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FIVE Ways Homeschoolers Can Have Some VALENTINE’S DAY Fun

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

 

Do you ever feel like your homeschool kids are missing out on some of the fun traditions that their public school peers enjoy every year? 

I know when I started homeschooling, I was sad to realize that our son would not get to participate in a classroom Valentine’s Day party or exchange Valentines with his classmates. 

So, my friend and I decided to organize a Valentine’s Day party for the kids in our co-op. Apparently, other moms felt the same as us because on the day of the party, there were SIXTY-FIVE kids crammed into a small rec center room. We spent the next 90 minutes controlling the chaos that included more than 4,000 cards being exchanged, popcorn with colored sprinkles littering the room and playing a cut-out heart version of Musical Chairs.

To say we didn’t plan that party very wisely would be an understatement. But, the kids had fun, the moms survived and we definitely improved things the next year. 

But, I also learned that having a party with a bunch of kids isn’t the only way to make special memories associated with Valentine’s Day. 

Below are FIVE WAYS that homeschoolers can have some Valentine’s Day fun!

 

ONE: EXCHANGE Valentines with a group of kids!

This is the classic way to enjoy this holiday. If you belong to a co-op, EXCHANGING Valentines with them would be a great idea! You could make it an elaborate event with food and games or you can keep it simple with just placing cards in assigned bags during a break between classes. Either way you do it, please don’t make the same mistake we did that first year. Ask each FAMILY to make one card for each kid. That way, if you have 25 kids participating, a family with five kids only has to make 25 Valentines. If you expect every KID to make every other kid a Valentine, a family with five kids will need to make 125 individual cards. And, let’s face it, we all know Mom will be doing the vast majority of work {I still have friends who laugh through clenched teeth as they recall when their family had to make 325 cards to pass around that first ever Valentine Party.}

If you don’t belong to a co-op, you could join an online group for homeschoolers wanting to EXCHANGE cards. This is an especially fun way to do it because the cards arrive in the mail and who doesn’t like to receive mail?!?!? Check FaceBook for groups but this is not something you can do last minute so be sure to check soon. 

Or you could step outside of the homeschool world and suggest your soccer team, karate studio or Brownie troop do an EXCHANGE. 

 

TWO: GIVE to neighbors, church members or nursing home residents!

When our son was younger, our next door neighbor was a single woman who LOVED being spoiled by him on Valentine’s Day. He would bring her a GIFT {usually candy and a card} and she would swoon over him. And it made him so happy to make her happy!  We also had the cutest twin widows who lived two doors down who always gave our son something special for every holiday so we, of course, reciprocated.  They were both diabetic so for them, we got flowers for Valentine’s Day. There is nothing quite like watching your four-year-old son ring the bell of two elderly widows with flowers in hand. 

Another way to GIFT others is to visit a skilled nursing facility or assisted living home. Simple construction paper hearts would do the trick here! {Just call ahead and check with somebody first.}

Or make a list of unmarried/widowed people in your church and make handmade, personalized cards. This GIFT would cost very little but would surely and genuinely touch their hearts. 

 

THREE: PLAY Valentine Bingo or another fun game as a family!

The fun thing about Bingo is that it can be PLAYED with a small or large group and both ways are fun! When our son was young, he even enjoyed PLAYING with just us. In order to make it more educational, I would write the words down and he had to read each one before he could find the matching picture. You can find the above version on Amazon right here. You can also find a super cheap version at WalMart in the holiday aisle. They might be cheap but they work all the same and are just as much fun! 

If Bingo isn’t your style, there are loads of other fun Valentine’s Day games  that you can PLAY at home. Pinterest has a plethora of ideas including Musical Hearts, Cupid Target Practice and Heart Hopscotch. You can find thirty different Valentine’s Day games here.

 

FOUR: MAKE yummy cookies or a fun craft!

We tend to MAKE shaped sugar cookies for just about every holiday and Valentine’s Day is simply a given. Or you could MAKE cupcakes, cake pops or red velvet blossoms. You could also start the day with heart-shaped pancakes, serve Conversation Cuties with lunch or order a special heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy’s. 

