3 Tips for Peaceful Homeschooling This Holiday Season

Are you a little nervous about homeschooling plans for the remainder of this pandemic year? I completely understand how you feel, Mama! Regardless of how long you’ve been homeschooling, you’ve probably noticed that learning doesn’t stop when the holidays arrive.

If you’re lacking peace and joy in this season of life, let me share some encouragement with you. It’s perfectly fine for your homeschooling routines to look differently. In fact, you may experience more peace and joy by altering them.

However you’re homeschooling this holiday season, here are 3 tips for peaceful homeschooling.

1. Savor Some Slowness

As homeschooling parents, we can feel more overwhelmed during the holidays than at other times during the year. It’s tempting to get caught up in the “hustle and bustle” of the season. What if we intentionally slowed down and chose differently this year? 2020 is the year of “different” by many standards so why not view time with our children from a new perspective.

Consider having slower mornings. This is especially helpful if you have multiple children. Mix up some pancakes, use a variety of toppings from your pantry, and let them decorate them. Then, gather everyone to the table to eat while you read picture books and poems. There’s no rush here. Enjoy the moments of peace, happy hearts, and full tummies.

2. Find Thankfulness in Feasting

When we think of feasting, we usually think about tables filled with food. We can feast on so much more than food as homeschooling families.

• Reading – Place a few stacks of books around the living room and let your children enjoy them while they snack on cookies or other yummy treats.
• Nature – Spread some blankets on the ground (weather permitting) and hand your children a nature journal, magnifying glass, and tweezers. Let them just explore and sketch what they see. For younger children, let them collect what they find and enjoy the wonder of these slow moments.
• Eating – Use this holiday season to bake some recipes you haven’t tried before. Get your kiddos in the kitchen and give each one a job. There is no job too small. When you finish your creations, sit down and savor them, or share them with friends.

Slowly savoring our gifts in these ways creates deep thankfulness in our hearts. This thankfulness brings us peace to draw from in the most uncertain of times.

If you’re worried about messy moments, let those go. The best memories are made in the messy moments.

3. Pray for Peace

The best way to gain peace in our homeschool is to prayerfully pursue it. I Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to “pray without ceasing.” There is never a moment when we cannot pray. The moments when we feel the chaos rising and seeking to steal our peace is when we should pause and pray.

The more we pray for True Peace this holiday season, the more we will experience a peaceful home atmosphere. This is when we will fully live out the joy of Christ in this holiday season.

Homeschooling Prayer for Peace

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the precious gift of homeschooling my children. In the midst of the uncertainty and chaos this holiday, grant me your everlasting peace and joy. Help me to slow down and ponder on the peace that only You can give. When I feel stressed or anxious, calm my heart and fill me with your peace. Help me to savor the smallest moments and give thanks for these gifts from You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Danielle is a former classroom teacher turned “work-from-home” and homeschooling mother of two. She now spends her days teaching her children, reading numerous books, and sharing her gifts with others. She blogs about her adventures at DanielleHope.com.