I love your Christmas school idea! My wife and I just started homeschooling our oldest daughter and have three kids and have been thinking about what to do for December!
Yes taking a break from all the regular subjects has been a perfect way to celebrate the Advent season! We still do a math and L.A. lesson but other than that we spend a lot of the morning doing our Christmas-School activities/readings. It's one of their favorite parts of our homeschool year so I definitely recommend it : )
I like that, a cocoon season ; ) Not all seasons are the same and that’s totally okay! Planning on sharing more about how we celebrate Advent with our calendar and Christmas School soon!
So growing up; my family ALWAYS did Advent reading and such. We did the Church Advent routine, but then we would do our own Advent reading just as our own little family; usually Sunday evenings after dinner😉😊 We would USUALLY have hot chocolate or hot cider to sip on during our personal Advent reading🥰😍😉Oh man! There were a few years when I was "young and stupid" that I DID buy gifts last minute🙄😳😦😫😱 Now that I'm older and hopefully a little more "wiser", I TRY to do my Christmas shopping as EARLY as I can. There will be time again in the future to buy matching Christmas PJs for your kids if you so choose to do so on a different year. Don't beat yourself up for not doing that this year. Another tradition my family had when I was growing up; we would drive around and look at the various Christmas light displays in the area; complete with hot coffee/hot chocolate/or hot cider. There again, it was free; more economical for a family of 6 back in the day😉😊
All great ideas! I made hot cocoa for my kids too last year when we did our Advent readings (in their special Christmas themed mugs from the thrift store) and it was such a fun little time. Having a season for everything is such a good reminder, because I can't possibly do all the "things" in every season. Sounds like your family was very intentional with your traditions and it made a lasting impact!
So practical! I love that you are naming what you’re not doing—releasing the guilt and pressure to do all the things! I love the advent candles with a Christmas hymn! I’d love to start that rhythm around the piano.
Yes! For me, I can carry a lot of “should’s” and guilt over not doing what I thought I would do, do naming what matters most and telling myself that it’s okay to take these other things off my plate has already been so helpful. I love that idea about doing Advent readings and singing around the piano!
I am so excited for you as you grow your family again! You are going to crush being a mama to 5 little ones! I loved reading this list. A lot of this resonates with me. We are also doing Christmas School this year and I am so excited to try it. It will make it so much more fun and focused on Jesus which is what it is all about! I also excited that two of our favorite events are free since we have memberships already at those places. I have also found buying and wrapping ahead of time to be so helpful. My mom alwayssss was wrapping the entire night on Christmas Eve and I helped her, but I would much rather bake cookies or watch a Christmas movie on that day. I am sure you have seen it already, but my favorite kid Christmas movie is The Star. It is a wonderful telling of the Christmas story with some humor built in. :)
Thanks Tara! Your words are always so encouraging and timely. I’m excited to hear what you’re planning for your Christmas school! It really is such a fun time to do “school” with the kids, but this year I can’t take on more fun stuff than I can handle, which is the challenge lol. Ahh yes, we watched The Star years ago but haven’t been able to find it on our streaming devices so maybe we’ll have to rent the DVD from the library. That’s a great one!
Sarah Mackenzie of Read Aloud Revival created a Christmas School so I’m gonna be trying that this year. I’m so excited! I love that you’ve done it all along. The longer I homeschool, the more comfortable I am carving my own homeschool path! 👏🏻
Mollie, this is a truly wonderful and insightful post! It offers such a practical and proactive reminder of the true meaning of Christmas, which is so valuable during this busy season. (I’ve decorated early this year too!) ♥️
Thanks Brooke, I can see you doing lots of fun, intentional activities with your grand babies which I’d love to hear about too! And decorating early is the best decision in such a busy time of year : )
I love your Christmas school idea! My wife and I just started homeschooling our oldest daughter and have three kids and have been thinking about what to do for December!
