Christmas Family Learning
- Chelsea Miles
- Dec 1, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 5, 2020
Every afternoon during the school week after lunch and my older kids get done with their virtual academy lessons we come together for family learning. For the month of December we are turning our focus to Christmas. This is one of my favorite holiday's and I'm so excited to share what I have planned for family learning this month! Watch the video below for more fun ideas...
Advent Reading
I was thinking about switching to a different advent story this year but after looking into a few I decided to stick with the one we've been using which is the same one my mom used when she homeschooled us. I will say it's better suited for kids 6 and up. It's called Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide and it is a great engaging story for the advent season. I recently learned there is now a series of books that go with Jotham's Journey. They are Bartholomew's Passage, Tabitha's Travels and Ishtar's Odyssey. I will most likely use these books in the next few years for our advent readings. There is also an Easter book Amon's Adventures.
Our Christmas 2020 Book List
Our family has really enjoyed reading this year individually and together. Here are the books we will be reading together during our family learning!
What is Given from the Heart by Patricia C McKissack, April Harrison | This isn't necessarily a Christmas book but the message is perfect for the holiday season.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss | This holiday classic is a great way for my older two to practice writing in a fun way. We're going to read the book then watch the movie and they'll write a review comparing the two. There are several different movies we are going to watch the one starring Jim Carrey on Netflix!
It's Not About You, Mr. Santa Claus by Soraya Diase Coffelt | Before my husband and I had kids we discussed how we would raise them. We decided when we had kids we would not tell them Santa or the Easter bunny is real. I felt like it would be difficult for me to keep the fantasy of Santa and the Easter bunny alive while keep the kids focused on the true meaning of these holidays. I truly believe this is a personal decision for each family and there is not a right or wrong with this. With all that being said I think this book offers a wonderful balance. In fact my four year old is convinced Santa is real lol. We don't encourage it but we also don't discourage her from using her imagination. This letter to Santa doesn't discourage the belief in Santa but reinforces the true meaning of Christmas which I like!
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson| I've read this classic book many times as a child. I'm excited to share this adapted version with my kiddos!
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens| How can you celebrate the holiday season without A Christmas Carol? I love this book and the movies adapted from the book. I'm going to have my kids watch several movie adaptations of this book and write a comparison paper. The 1983 and 2009 version can be watched on Disney Plus. There are a couple of others available on Prime Video.
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