The holidays are a great time to learn while enjoying all the holiday activities. As we spend time on meal preparation, gift wrapping, cleaning, hosting, baking, and the aftermath of cleaning and organizing, we can invite children to come alongside us and learn. Holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter are not only times for family gatherings, but also times when children can learn valuable life skills if we bring them along.

As a parent and home educator, I try to consider what children can learn if we slow down, involve them, talk through tasks, and give them ways to try things for themselves. Reflecting on how I involve my children in our home life has often led me to ask myself what the real measure of success in life is? As parents, is our goal to be extremely “productive,” or is training our children the most productive thing we can do?

This reminds of me of a Charlotte Mason quote I like from The Original Home School Series:

“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children.”

While the busy holiday season may feel like the most difficult time to slow down and invite children to help with everyday tasks, I challenge you (and myself) to see this in a different light. Will involving and relying on our children make tasks take longer? Yes. However, why are we rushing through these tasks instead of inviting them in?

If you are looking for ways to teach your children life skills, this blog post includes ideas to involve children in your holiday traditions and give them opportunities for organic learning and to take responsibility.

In this blog post:

• Learning through the holidays: Finding opportunities for learning in a busy season
• Top 10 ideas for learning opportunities during the holidays
• Holiday studies from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Learning through the holidays: Finding opportunities for learning in a busy season

As we approach each holiday, I enjoy breaking up our homeschool studies and allowing time to focus on the upcoming season, whether that is Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. In our homeschool, we often pause some of our academic subjects to allow time for a holiday unit study. With a study like A Treasured Thanksgiving or A Connected Christmas, we can continue academic study through the lens of the holiday season around us. 

As we approach the holiday, we will typically break from school altogether to carve out time for travel or family gatherings and all the preparations involved. Reserving time to pause school and be intentional about our time is one of the reasons I love homeschooling, particularly with a year-round schedule. 

Top 10 ideas for learning opportunities during the holidays

As we set aside time for meaningful holiday traditions and preparation, there are so many opportunities to learn from what I like to call “life school.” Here are some ways children can learn through participation in the holiday preparation.

1. Writing and sending Christmas cards – Children can practice handwriting, grammar, language arts and teach practical skills like addressing envelopes, addresses, and stamps. 
2. Earning money and buying gifts – Prepare for the holidays by buying gifts, but allow for opportunities to plan, save, and prepare in advance of buying gifts. This develops work ethic, saving, giving, money math, thoughtfulness. (Tip: Encourage kids to make their own DIY gifts.)
3. Wrapping and addressing gifts – Wrapping presents hones in on fine motor skills (scissors, tape), spatial awareness, problem solving, handwriting (and secret keeping). 
4. Meal planning and grocery shopping – Who doesn’t love extra help in the kitchen? Kids can easily help with list making, navigating the grocery store, budgeting, time management, and finding recipes. In addition, it will lighten your own burden of holiday baking and preparation.
5. Cooking and baking – There are so many opportunities for learning in the kitchen. Along with learning practical cooking skills, kids can practice reading comprehension with recipes, then focus on math by multiplying ingredients to cook for a crowd, measuring and fractions, temperature, time, cleaning as you cook, and more.
6. Hosting guests – Hospitality is one of my favorite ways to involve my children. Kids of any age can help with cleaning, setting the table, preparing a guest room, serving, and being a polite host. This is truly a life skill children can learn at an early age that will stay with them through life.
7. Receiving gifts – Teach children to respond to gift giving with eye contact and thankfulness. Then, teach gratitude, handwriting, and language arts by writing and sending thank you notes.
8. Home and toy organization – After the holidays or birthdays, children can help sort and organize the new items they receive. They can practice categorization, personal responsibility, tidiness, and learn how to purge unused and unnecessary items.
9. Planning for the new year – As January 1 or a new school year approaches, involve children by teaching calendar skills and setting goals together.
10. Storytelling and recitation – Practice public speaking skills as children retell the Easter, Thanksgiving, or nativity story to siblings, relatives, or friends. Children can also practice reading their favorite holiday books to siblings and friends.

What learning opportunities have you found during the holiday season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.