The season of Christmas is upon us! For many of us, this is a very special, yet chaotic, time of the year. We often get to spend time and connect with family and loved ones -it really is the best time of year. I know it is highly debatable – but we do Santa and Elf on the Shelf at our house, they are fun and exciting traditions, but I am intentional at shifting our main focus to the reason we celebrate this season and the true meaning of Christmas – Jesus. I want Christmas to be an exciting time, create the core memories we will cherish for a lifetime, and full of traditions that my children will carry on year after year, even after I am gone. This season isn’t just for the excitement, joy, and surprise for our minds, but our hearts as well. Here are a few resources we incorporate into our homeschool during the Christmas season!
One of our Christmas traditions we started 3 years ago was using Gather ‘Round The First Christmas. This is a unit study offered by Gather ‘Round Homeschool used as a way to connect and appreciate the true meaning of Christmas – this is a unit the entire family can do together, there are student notebooks for all ages (preschool-high school). This is by far my favorite holiday study we have ever done. Every year the kids are able to understand the true meaning of Christmas, just a little bit more, and that makes my mama heart happy. I see their little minds understanding more, grasping the more complicated concepts about the very first Christmas. They are starting to ask harder questions, go into more detailed discussions – they are pouring from their hearts. It’s a breathtaking thing to witness. This unit study is designed to be done 4 days a week for the three weeks leading up to Christmas or can be done the 12 days before Christmas as an advent study – the Advent is beautiful. We put all of our normal curriculums to the side during this season and solely focus on Christmas for three weeks, so we combine the two studies. There are recommended book lists, delicious recipes, fun movie nights, songs, crafts, and so many more fun things included – the most important is that you are spending time together as a family, making memories, and remembering what Christmas is truly about. Gather ‘Round also offers Christmas Around The World where you will learn about traditions around the world, they also have several add-ons for this unit such as recipes around the world, ornaments around the world, and letters around the world – this is one we will eventually do – but haven’t yet, I will let you know when we do!
Another unit study I would like to eventually do is from Campfire Curriculums, they have two Christmas units – In the Season of | Christmas and In the Season of | Caroling Noel. They are beautiful! Since my children are younger, we have had great success with The First Christmas, so I haven’t added any others. They say, don’t change what’s working! We will have many more Christmas’s in our homeschool!
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know we love books and story time is a staple in our day. Our home library is a bit excessive, but that comes with the homeschool territory, right? To find new titles I scour the local library for fun new reads each year. Here are a few of the books we will enjoy this Christmas season:
Our read-aloud: The Family Under the Bridge
Christmas in the Barn
The Sparkle Box
God Gave Us Christmas
Mortimers Christmas Manger
The Three Wisemen
The Christmas Candle
The Little Drummer Boy
The Mitten
Santa’s Prayer
The Crippled Lamb
Little Polar Bear
Bear Stays up for Christmas
The Most Perfect Snowman
The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever
Let it Snow
Emily and the Snowflake
When the Snow Falls
We always finish our Christmas unit studies with a holiday party – we invite family over and share what we have learned, the kids sing songs they have rehearsed, recite verses that made an impact on them, we bake together and share all the goodies with the ones we love – it really is a special time.
Every year I look forward to making these core memories and starting new traditions, building our relationships, but most of all showing them God’s love. Jesus is the reason for the season. When we really think about this and the sacrifices, he has made for us – its indescribable. God’s ultimate plan is breathtaking. I hope these resources help you create a Christmas season full of love, laughter, and many joyful memories! Enjoy the season and be sure to rejoice as well!
I pray this is a Christmas you are able to slow down, take it all in, and it’s one you and your family will never forget.
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