1 - Incorporate Meaningful Activities:
Wow, I can't believe it's almost Christmas!  It seems like just yesterday that we were getting our new curriculum organized and ready to begin the school year... and now here we are...

If you're anything like me, you're probably wishing that you'd found the time to incorporate more meaningful Christmas activities into your day with your children.  After the schoolwork, the baking, the shopping and the wrapping is done, there never seems to be enough time (or energy) left in my day to come up with homeschool christmas ideas with my boys that will have lasting value.

Christmas marks the start of many significant religious events - but it by no means is the last.  Easter is just around the corner!  In fact, every day marks a date in history when God performed some extraordinary act through the lives of ordinary people such as ourselves.  There are resources out there which will allow you to include something meaningful on every day - not just the holidays.

The One-Year Book of Christian History By E. Michael & Sharon Rusten / Tyndale House What happened on this date in church history? From ancient Rome to the twenty-first century, from peasants to presidents, from missionaries to martyrs, this book shows how God does extraordinary things though ordinary people every day of the year. Each story appears on the day and month that it occurred and includes questions for reflection and a related Scripture verse. A remarkable journey through church history that will both instruct and inspire you! Spanning 2,000 years, 365 stories about peasants, presidents, missionaries, martyrs, and others show how God has accomplished extraordinary things through ordinary people---every day of the year. Encouraging Scripture and thought-provoking questions help you apply what you've learned to your own life.

2 - Family Traditions
Another way to reach our children on a daily basis is to create Family Traditions with them.  We need daily traditions, such as eating dinner together and doing devotions.  We need weekly traditions such as attending church.  And we also need annual traditions such as a family vacation.  As parents, we can use these traditions to show our children the importance of God in our lives and at the center of our families.

Treasuring God in Our Traditions By Noel Piper / Crossway Books & Bibles God-treasuring traditions can be ordinary, everyday habits such as telling stories, attending church, and using affectionate nicknames. They may be rare "especially" occasions such as funerals and weddings. And they are also the creative ways we reflect Christ in our holidays. Noel Piper believes that by our traditions we can help the next generation treasure God, and at the same time deepen our love for Him. Only God can give our children a taste for his sweetness. Only God can awaken them to his worth. But he uses means. He uses God-centered traditions and Bible-saturated family patterns and grace-laden heirlooms. Year in and year out our traditions can show children that God is our Treasure. With family traditions rooted firmly in the Bible, the next generation absorbs the truth that the treasure we have in God is ancient in wisdom and strength - and fresh as the morning dew.

3 - To Continue or Not to Continue?
The rest of the known world is about to take several weeks off of school for a Christmas Vacation - and a few weeks after that they'll have a MidWinter Break, and so on...  As a homeschooler, should you let your children take this time off of school as well?  There are two ways to look at it, and they are both a personal preference. 

One way to think of normal school vacations is to acknowledge all of the work that you and your sons have been putting in for the past 4 months (or more) and to allow yourselves to take a break.  It is good to have time off occasionally to allow your children (and yourself) some rest.  Breaks are also a great time to let your children read books they'd enjoy, for reading aloud classics to them, for them to pursue activities that interest them. 

Breaks are also a great time to let your sons play - don't underestimate the importance of play for children.  Especially for boys!  They need time for physical activity every day.  If you live in an area that receives snow, let them spend some extended time playing outside in it.  Before you know it, it'll be spring and they'll have to wait another 9 months for snow - so let them enjoy it while it's here.

Another way to think of normal school vacations is to press on.  Sure, maybe you will take an extra day off here and there for shopping or baking or making homemade Christmas gifts... but other than that, you continue to do your regular schoolwork with your children. 

If you subscribe to this philosophy, it will give you the flexibility to take a day off in the spring when it first gets warm, or to take a mental health day occasionally when you or your boys need one.  This option also allows you to take family vacations during the off-season when most children are stuck in school... giving you cheaper rates as well as less crowded vacation destinations!

To continue or not to continue?  It's up to you how you handle schoolwork during the Christmas season.  The flexibility of homeschooling is an awesome gift.  Whichever philosophy you hold, be sure to enjoy this season with your sons!  We are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!  It is certainly a great time for reflection with our families.

Below are some great resources for finding Family Friendly books, activities, and movies to help occupy your sons' minds if you do take a break from your regular schoolwork.