[Tea] 10 Ways to Take Advantage of the Holidays

Welcome to "Tea with Julie," a weekly missive by me, Julie Bogart. My wish is to give you food for thought over a cup of tea to enhance your life as an educator, parent, and awesome adult. Glad you're here. Pinkies up!
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Cincinnati, December 3, 2022

Hi Friend,

The holidays are upon us. The tendency is to brace oneself for the onslaught of spending, relatives, too much food, and the pressure to make “perfect memories for the children.”

Pause.

Appreciate the good you’ve already got going.

Traditions matter, but they also snowball if you let them! Pick the 3-5 that are especially important. Do those. Other “experiences” from previous years can be rotated out this season or delegated to another family member.

Homeschool might include some of these practices:

Bake and learn to write recipes.
Spend a day raking leaves and hanging lights.
Gift lists are ideal for handwriting practice.
Poetry Teatimes can include holiday songs.
Take advantage of shopping and sales to make math more practical and applicable to daily life.
Go on a little world (aka geography, history!) tour for holiday traditions from other parts of the globe. These can add new interest to tired local customs.
Calculate the possible speeds and distances Santa must travel (if Santa is in your tradition).
Create a family tree so that your kids know who is sending what cards and gifts and how they are related.
Build in a movie night so you can watch a time-honored holiday film together.
Hike! Tis the season! Get out in nature while it is still crisp, clear, and colorful.

The rhythm of homeschool changes around the holidays—use that to your advantage.

January, with all its academic promise, is right around the corner. Give in to the holiday enthusiasm and bend it to your homeschool will.

Prepare thyself for a lovely season of learning and joy.

Warmly,

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