Ah, Christmas break. No schoolwork, no lesson plans, no checking homework, just the magic of Christmas. I really do love it. (I just haven’t mastered the pre-Christmas prep yet, and I’m usually running around until about 1 a.m. Christmas morning wrapping that last present.) But at some point we need a game plan for the new year. Break can be refreshing, but our kids are pretty bummed when it’s over. Honestly, I am too. Here are my six tips to make the transition back smoother, and even if you’ve already started back, there are nuggets here to help the rest of your year.
What you’ll get from this post
- How to ramp back up instead of diving into a full day
- Easy ways to keep the Christmas magic going
- Why this is a great time to start a behavior system
- Planning fun days and spring break so kids have something to look forward to
- The most important tip: making time for what fills you up
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1. Ease back into a full school day
Don’t dive right into every subject on day one. Instead:
- Start with half your subjects for the first day or two.
- Add one subject back each day over the next couple of days.
That way your kids won’t feel overwhelmed right from the get-go.
2. Keep some of that Christmas magic alive
Everybody gets the post-Christmas blues. The kids want the magic to stay all year. A few ideas:
- Hot cocoa break. Take a mid-morning break for hot cocoa together, and read aloud while they drink it. Two birds, one stone.
- Christmas candy incentives. Set a timer when they start an assignment. If they finish before it goes off, they get a piece of their Christmas candy. Bribing is sometimes a necessity, right?
3. Start a behavior system
If you don’t have a behavior system and you need one, the new year is a great time to start something new. We use what my husband named the “star system.” It’s nothing fancy or complicated, just a fun name for the kids, but it’s been a huge game changer for our elementary-aged kids. Here’s our homeschool reward system.
4. Schedule a few fun days
Put a few fun days on the calendar for the last months of school, like a field trip or a day at home full of fun educational activities.
We recently did a DIY escape room at home full of brain games. It still counts as a great educational activity, and the kids loved it.
5. Put spring break on the calendar
Decide now when you’ll take spring break. That gives your kids the next big chunk of time off to look forward to. Start brainstorming with your spouse and kids about what fun things you want to do, so everyone can get excited.
6. Make time for what fills you up
This is the most important tip, and it’s for you, mama. Schedule time in your day for the things that fill you up and set your mind right. Maybe you pick just one thing to put on your schedule and make sure you do it every day.
As a Christian, the number one thing I need every day is time with the Lord: prayer and reading His Word. It’s so vital for our spiritual, mental and emotional health that we can’t let it fall by the wayside with “Oh, I ran out of time today.” Carving out a specific time every day for it is key.
With kids, every day is a surprise (“Mommy, can I have a snack?”). But we know which times are less likely to be interrupted, so choose one of those.
No extra time? Create the space
If you truly have no extra time, you may need to create it:
- Wake up a little earlier. I’ll admit I really don’t like that choice, but when I’ve done it, it’s been really good.
- Watch a little less TV at night.
- Spend less time on YouTube or scrolling social media.
- Use part of nap time or afternoon quiet time.
That’s my advice to you, and to myself.
Key takeaways
- Add subjects back gradually over the first few days.
- Hot cocoa read-alouds and candy timers keep the Christmas spirit going.
- The new year is a natural time to start a behavior system.
- Fun days and a scheduled spring break give kids something to look forward to.
- Schedule daily time with the Lord, or whatever fills you up, during a low-interruption window.
What viewers say
Yes, keep the Lord first!! And I like the idea of scheduled fun days!
@MommaonMission on YouTube
Hi its Victoria from home Educating the mad lads on the husbands phone. I love the bit where you were trying to do bible and your kids kept coming in. 😂 My life right there x
@BellyBurly87 on YouTube
How cool is the escape room??? We love family activities like that!
@teambfarm5415 on YouTube
Things we mentioned
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FAQ
How do you get kids back into homeschool after a break?
Start with half your subjects for a day or two, then add one subject back each day so they aren’t overwhelmed.
How can I make January homeschool more fun?
Take hot cocoa breaks with a read-aloud, use leftover Christmas candy as a timer incentive and schedule a few fun days like field trips or a DIY escape room.
When should I find time for myself as a homeschool mom?
Pick a time that’s least likely to be interrupted. If you have none, try waking a bit earlier, cutting screen time or using nap and quiet time.