If you’d rather create something that won’t later get eaten, there are about a gazillion Valentine’s Day crafts to be made! Friendship Rocks with Fingerprint Hearts, Pom Pom Monsters and Lacing Hearts all look like cute ways to have fun while MAKING something special. Or if you are a super duper brave Mama, you could let your kids MAKE some Valentine SLIME!

 

FIVE: LEARN about the holiday! 

This is another given in our house. I won’t lie and say it’s my son’s favorite aspect of our holiday celebrations but no matter what we’re celebrating, we are also LEARNING about it! The easiest {and cheapest} way to approach this is at your local library. Chances are, your library has a special display on the topic already handpicked for you. Gail Gibbons has always been one of my favorite non-fiction authors. Her “What Is Valentine’s Day” book is out of print but your library might have it. If so, I highly recommend it. If you’d rather get a book to keep, there is a plethora of Valentine’s Day books starring your kids’ favorite characters available including Curious George, Llama Llama and even The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

If you’re like me and determined to not let school totally fly out the window for the day, you might want to check out TpT for ways to turn the holiday into a LEARNING {but still fun} experience. Your kids can sort conversation hearts, make a heart-shaped flap book or write a love poem. If you want your kids to actually learn about the holiday, check out this 25 page Valentine’s Day Holiday Fact Pack that includes informational text, writing prompts, a crossword puzzle and other fun printables.  It covers the history of the holiday and includes topics such as St. Valentine, Cupid, conversation hearts, chocolate candies and more!  

So, whether your kids EXCHANGE cards with friends, GIVE gifts to neighbors, PLAY Bingo with family, MAKE cookies or LEARN about the holiday, there are loads of ways for your homeschoolers to have some Valentine’s Day fun!

 

 

You may also want to check out Three Ways Homeshoolers Can Have Some St. Patrick’s Day Fun too. 

Four Reasons Why I Wish Every Elf on the Shelf Would Die an Ugly Death

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I wish every Elf on the Shelf would jump into a mid-November pile of leaves and set themselves on fire. We could roast hot dogs and marshmallows while their plastic faces melted off.

Or I wish they would all bury themselves in a giant snowbank. I’m pretty sure their evil little bodies would melt into the ground, leaving behind a creepy cemetery of red felt hats to be found in the spring.

Seriously, I hate the stupid little elves. Why? It’s not like I’m a Grinch. We celebrate Christmas with an enormous {REAL} fir tree, too many beautifully wrapped gifts and an unacceptable amount of baked goods.

So, why do I wish that every Elf on the Shelf would die an ugly death? Four reasons…

ONE: {They are creepy. So creepy.} If a fat man in a red suit and white beard breaking into your home in the middle of the night ever gave you pause, his creepy-as-heck army of single-expression minions should stop you in your tracks! They appear every year, move around at night and get into mischief while nobody is looking. Worse yet, they watch your kids and report back to Santa. Who on earth would actually invite that crazy nonsense into their homes? Apparently, a lot of people. But, not this girl. If I had my way, every Elf on the Shelf would die an ugly death.

TWO: {They create crazy moms.} I know too many normal moms who have turned into crazy, manic moms because of these ridiculous elves. These moms are pinning fools in November, searching Pinterest for the most elaborate, impressive situations to create for their elves. They start December with visions of powdered-sugar messes and tight-rope walking elves. But by December 16th, too many of these moms end up lying in bed in silent tears because they forgot to move the darned elf. They’re too tired to get out of bed now but can’t shake the feeling that the kids will be scarred for life when they wake in the morning and discover Sparkles in the same stupid spot as when they went to bed. These elves create crazy moms and should die ugly deaths to stop the insanity.

THREE: {They incite ridiculous competitiveness.} Not only do normal moms turn into crazy elf-manipulating enablers, they also turn into ultra-competitive adversaries. They compete with both their IRL and online friends. Who can make the biggest, most elaborate, impressive elf-scenario? Who can post the best pics of their awestruck kids gazing at the magical scene before them? Who can keep up these schemes for 24 days straight? And the kids? Oh, the kids. They compare the crazy antics of their personal elves with their classmates. Whose elf is the busiest? Which elf gives the best morning gifts? Which elf has behaved so outrageously that he has his own Twitter account? And who has the lame elf who never moves and just sits in the same spot night after night? What about the kids that don’t have elves? How do they compare? Both moms and kids alike would be better off if every Elf on the Shelf would die an ugly death.

