Advent calendars can be a helpful tool to make homeschooling more manageable in December by providing structure, motivation, and incorporating educational activities. Here are a few ways advent calendars can contribute to homeschooling during the holiday season:
- Daily learning activities: Create an advent calendar with educational activities tailored to your child’s curriculum or interests. You can even create unit themed activities based on holiday symbols. Each day, your child can open a new compartment or envelope containing a learning task or a fun educational challenge. These activities can be designed to reinforce what they are studying or explore new topics. For example, if a holiday symbol on your advent calendar is a star, you could spend a week learning a few constellations or watch the Bethlehem Star YouTube video. I’ve known some families to do the same traditions each year so their children feel a sense of security and safety without a lot of stress-inducing activities. They make things fun by using holiday themed activities on a certain day of the week. Otherwise, December goes on with the normal routine. While that may not seem like fun for many families, the peacefulness of reducing meltdowns can be one of the best feelings of the season.
- Incentives for academic progress: You can use the advent calendar as a reward system to motivate your child’s academic progress. For example, after completing each day of homeschooling successfully, they get to open a special compartment that reveals a small treat, a mini celebration, or a reward of their choice. If you have a child with ADHD or other special need where tangible incentives are essential, you could even have a morning and afternoon calendar. The morning one could have a small chocolate or treat. The afternoon calendar could list a fun Christmas movie as a reward for completing the school day!
- Counting down to special learning events: If you have planned any special homeschooling activities or outings during December, you can incorporate these into the advent calendar. It can serve as a countdown to these exciting events, building anticipation and engagement. This may sound strange, but moms who have kids with sensory issues will understand my suggestion to monitor agitation levels. If counting down to special activities or holiday events seems to be increasing meltdowns, you may want to make a specific choice of an event once a week. Let the child know ahead which day the event will happen, but keep your own excitement in check to minimize emotional dysregulation. Some events may have too many lights or loud noises for kids with sensory issues. For kids with anxiety issues, you can avoid panic attacks by talking through what you expect to happen. Answer questions as thoroughly as you can. Surprise is the element that often sends kids with anxiety into a panic attack. If you don’t know, say so. Then encourage your child that you will try to find out. If that isn’t possible, you will discover a fun adventure together so that you both will have fun.
- Holiday-themed lessons: Use the advent calendar to introduce holiday-themed lessons and projects. It could include crafts, writing prompts, holiday-themed math problems, or learning about different holiday traditions and cultures around the world. You can go big with an entire unit on Christmas Around the World, or as small as using mittens as manipulatives to practice the two times tables. Be creative. Of course, there are fun downloadable printable worksheets you can purchase or even get for free! But see what you can do to use real objects that reinforce lessons.
- Family bonding and reflection: Alongside academic activities, the advent calendar can feature family bonding and reflection exercises. This could include reading a book as a family, sharing what you are grateful for, writing letters or creating homemade gifts for loved ones, or engaging in acts of kindness. Using an advent calendar devotional can help you get started in having a family reading time either at a homeschool morning meeting or in the evening before bedtime. Snuggling in jammies with the Christmas tree lights on and hot cocoa in their tummies, can help kids relax and create memories of family bonding, warmth, and happiness in learning together. This is a great time to start nurturing the spiritual development of your children. Once you get started, keep the routine going through each season.
By integrating educational activities, rewards, and reflection into your homeschooling advent calendar, you can make December both enjoyable and productive for your homeschooling journey.
