When I begin thinking about Christmas approaching, one of the first things I do is pull out our favorite winter and Christmas books and look for new books to add to our collection. One of our favorite traditions is to wrap up each book and allow the children to open one each day during Morning Time in the month of December. Even if a book is one we read every year, the love unwrapping the books and discovering a new one each day.
For many years, we have taken four or five weeks off of our usual lessons and used holiday curriculum to spend this time of year focusing on traditions, connection, and Jesus. This year, we will be using A Connected Christmas and I would be honored if you would join us by using it in your homes as well. This curriculum includes some of our favorite living picture books for the Christmas and Advent season.
In this blog post:
- Living books for A Connected Christmas [Free Booklist]
- Tips for using the A Connected Christmas Booklist
- Christmas curriculum from Treehouse Schoolhouse
Living books for A Connected Christmas [Free Booklist]
In this list, you will find my all-time favorite titles for winter and Christmas. You will find a mix of shorter, light-hearted stories and many deeper, meaningful stories (keep the tissues close for a few). In the pages of these living books, you will see diversity, traditions, and culture! Some of the stories will take you back in time or to other places in the world. Some are silly and will fill your hearts with joy and wonder. Many teach lessons of giving, sacrifice, and focus on keeping Jesus at the center of the season. I hope you love them as much as my family does.
Download the FREE A Connected Christmas booklist here.
Tips using the A Connected Christmas booklist
If you are using A Connected Christmas this year, here are a few inside tips about the booklist:
There is one title assigned to each day of the curriculum with a coordinating hands-on connection, such as a handcraft or recipe. Some of them are strongly connected to the theme in the story for that day and others are general projects and can easily be paired with another read-aloud if you are unable to collect all of the titles. If you move a title to another day than is assigned, I recommend also moving the hands-on connection to the same day, as they are paired together.
My recommendation is to try to gather the books either at your local library or to purchase them on Amazon or at a used bookstore such as thriftbooks.com. If you go this route, you could wrap each book up to have your children open up at lesson time, which makes for a fun experience and tradition.If you are unable to locate a physical copy of the books, I have included links to YouTube read-alouds of each book in the book list download. If you have exhausted those routes and need to swap a book out for another, there are many wonderful titles out there to choose from. Just double-check the hands-on connection for the day to see if it still makes sense without reading that specific book.
Christmas curriculum from Treehouse Schoolhouse
A Connected Christmas
A Connected Christmas is our original, three-week advent study designed for the whole family. Gather your family and celebrate beauty and delight through festive carols, stories, poetry, art, baking, and handcrafts. It’s about family, it’s about Him. It’s about connecting hearts to the heart of Christmas–to the truth of Jesus coming to earth to seek and save the lost.
A Connected Christmas, Volume 2
A Connected Christmas, Volume Two continues the same holiday tradition of carols, stories, poetry, art, baking, and handcrafts, designed to bring your family together during this holiday season. Share in the love of Christ by revisiting the Nativity story along with new stories and heartwarming activities to enjoy this season together.
is an invitation to gather your family and celebrate beauty and delight through festive carols, stories, poetry, art, baking, and handcrafts. It’s about family, it’s about Him. It’s about connecting hearts to the heart of Christmas–to the truth of Jesus coming to earth to seek and save the lost.
A Connected Christmas: Around the World
Travel around the world this holiday season and connect hearts to the truth of Jesus while experiencing how Christmas is celebrated across the globe through A Connected Christmas: Around the World. This study has a special focus on geography and cultural traditions as you learn how Christmas is celebrated worldwide during this special time of year.