WARNING Things are about to turn more serious. I’ve been mostly kidding around so far. I really don’t want to burn the elves at the stake. But, I really do detest them. And here is why…

FOUR: {They are treated like demigods.} People treat them like tiny, creepy, plastic demigods that spy on their kids day and night. And this is not just imaginative play and the “magic” of the season. The crazy stories of flying in from the North Pole and being stone-still during the day while upending all sorts of chaos at night all in the name of helping Santa is NOT just providing an opportunity for our kids to exercise their imaginations. This is well beyond pretending that Super-Man is legit or wishing that unicorns were real. This is point-blank giving an inanimate object qualities that belong to our one and only true God. Why do we do that? Why do we let our kids believe that these creepy little dolls have the ability to decide whether they’ve been good or bad little kids? Why do we tell our kids that these ridiculous elves can actually JUDGE their actions and dole out prizes and consequences? Why? Not only have we transferred our parental responsibilities of monitoring behaviors, we have blasphemed God by telling our kids that these magical, moving creatures with super-human qualities have the right to JUDGE their choices. It was all fun and games until we did that. Maybe I don’t seriously wish every Elf on the Shelf would die an ugly death. But I do wish we’d put them away and never bring them back out. There are plenty of ways to make jolly memories for your kids this holiday season without these creepy, crazy-making, competitive-inciting demigods.

Want to find out how I feel about Santa too? Check out The Rare Reason We Don’t Do Santa.

Three Tips on How to Homeschool During the Holidays

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

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Long before I was a homeschool mom, I was a classroom teacher and one of the biggest challenges I experienced every year was figuring out ways to push through the academic curriculum while wading through the holiday season filled with parties, programs and plays. It was NOT An easy balance to find. Sway one way too much and my First Graders wouldn’t be able to read/write or add/subtract. Sway too far the other way and parents complained about “missing out on all the fun parts of school.” {I do not miss that type of pressure at all!}

I never dreamed that it would be just as hard as a HOMESCHOOL MOM to ensure that academics did not totally fly out the window as soon as mid-October hit. 

Between the amazing array of field trips that seem to abound every fall {apple picking, pumpkin patches, picnics in the park…} and parties to celebrate the various holidays {Caramel Apple Decorating, Thanksgiving Feasts, Gingerbread House Building…} having a full week of schooling at home seems impossible. Throw in at least one play, program or musical and it’s a wonder we get any teaching done at all from October through December.  

And, before you utter, “but learning happens all the time, no matter where you are and what you are doing” let me remind you that, while that is true, it’s not THAT simple. I agree that learning CAN happen anywhere. I believe that learning CAN occur at anytime.  BUT unless your kids are going to grow up to be professional Pilgrims or toy-making elves {no offense to those professions, ha ha,} they will need to know how to read and write. If they want to survive in the world of shopping and eating out, they will need to be able to multiply and divide. If they want to go to college, they will need to know how to formulate a scientific hypothesis and write clearly structured essays. And those things cannot be taught if we stop focusing on academics for the last 10 weeks of every single calendar year.

So, how can we continue to teach academics during this busy holiday season?

TIP ONE: Plan Ahead!

Wrap up 25 Christmas books, start on December 1st and read one book per day until Christmas.

Pick fun but purposeful unit studies to use all winter long {check out these brand new 12 Days of Winter Unit Study Packs that will go live in December 1-16, 2020!}

Assign copywork of the lines your kid needs to know for the Christmas play.

Take paper and pencils to the store when shopping for gifts and ask your kids to find the total before you go to the register.

Search TpT for lessons on holiday symbols and traditions or the true story of Christmas.

Choose crafts that teach skills your kids actually need and not just because they are cute.

