whole process very interactive and would be a wonderful tradition for young children.
Christmas Advent Books for Families with Older Children –
For those families with older children, you will likely want a more detailed advent devotional. These books are perfect for families with upper aged elementary students through young adults.
Unwrapping the Names of Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu
This is the family advent book that we’re going to use for this year. It includes a weekly advent passage with a prayer, Bible verse, discussion questions, lighting of the advent wreath, and song. Daily devotionals explore the names of Jesus and how these define his character followed by a challenge, prayer, and further study. At the end of the week, there are suggested family activities.
I’m really excited to work through this advent book and I’ll make sure to report back next year on whether we will continue to work it into our advent tradition.
The 25 Days of Christmas: A Family Devotional to Help You Celebrate Jesus by James Merritt
This is another great family Christmas advent book for families with older children. It includes a short story to read aloud, scripture verse, and family activity. This book comes in a beautiful hardcover format that would make an excellent coffee table book as well.
The Giving Manger
Christmas is a wonderful time of year to instill giving and random acts of kindness. This year, along with our devotional, we will be incorporating The Giving Manger. If you are new to The Giving Manger, it’s a short storybook about a family who spends the season giving to others, including members of their family. For every kind deed, a piece of straw goes in the manger. The hope is that by Christmas, the manger will be full.
By focusing on giving rather than receiving and encouraging acts of kindness throughout the holiday season, it is such a beautiful way to honor Jesus and what he taught us throughout the Bible.
For your own copy of the book, manger, and straw, the book can be purchased here.
The Giving Manger: A Christmas Family Tradition by Allison Hottinger and Lisa Kalberer
You could also make your own manger and follow the same principles. Here is a simple manger scene created with popsicle sticks that would be a fantastic and easy craft for most children.
Another option that promotes acts of kindness is to create a “garland of good deeds.” Hallmark put this out a couple of years ago with a booklet that listed a good deed and once completed, you would connect it to create the garland. You could just as easily make this with pretty Christmas paper or even construction paper, writing down the good deeds as you go. Here is a video showing how it works.
Christmas Around the World
One of the most popular December unit studies is Christmas Around the World. Whether you purchase a formal study or piece one together on your own, this is a fun way to learn about the different traditions, food, and activities of different countries. For ideas on which countries, you might want to study, check out our Around the World Unit Study for inspiration.
Christmas School Activities
It wouldn’t be Christmas in our house without some holiday activities going on. From baking to volunteering, there are plenty of ways to fill your days with meaningful activities. We may not end up doing all of these things, but here are some ideas to bring the fun into your homeschool this season.
- Listen to Christmas Songs
- Hand Out Candy Canes
- Look at Christmas Lights
- Buy a New Ornament – This has been a family tradition since our first year in our home. Each year, we go out as a family and each pick out one new ornament for the tree. One ornament per year doesn’t sound like much at first, but it adds up. It’s always a fun and sentimental time to look at each ornament and reminisce of what season of life we were in when the ornaments were chosen.
- Decorate a Gingerbread House – Whether you make it from scratch or purchase a kit, building and decorating a gingerbread house is always a good time. If your child doesn’t care about actually eating the house and just wants the toppings, I have friends who will glue the house together ahead of time and then let the kids decorate it. In our family, we eat the house so it doesn’t work, but I thought it was a genius idea. Another option for those who want to limit the sweets is to purchase a life-size cardboard version. The kids can decorate it and then use it for play throughout the holiday season.
- Bake and Decorate Sugar Cookies
- Create Bird Seed Ornaments
- Make Paper Snowflakes
- Watch Christmas Movies (Elf, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Star, The Grinch, and Home Alone seem to always make the list in our house)
- Make Hot Cocoa Bombs
- Visit a Drive By Nativity Display
- Purchase Presents for Friends
- Deliver Treats to Neighbors
- Bake a Birthday Cake for Jesus
- Build a Christmas-themed Lego Set – We’re big LEGO fans in our house and we always seem to end up with a new small holiday set. Amazon always has great Black Friday Deals on LEGO sets, but if you’re interested in a particular one that’s a sellout risk, we’d definitely recommend purchasing it early.
Ways to Give Back During the Holiday Season
- Make Christmas Cards for Families in the NICU
- Tape Quarters to the Washers in a Laundromat
- Serve the Homeless in Your Community
- Donate to a Relief Organization
- Take Part in a Toy Drive, Operation Christmas Child, or the Angel Tree Program
- Volunteer at the Local Food Pantry, Shelter, or Other Missionary Organization – Our local food pantry is always in need of volunteers and although we volunteer throughout the year, it is especially needed during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Volunteering is a great way to give back. If you don’t have a local food pantry or soup kitchen, nursing homes, or hospitals are also areas where volunteers are always appreciated.
If you enjoyed these Christmas School Ideas, check out the following links for more homeschooling, book, and holiday recommendations!
