10 Tips to Get Back Into Homeschooling After The Holidays
Hey there, fellow homeschooling families! The holidays have wrapped up, and it’s that time when we shift from festive fun back to our educational journey. Transitioning from holiday mode to homeschooling can be challenging, but fear not! Here are 10 fantastic tips to ease back into your homeschool routine after the holidays, ensuring a smooth and productive restart for you and your kids.
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The start of a new year is a great time to start your homeschooling journey. If that’s you, PAUSE and start here: HOW TO GET STARTED WITH HOMESCHOOLING
1. Reset your environment
Clear away the holiday decorations and set up a dedicated, organized learning space. A tidy and refreshed environment can signal a fresh start and help your children focus better. Putting away the holiday decorations signifies the start of a new year and school season.
Now, if you’re the type that finds joy in your holiday decorations, don’t feel like you have to put them all away early just because you’re homeschooling. Focus on the clutter or excess stuff. Just make sure you have a clear space for lessons and activities.
2. Gradual Schedule Resumption
Ease into your full homeschooling schedule. Start with a couple of subjects and gradually add more. This approach helps prevent overwhelm and allows everyone to adjust at a comfortable pace.
Another way I like to ease back into homeschooling is with fun or low pressure lessons/activities. Personally, I like to incorporate a lot of learning games. Instead of a formal phonics lesson, I would play THIS phonics board game. Other ideas would be introducing a topic with a movie or story and talk about what further learning you could do over lunch.
You can shop all of my favorite learning games for gameschooling on my AMAZON STOREFRONT.
3. reflect and set goals
Take time to reflect on the past year’s progress and set new educational goals. Involving your children in this process can be incredibly motivating for them.
This is a good time to check out those goals you set for yourself or your kids at the beginning of the school year. Which ones have you met? What do you need to do to achieve the other ones? Or maybe you haven’t achieved any of them and need to rethink some things. If this is you, believe me when I say, you’re not a failure! Even those with the best of intentions fall short sometimes. Now’s a great time to get back on track.
4. Re-establish routines
Holidays often disrupt daily routines. Re-establish your homeschooling routine by setting consistent wake-up, meal, and learning times. Consistency helps children feel secure and focused.
It’s okay to use this time of year to rethink or redesign your routines or schedule. If something wasn’t working before you took time off, fix it now. Coming back from the holidays is like starting a new school year. You get to reinvent your routines and schedule if you weren’t sold on them before.
5. incorporate holiday experiences
Utilize experiences and knowledge gained during the holidays in your lessons. Did you travel or learn about new cultures? Incorporate these into geography, history, or social studies lessons.
Our family goes on a Christmas vacation every year in lieu of gifts. I like to ease back into lessons by incorporating things we did over our break. I explain how I do this HERE.
6. start with engaging projects
Kick off with hands-on projects or subjects your kids are passionate about. This approach can reignite their love for learning and make the transition more exciting.
If projects aren’t your thing, incorporate some hands-on lessons to start your new year. You can grab my FREE guide to learning resources. In it, I share my favorite manipulatives, how I use them in my homeschool and lesson ideas for more uses. Even if you don’t have these resources, you can learn how to use what you already have to create hands-on lessons.
7. plan educational field trips
Schedule a few educational field trips related to your curriculum. It’s a fun way to learn and helps break the monotony of daily lessons. They don’t have to be elaborate field trips. You could go to a local park, zoo, or a local historical site. Even your back yard will do!
Educational field trips are a great way to encourage more child-led learning as well. Let your child help plan field trips they are interested in. During or after your visit, ask questions about what interested them and let it guide your lessons moving forward.
We travel a ton and I love to create field trip guides for the places we go. If you live near any of these places, check out my field trip ideas: Hershey’s Chocolate World, Strasburg Railroad, Lancaster, Central Florida, Savannah, SWFL, Charleston, Greenville, Baltimore, Columbus
8. incorporate physical activity
Incorporate physical activities into your day. It can be as simple as a morning stretch or a midday nature walk. Physical activity boosts energy and improves concentration.
It could also be a great idea to include some gross motor activities into learning. Things like leap frog sight words, race track math facts, or a scavenger hunt to collect your own math manipulatives are all great ways to get your body moving while still learning.
9. stay flexible and patient
Remember, it’s okay if everything doesn’t go according to plan. Stay flexible and patient as you and your children find your rhythm again. Getting back on track after the holidays is hard whether your homeschooling or your kids are going to school. Give yourself and your kids grace to get back into the right learning space.
10. connect with other homeschoolers
Share your experiences and tips with other homeschooling families. Connecting with a community can provide support, new ideas, and encouragement. It’s also a great way to find co-ops, learning groups, and homeschool programs throughout your area. No one should do this alone.
I love connecting with other homeschool families on social media. On IG, I share easy lesson ideas that anyone can recreate at home and teach you how to turn your workbooks into hands-on lessons. I also send out a bi-weekly email with encouragement, teaching tips, educational resources and so much more. You can get homeschool help delivered right to your inbox when you sign up below. I promise not to spam you!
Transitioning back to homeschooling after the holidays doesn’t have to be daunting. With these tips, you can make the process smoother and more enjoyable for your whole family. Remember, every family is unique, so tailor these suggestions to fit your specific needs and preferences.
Happy homeschooling, and here’s to a fantastic and educational new year!
If you’re new to homeschooling and looking for more guidance, let me be your go-to girl.
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