Create an Advent activity for the month of December that is both meaningful and academic.

If your family does the Elf on the Shelf, be an Elfover-achiever and make at least some of the elf’s daily antics centered around academics.

Take the time not only to go Christmas caroling but also learn the words of and the meaning behind classic carols before you go! {Click here to receive my December FREEbie – a 40-page Hymn Study Pack on Angels We Have Heard on High.}

None of that advanced planning takes away from the fun and joyful experiences of the holidays. But they do make the activities more meaningful and purposeful and they keep your kids focused on their academics while still having fun.

TIP TWO: Get creative!

Ask your kids to group the ornaments into types {shapes, sizes, colors, etc} and graph them before you put them on the tree.

{Or, later in the season, have them count the number of pine needles that have fallen off before they vacuum, ha ha.}  

Rewrite the math assignment to include word problems about gifts, stockings and candy canes.

Say “we will practice fractions while baking cookies today” and make your younger kids reduce those fractions while the older kids need to find equivalent choices.

Replace the spelling words in your kid’s workbook with words including “sleigh, tradition, mistletoe”.

Teach formal letter-writing by having your kids write “thank you” letters.

Switch out your lunch-time read aloud book for something holiday related. {For a great historical fiction Christmas chapter book appropriate for all ages, check out the Imagination Station’s Danger on a Silent Night.} {And then take your fun new read aloud to the next level and get a resource to accompany it here. This Novel Study Pack is filled with vocab studies, puzzles and more!}

Explore the science of snow and the chemistry of instant hot-cocoa.

Define the laws of physics that allow graham crackers to be held up in a vertical position with icing while building gingerbread houses.

Yes, it will take longer to be creative. Yes, it will feel more like work than if you simply hope they’ll learn through osmosis while baking cookies, decorating trees and building gingerbread houses.  But, the extra time and effort will be worth it. They’ll be doing actual academics while enjoying a variety of fun activities!

TIP THREE: Be Diligent!

Acknowledge that your kids’ academics fall solely on you. Yes, that’s a lot of pressure but it’s what we signed up for when we decided to homeschool. So, remain diligent during the holiday season.  

Be diligent about your time.

It’s okay to miss out on a field trip or two.

It’s okay to say “no” to the choir director at church.

It’s okay to turn down the opportunity to organize the co-op Christmas party.

Be diligent about goals for your homeschool.

Stick to your daily routines.

Stick to your lesson plans.

Stick to your curriculum.

Do not put that carefully-chosen curriculum on the shelf “until January when things settle down.”

Be diligent by acknowledging that in January, you will be hit with Valentine’s Day, Easter and end-of-the-year craziness.  

Be diligent in continuing to educate your kids during this busy holiday season.

Be diligent now so you are not caught off-guard in May and then decide to scrap the last 10 chapters of math.  

I know this sounds difficult and time-consuming but, if you PLAN AHEAD and BE CREATIVE, it’ll be easy to BE DILIGENT!

And if you do all three, you can easily slip in loads of fun activities and memory-making!

And wouldn’t a spare $500 help you successfully homeschool through the holidays as well….or at least help buy gifts and goodies?

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While we wish we could bless many more families, we were able to come up with a big prize for TWO families – $500 each (delivered via Paypal) – that we pray will make a big difference in their lives this Christmas season!

There are lots of entry options in the Rafflecopter form below – the more you enter, the better your chance of winning!  I know it can seem tedious and time-consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $500 worth it? I think it is!  Plus, all of these amazing bloggers donated their own money toward the cash prizes, so this giveaway wouldn’t be possible without them.  I hope you’ll take the time to check out each one. Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.

The giveaway will run from Monday, November 16th through Wednesday, November 25th (ends at 11:59pm EST). Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn. You must have a Paypal account to win.  By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers.  Please be sure to read the Rafflecopter terms and conditions upon entering.

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The RARE REASON Our Family Doesn’t Do Santa

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As anybody who is on FaceBook or part of any “moms group” knows, whether your family  does or doesn’t do Santa can be a hot-button topic. I’m an Admin for a large homeschool moms group on FaceBook and we even had to create two separate threads {Pro-Santa/No-Santa} because the two camps could not discuss their differences nicely.  But, while we all know Santa discussions can lead to drama, did you know that there are several reasons that people claim for not doing Santa?

