Homeschooling after the holidays can sometimes prove challenging. From my experience, this can even be more difficult that transitioning after summer break. During the holidays our kids’ senses are highly agitated going from high to low real quick, not to mention they usually don’t get adequate sleep. This can be pretty tough to get the ball rolling for both kids and mom.
Before you even start you need to give yourself and your kids grace upon grace. If we are honest with ourselves, we don’t really want to start back up either. Yeah, sometimes for me I crave the routine, but getting past the holiday wall that has been built is what I dread. So, understand that your kids REALLY don’t want to and they probably aren’t going to seamlessly flow back into a full schedule without a bit of drama. I find that essential oils help sway our mood tremendously, but I also follow these 3 ways to get back into homeschooling after the holidays.
3 Ways to Gently Ease Back into Homeschooling after the Holidays
Start Midweek – Starting midweek gives them a sense of already having a couple days accomplished and only a couple more to go. We always start on a Wednesday or Thursday after our holiday break. I think the sooner they realize they are going to have a couple days off again the better.
Mix it up – Change it up. Do something different. I don’t know about you, but my girls love to be surprised. Starting back up after holiday break doesn’t have to be depressing. Surprise them with a back to school party. Go on a field trip. Play board games that are secretly educational. Start with a fun day of educational DVDS or YouTube Videos Do a fun science experiment. Go on a nature walk. Go to the museum. Or why not start with a unit study?
Take it Slow – Don’t go full speed into your routine. Start with maybe 1/4 (if that) of your normal lesson plans. Ease them slowly and gently back into homeschool. You will get a lot less reluctance and all around better attitudes if you just slow it down. Keep it simple. Right now is a great time of year to make a change. Even the slightest change can make a big difference. Take more time reading together. Head to the library and follow their interests. Find out what they are interested in and renew their excitement for learning.
No matter what time of year it is. It’s always a good time to start new adventures and spark new curiosity within our kids. And there is absolutely no better time for this than after the New Year. So let’s relax and enjoy our kids. I know we will be amazed at how easy it can be to get our groove back and gently ease back into homeschooling after the holidays.
What are some ways you ease back into Homeschooling after the Holidays?
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Forest Rose is a God Loving, Blessed Wife, & Mama to 3 girls. She’s passionate about lifting moms out of the trenches that are discouraged, overwhelmed, or feeling alone or isolated. Her hope is to point them to Christ and equip them to rise up with a newfound hope and joy within, that He alone can provide. Besides blogging, she also loves to create printables!
I just love these gentle ways of getting back into the grove things. Thanks for sharing your tips! I totally agree with you and love the idea of starting mid-week. I will definitely try that out.
Starting mid-week is a game changer for us Jessica. When it comes to easing back in without inducing a jolt of “reality” shock we have to start no earlier than Wednesday lol.