Year-Round Celebration Inspiration

When we think of celebrating holidays, we often think of the major winter holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, which can make the rest of winter feel particularly bleak when they’re past.

After the final Christmas present is unwrapped and the last New Year’s balloon deflates, how can you keep a spirit of celebration alive in your home? In a recent Facebook webcast with AOP, Vicki Bentley from HSLDA joined us to share inspiration for incorporating holidays into your homeschool all year long!

As Vicki shared, holidays are originally God’s design since He established the Sabbath, a holy day (holi-day) set apart as special. When we choose to celebrate holidays year-round, we are participating in a holy tradition of recognizing the goodness of God and the wonder of His creation. To inspire parents to incorporate holidays into their homeschooling, Vicki shared the following insights:

Get subject specific.
Vicki walked us through some examples of how certain holidays are perfect for subject-specific projects. For example, national bubble-wrap day is perfect for science experiments! Plus, who doesn’t love a math project based on some holiday-inspired baking?

Let holidays inspire, rather than interrupt, learning.
Christmas, Vicki admitted, is a time when many homeschooling families quit teaching altogether. However, with just a little creativity, you can keep your kids learning through any busy holiday season.

Be flexible.
“You can make these holiday celebrations as involved as you want them to be,” Vicki encouraged. Choosing to celebrate throughout the year does not require you to run yourself into the ground with constant, elaborate festivities. It’s simply about choosing a heart of celebration and curiosity for the little things all year-round.

Check out Vicki’s handout for specific year-round celebration inspiration.