LYING TO OUR KIDS Not sure how or why the vast majority of the western world decided to band together to lie to our kids about this jolly, fat man and his magical capabilities. But, sure enough, you’ll find ALL walks of life agreeing to continue this childhood conspiracy. It does not matter where people land in the spectrum of most defining categories: finances, education, race, politics, gender, location, social beliefs…

Most people in the western world lie to our kids about Santa. And it’s not just us lying to our own kids. We actually EXPECT others to lie to our kids too. Phone calls are made to the principal if some bratty kid on the playground breaks the news to Santa-believers. It’s common practice for the Wal-Mart check out lady to perpetuate the lie to our kids by asking what they asked for from Santa. Classroom teachers cannot discuss their own religious beliefs with their students, but, by golly, they better lie to them about the fat man in the red suit. 

But, as bizarre as the lying is, that is not why we don’t do Santa in our home. 

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON Another reason, which is more often discussed in my circle of friends, is the fact that allowing Santa to be a part of Christmas takes away from the real reason for the season: celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Now this reason can be {and often is} debated back and forth among conservative Christians even within the same denomination. The basic argument is that Santa and all of the gift-giving hullabaloo simply distracts from Jesus. And, anything that distracts from our focus being on the world’s Savior is not glorifying to God. It’s kinda hard to argue against that basic stance, though people do. 

But, that’s not the reason we don’t do Santa in our home either. 

SANTA IS CREEPY This one is only occasionally thrown out there as a reason not to do Santa but it certainly deserves a quick mention. After all, when you think about it, what Santa supposedly does in our lives is totally creepy and downright illegal. He “knows if you’ve been good or bad” and he sneaks into our homes while we are sleeping and leaves suspicious packages behind. If Santa isn’t a terrorist leaving behind explosive devices wrapped in red and green packages, then at the very least, he is a dirty old man watching our kids’ every action. In what universe is that NOT creepy? Apparently, this one. 

And, yet, even that is not the reason we do not do Santa.

None of the reasons above are why we do not do Santa. 

Our reason is very simple: Santa is not God.

Santa is not God but we give him god-like capabilities and ask our kids to believe them.

But Santa is not God. 

Santa cannot perform miracles.

Santa cannot read our minds.

Santa cannot control the physical capabilities of animals.

Santa cannot harness magic and make time stop enough for him to drop down chimneys across the globe in less than 24 hours. 

Santa cannot do any of that and yet we tell our kids he can.

But he cannot.

No man can.

Only God can.

And, Santa is not God. 

Now before you raise your voiceless thoughts at me and explain that believing in Santa is no different than believing in Super Man, mysertious wardrobes or toothless Night Fury dragons, let me stop you. Unless you are actually telling your kids that Super Man ACTUALLY EXISTS and will be saving the day just as soon as he changes clothes in a nearby phone booth* or that the closet has the true capability of transporting your kid to Narnia, then, no, it’s not the same thing. 

Our family firmly believes in the beauty of the imagination. Our son has read the entire Chronicles of Narnia and has watched every Star Wars, Marvel and HTTYD movie. He likes to build made-up animals with Legos and write creative stories about crazy creatures. He used to ask his 85 year old Gampen to dress up  like a puppy and command her to do tricks as if he were a dog trainer. Having, nurturing and using an imagination is not only a good thing, it’s a vital part of being a kid and growing into a functional adult. 

But when we tell our kids that there is an actual person who uses magic powers to accomplish all that Santa supposedly does, we are not simply supporting their imagination. 

We ARE making Santa into a god. 

We ARE equating Santa to the one and only true God. 

Santa cannot perform miracles.  Only God can.

Santa cannot read our minds.  Only God can.

Santa cannot stop time. Only God can.

How can we justify telling our kids that Santa is a real entity with God-like powers in the same breath that reads the Bible at bed-time and glorifies the fact that ONLY GOD can move mountains, perform miracles and save us from ourselves?

