Happy New Year from all of us here at Curriculum Choice. The Curriculum Choice authors are back with a wealth of inspiration for your homeschools this winter. We present The Winter Homeschool!
How to Make the Most of The Winter Homeschool
By now, most of us will be in the throes of winter weather. The days are shorter, the temperatures dipping below what can be called comfortable and for some of us, knee deep in snow and ice. I know that for some, winter can be a hard season to love.
In our own home, we have often found winter to be a time to cherish as we enjoy the slower pace of life. We build a fire to keep warm, make sure we have lots of hot chocolate and marshmallows and embrace all that this season has to offer us – winter nature walks, cuddle-up read-aloud times, more time for winter crafts and tackling some fun seasonal unit studies. Here are some things we have done in our own homeschool to capitalize on the winter weather.
- The Great Ice Age lapbook from In The Hands of a Child. Read all about it on my blog.
- Seasonal Reminders nature walk.
- Plan to ditch the books and take advantage of a snow day. Building memories together are just as important as academics. If you really must you can turn your snow day walk into an informal nature walk.
- Why not create a winter nature table in a small corner of your home? My girls love bringing home their finds from our nature walks. Creating a great display to showcase their finds is fun.
- Capitalize on the holidays that fall in these months such as Valentines Day.
- Plan to do some fun seasonal crafts with your children.
From the Curriculum Choice Archives
You can browse all our curriculum views by age and subject but here is a selection of reviews chosen especially for you from our archives for you to enjoy.
- Winter Wonders Download n’ Go Unit Study
- Our Favourite Homeschool Art Resources
- In the Hands of a Child:: Basic Survival Skills Unit Study
- Your Morning Basket: A Review
- The Story of… An Introduction to the Classics
- Homeschool Bible Studies
- Snow and Ice Nature Study Review
- Big Book of Books and Activities
Our Curriculum Choice Pinterest boards Our Review Team and Homeschool Curriculum Reviews are packed with lots of inspirational pins so be sure to pay them a visit.
The Winter Homeschool with the Curriculum Choice Authors
I would like to encourage you to visit our Curriculum Choice authors blogs as they regularly share ideas and give us a peek into what they are doing in their homeschools. I have no doubt that you will find lots of inspiration there to get you through winter and into the spring. Below you will find some of their ideas on homeschooling through the winter.
From Cindy at Our Journey Westward
How does the West family survive the winter ho-hums of homeschooling?
- We get outside. Have you tried winter nature study? It’s not quite as bad as you might suspect. Give it a go with these free nature notebooking pages!
- We spend extra time on read alouds each afternoon. I’ve pulled together a list of family favorite winter books that I think you’ll love, too.
- Winter is the perfect season for cozy gameschooling. We love to pull out educational games to follow up read aloud time!
- And with Valentine’s Day in winter, we spice up math lessons here and there with candy-themed lessons.
From Heidi at Starts At Eight
Since we live in Western New York the winters are long and typically cold. For us that means a lot of hibernation mixed with creative indoor activities. I am not much of a snow bird but we do get outside when the temperature and snow conditions are right for some fun in the snow!
- 3 Fun Snowman Activities – these include both indoor and outdoor fun. The snowman cling we made was a huge success and tons of fun!
- Learning about Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley is a great way to incorporate learning in with a winter theme. This unit study is both educational and fun! You could also add in the Paper Snowflake Craft to create your own unique snowflakes!
- What better way to celebrate winter and snow than by reading The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats! There are so many great activities in this unit study, like the story board to dig in to!
- 2018 is a WINTER OLYMPICS YEAR! Check out the Winter Olympic resources I found for learning about Winter Olympic Events, the history of the Olympics and more! Then follow along this year to watch the 2018 games unfold live!
- Learn about the Critters in the Cold with this science experiment and collection of books!
From Tricia at Hodgepodge
From Tricia at HodgepodgeThere are a few basic and helpful habits we fall back on when we find ourselves after Christmas and back to homeschool!
The January Homeschool – Return of the Routine: We sort of slow step it into a routine. Making sure we get the basics done, our teeth brushed 🙂
A Clean Slate: Planning and Dreaming for the New Year: The new year is a fabulous time to do a homeschool assessment, to see where each child is in each subject. But it’s most importantly a time to be grateful for how far we’ve come. Yes, we may need to catch up in a subject, we may need more practice holding that pencil. But most importantly, that child’s heart – have we talked about things as we walked along the road, as we tucked them in at night, as we craned our necks to see the last rays of the sunset?
Keep On Keeping On – So, something like this…
- Didn’t quite finish what we were supposed to? Keep on keeping on the next day.
- Ahead in Geometry? (yes – a child of mine! Happy dance!) Keep on keeping on!
- Making progress in sight words? Keep on keeping on.
- Getting a later start for one reason or another? Keep on keeping on.
When we are stuck inside and longing for spring, we know it is time to add in the FUN! Often this means we begin our second semester with a fun unit study like Winter Games by Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett. But we always, always enjoy art! Because art complements EVERY other subject. You might like our Winter Games, Preschool Winter, A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels, history, seasonal and more Video Art Lessons at ChalkPastel.com.
How about YOU? What does your winter homeschool look like?
-hosted by Shirley
Shirley Ann lives in the UK with her husband, two daughters and two cats who think they rule the roost. She's a veteran homeschooler of 13 years and is passionate about home keeping, homeschooling, nature study and seasonal living, Shirley regularly blogs about her Charlotte Mason inspired homeschooling and British lifestyle on her blog, 'Under An English Sky'.
I love how you point out all the fun and the comforts of winter. Some of us can dread this time but there really is so much to enjoy and take advantage of. Thank you, Shirley!