Homeschooling After The Holidays
Getting back to homeschooling after the holidays can be hard. You’ve hopefully spent some time having fun and connecting with your kids.
But now that the break is over, how do you get back to homeschooling without a fight on your hands?
Over the years, I’ve learned a few simple tips to help my kids ease back into homeschooling after the holidays.
Because, let’s be honest, getting back to work is not always fun. Your kids have been busy enjoying the break from your regular routine.
Even though you may have been homeschooling through the holidays, it’s just not the same. I want to share a few ways to help make homeschooling after the holidays less overwhelming for everyone.
If you are a homeschool mom who is also working, you’ll appreciate that these tips are not time intensive. They are practical, easy to do, and make it much easier for you and your kids to get back into a homeschool routine.
How to Get Back Into Homeschooling After The Holidays
How to get back into homeschooling after the holidays is often a hot topic inside my Working Homeschool Mom Coffee Club.
And rightfully so! Many of us take a break as the crazy holiday season hits to focus on the important things.
Thinking about returning to your regular homeschool schedule can feel overwhelming.
My best piece of advice is to ease in.
This is the way I encourage you to start a new homeschool year, and the same strategies often work wonders after any holiday break.
What does easing back into homeschooling after the holidays mean? Let me share with you my best tips for putting this into action.
3 Tips To Ease Back Into Homeschooling After a Break
When it comes to returning to your homeschool schedule after a break, it’s important to take into consideration your children and your work schedule.
For example, if you work outside the home and you have child care outside your home, you may need to start these tips a few days earlier than if you worked at home and your kids could sleep in until noon.
This brings me to my first tip!
1. Start With Bedtime & Wake Time Routines
During holiday breaks, it is normal for kids to stay up late have fun and enjoy sleeping in and having late breakfasts.
If you head to the office and need your child up and ready to go out the door, I highly recommend starting to ease back into bedtime and waketime routines.
When I worked full time out of the home while homeschooling, we started this about 3-4 days before they returned to child care.
I started getting them into bed closer and closer to their normal bedtime each night. I adjusted the bedtime by about 15 – 30 minutes depending on when they were going to bed while we were on break.
And I started waking them a bit earlier and earlier until we were on track for the normal wake-up times.
Some children adjust quickly to this change, and others need to be eased in.
2. Start On Thursday
This is one thing our local public school got right!
When you start homeschooling after the holidays on a Thursday, you and your children can get used to a new routine and then have a break.
If your normal homeschool schedule is to homeschool on weekends, then I suggest doing 2-3 homeschool days and then taking a few days off.
This is a simple but effective strategy because change is hard!
3. Start With One Core Subject
Just like when we start a new homeschool year, I recommend easing in by doing just one core subject for the first day or two.
Take a look at your homeschool requirements and see what core subject you can focus on for at least one day.
Then spending the rest of the time on homeschooling that doesn’t feel like work, such as:
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- Playing an educational game
- Listening to an audiobook while coloring
- Crafting
- Cooking and Baking
- Exploring the outside and doing a nature study
- Or grab a book and do an online book club
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Returning to a full homeschool schedule after a break can be overwhelming for you and the kids. But easing in using just one or two core subjects and having fun makes it so easier for everyone!
After a few days, add another core subject and another until you are back to your full homeschool schedule.
What’s The Best Way To Make This Happen?
Now that you know how to ease back into homeschooling after the holidays, you might be wondering how? How can you make this happen while not losing your mind?
The simple answer is to plan for it.
Take a look at your homeschool planner, pick the day you want to start easing back, and make a plan of action.
If you don’t have a planner, grab the free pages and use them to get started, or a notebook and calendar will do.
Write down what time you want your kids to go to bed, what time you need them to wake up, and what day you will start easing into homeschooling.
I also like to write down what core subject we will start with and what fun winter activities for kids I want to include.
One of my kids is not a morning person, so we started extra early with the morning routines.
If your children are the same, you might find these tips on how to have happy mornings helpful.
Lastly, take a few minutes to get organized. Is there anything you need to buy ahead of time? Do you know where the games are located? Arts and crafts?
Gather what you need ahead of time to remove stress and overwhelm for you and your kids.
More Back To Homeschooling After The Holidays Ideas
Here are a few other ideas on how to get back into homeschooling. While many are focused on returning to homeschool for a new year, I find that most tips work for any longer homeschool break!
- Back to Homeschool Organization
- Scheduling For Homeschool
- First Day Back to Homeschool Ideas
- Plan to play
- Social Activities For Kids
Returning To Homeschooling After The Holidays
When it comes to easing back into homeschooling after the holidays, don’t forget to start your bedtime and morning routines early, homeschool for a few days, and then give both you and your kids a break and start slowly with a few core subjects and fun.
By creating a plan of action, you will reduce overwhelm and stress.
Which tip will you put in action for returning to homeschooling after the holidays?
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Hi, I’m Jen. I help working moms juggle their career and homeschool their kids by providing support, systems and tools. You are warmly invited to Join the Online Community Here!