More from our crew
- Homeschool Reward System That Actually Works
- 5 Tips For a Calm & Organized Homeschool Day
- 5 Tips to Start the School Year Off Right! + Preparing to Use a New Curriculum
Full transcript
Ah the beautiful christmas break where the kids don't have to do their schoolwork you don't have to teach or check homework or make lesson plans and you can all just enjoy the magic of christmas I really do love christmas break I just have yet to master that pre-christmas prep and usually feel like a chicken with its head cut off until about 1am christmas morning when that last wrapped present is nestled under the tree and then I'm golden I'm golden but of course at some point we have to make a game plan for the new year
And of course we all want a great start to the new year right so today I'm sharing six tips on how to ease back into homeschool after christmas break even if you've already started back there are still some great nuggets in here that you can implement even after you've started to help the rest of the year go smoother so keep watching hi friends welcome back thanks for joining me here today if you're new here my name is Sarah and I'm a homeschooling mom to four my kids are between the ages of eight
And one and I'm just so excited to share some tips with you today that will hopefully be helpful to you and your homeschooling journey now of course christmas break can be so refreshing for all of us but our kids are pretty bummed when they have to start back to school I mean I am too so tip number one maybe ease back into a full school day don't just dive right in with everything all on your first day maybe start with half of your subjects on that first day or even first two days
And then add one subject on for the next couple of days and that way hopefully they won't feel so overwhelmed right from the get-go tip number two try to keep some of that christmas magic alive everybody has the post christmas blues they just want that christmas magic to stay around all year so maybe you can take a mid-morning break and have hot cocoa together you could even read to them while they're having their hot cocoa and knock out two birds with one stone or maybe you can use their christmas candy as a little incentive for them you know set a timer when they're going to start an assignment
And say if you get it done before this timer goes off you get to have a piece of your christmas candy bribing is sometimes a necessity right tip number three if you don't already have a behavior system in place and you need one this is a great time to implement something new like that I highly recommend checking out this video and I'll link to it below as well about the system that we use my husband came up with it and coined it the star system it's nothing fancy or complicated it's just a fun name for the kids
But it has been a huge game changer for our elementary aged kids so definitely check out that video next tip number four go ahead and schedule a few fun days here and there for the last few months of school like a field trip or even just a day at home full of fun educational activities we recently did a diy escape room at home that was full of brain games so I feel like that still is a great educational activity and the kids loved it they loved it put a link below to the blog where I grabbed a lot of ideas for that they've got this huge list of awesome activities for making your own escape room number five go ahead
And put spring break on your calendar figure out when you're going to take that break and that way your kids have that next big chunk of time off to look forward to and start brainstorming with your spouse and your kids about what kind of fun things you guys want to do during that time off that way everybody can be getting excited the last but most important tip of all is for you mamas schedule time in your day to do the things that fill you up
And set your mind right and maybe you just pick one thing to actually put in your schedule that you make sure that you do every day as a christian the number one thing that I need in my every day is time with the lord and that's twofold that's prayer and reading his word for something that is so important and vital in our spiritual mental and emotional health we need to be sure that we are fitting that in every day and not just letting it fall by the wayside oh I ran out of time today to do that we need to be filling ourselves up
So setting a time every day that's specifically carved out for this purpose is going to be key now of course with kids each day can be a fun surprise on how it's going to go mommy yes mommy can I have snack please what happened but we know the times that are less likely to be interrupted and so those are the times that we should choose to schedule this activity you may be thinking but Sarah I have no extra time and if that's the case we may have to create the space
And that may mean waking up a little bit earlier okay I'm gonna admit I really don't like that choice but when I have done it it's been really good maybe it means watching a little bit less tv at night or spending a little bit less time watching youtube or scrolling social media or if your kids still take naps or have quiet time in the afternoon maybe you can use a chunk of that time for it so that's my advice to you and to myself hopefully this will all be helpful for you
And your kiddos to ease back into home school after the christmas break and help the rest of the year go a little smoother if you enjoyed this video please give it a thumbs up and please tell me in the comments below which number tips you're going to be implementing this year if you want to hear more homeschooling tips please consider hitting the subscribe button below so you don't miss another video until next time happy new year