Yes taking a break from all the regular subjects has been a perfect way to celebrate the Advent season! We still do a math and L.A. lesson but other than that we spend a lot of the morning doing our Christmas-School activities/readings. It's one of their favorite parts of our homeschool year so I definitely recommend it : )
I have also found myself in a creative lull. Considering it my cocoon season. I want to hear more about your advent bags!
Cocoon season! Love that!
I like that, a cocoon season ; ) Not all seasons are the same and that’s totally okay! Planning on sharing more about how we celebrate Advent with our calendar and Christmas School soon!
Hi Mollie,
So growing up; my family ALWAYS did Advent reading and such. We did the Church Advent routine, but then we would do our own Advent reading just as our own little family; usually Sunday evenings after dinner😉😊 We would USUALLY have hot chocolate or hot cider to sip on during our personal Advent reading🥰😍😉Oh man! There were a few years when I was "young and stupid" that I DID buy gifts last minute🙄😳😦😫😱 Now that I'm older and hopefully a little more "wiser", I TRY to do my Christmas shopping as EARLY as I can. There will be time again in the future to buy matching Christmas PJs for your kids if you so choose to do so on a different year. Don't beat yourself up for not doing that this year. Another tradition my family had when I was growing up; we would drive around and look at the various Christmas light displays in the area; complete with hot coffee/hot chocolate/or hot cider. There again, it was free; more economical for a family of 6 back in the day😉😊
Thanks for sharing.
Bethany
All great ideas! I made hot cocoa for my kids too last year when we did our Advent readings (in their special Christmas themed mugs from the thrift store) and it was such a fun little time. Having a season for everything is such a good reminder, because I can't possibly do all the "things" in every season. Sounds like your family was very intentional with your traditions and it made a lasting impact!
So practical! I love that you are naming what you’re not doing—releasing the guilt and pressure to do all the things! I love the advent candles with a Christmas hymn! I’d love to start that rhythm around the piano.
Yes! For me, I can carry a lot of “should’s” and guilt over not doing what I thought I would do, do naming what matters most and telling myself that it’s okay to take these other things off my plate has already been so helpful. I love that idea about doing Advent readings and singing around the piano!
I am so excited for you as you grow your family again! You are going to crush being a mama to 5 little ones! I loved reading this list. A lot of this resonates with me. We are also doing Christmas School this year and I am so excited to try it. It will make it so much more fun and focused on Jesus which is what it is all about! I also excited that two of our favorite events are free since we have memberships already at those places. I have also found buying and wrapping ahead of time to be so helpful. My mom alwayssss was wrapping the entire night on Christmas Eve and I helped her, but I would much rather bake cookies or watch a Christmas movie on that day. I am sure you have seen it already, but my favorite kid Christmas movie is The Star. It is a wonderful telling of the Christmas story with some humor built in. :)
Thanks Tara! Your words are always so encouraging and timely. I’m excited to hear what you’re planning for your Christmas school! It really is such a fun time to do “school” with the kids, but this year I can’t take on more fun stuff than I can handle, which is the challenge lol. Ahh yes, we watched The Star years ago but haven’t been able to find it on our streaming devices so maybe we’ll have to rent the DVD from the library. That’s a great one!
Sarah Mackenzie of Read Aloud Revival created a Christmas School so I’m gonna be trying that this year. I’m so excited! I love that you’ve done it all along. The longer I homeschool, the more comfortable I am carving my own homeschool path! 👏🏻
Yes I’ve heard she has a great Christmas school curriculum! I hope it goes really well and adds so much enjoyment to your Advent season!
Mollie, this is a truly wonderful and insightful post! It offers such a practical and proactive reminder of the true meaning of Christmas, which is so valuable during this busy season. (I’ve decorated early this year too!) ♥️
Thanks Brooke, I can see you doing lots of fun, intentional activities with your grand babies which I’d love to hear about too! And decorating early is the best decision in such a busy time of year : )
Oh you can bet we’re doing all the holiday things culminating in a birthday party for Jesus later in December! 🙌
Yes please share your ideas on here! I’d love to hear them!
Ok, thank you, you’ve given me inspiration for a post! 🙌🎄