We can try to deny that it’s confusing to our kids, after all, you were raised with Santa and you turned out okay. Right? Me too! 

But, my brother didn’t. He’s a great person, dedicated father and a loving husband. But, he’s not a Christian. He’s not saved. Is Santa to blame? I don’t know. My brother certainly doesn’t point to Santa Claus when he repeatedly explains to my parents why he doesn’t “buy into that Jesus stuff.” But, perhaps deep-down somewhere there is a kernel of doubt that festers in his heart because what my parents said about God simply didn’t square with what they said about Santa. I don’t know. But, believe me, if that is even .000001% of the reason my brother isn’t a believer and my parents could go back and change their approach to Santa, they would.   

Why would we intentionally create a potential stumbling block for our kids when we can avoid it? Christmas can be plenty fun without doing Santa. Our family has loads of Christmas traditions and has made tons of wonderful memories. We enjoy all of the festivities with a giant {REAL} tree, too much food, loads of decorations, tons of presents and as many Christmas carols as Alexa can throw at us.

We even have Santa stuff in our home. We have stockings that are always overstuffed. We watch Elf and sing about Rudolph.  I have a collection of Father Christmas figurines from around the globe. We make and frost Santa shaped cookies. Santa is definitely a part of the holiday but we treat him like a fictional character at the center of a holiday story. That’s it. Why?

Our reason is very simple: Santa is not God.

 

 

 

Why Our Family Does NOT Celebrate Halloween

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Does your family celebrate Halloween?

This can be a contentious topic among the general population of conservative Christians. 

It gets debated in FaceBook groups. It gets argued about by different denominations. It even results in heated disputes within the same church family. 

It ranks up there with Santa Claus and Harry Potter for topics that cause some Christians to feel judged by their fellow {usually like-minded} believers. 

Reasons for not celebrating vary but usually center around words like death, darkness and demons. 

James 2:19 is often quoted as the Biblical standing to not celebrate. 

But, when people ask me why we don’t celebrate, I give them one very simple statement…

“My husband does not want us to celebrate Halloween.”

Even before we were engaged, Charlie told me that any future family of his would not celebrate Halloween. 

He took the time to explain to me why and he answered all of my questions on the topic, but, I’m not going to share any of that with you. 

He quoted Scripture. He felt convicted on the topic. What he said made sense to me at the time {and it still does}, but if you want to engage in a debate with me about why we don’t celebrate Halloween, all I am going to say is

“My husband does not want us to celebrate Halloween.”

I know many firmly-grounded Christian families that do.

Heck, I grew up celebrating Halloween.

Double heck, so did Charlie!

But our son, who is now 12, has never dressed up and knocked on doors for candy, has never carved a jack-o-lantern and has never even attended a single Harvest Celebration or Trunk-or-Treat.

My husband’s desire never to celebrate the holiday extends to not wanting to mimic it either so we steer clear of it all. 

Instead, we hide in the basement, watch movies and eat pizza and candy. It’s a rather fun family tradition that we all enjoy. 

I’ll admit, it was harder when our son was younger and everybody {from the waitress taking our order to the eye doctor giving an exam} would ask what he was going to be for Halloween.

There were even a few years when we basically avoided all social activities in October because it seemed that everybody, including the library, MOMS Club, MOPS and the local Rec Center planned their crafts and experiences around the topic of Halloween. 

There were some awkward exchanges between my closest friends because I’m sure they felt I was a party pooper, or worse,  judged by our choice. I used to fumble for responses and replies. I often did whatever I could to avoid the topic altogether. 

But, as each October has come and gone, I’ve grown more confident in the topic and finally found the perfect reply when people would ask about our holiday plans… 

“My husband does not want us to celebrate Halloween.”

It’s not a cop-out. It’s not passing the buck. It’s not avoiding confrontation. It’s simply the truth and, if anything, it shows that devotion to your spouse and a unified front of both parents are more important than any cultural traditions, fun holidays or seasonal activities. 

How about you? Is there something your family does {or does not do} because one spouse feels strongly on the subject? 

 

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