Last year’s handicraft – pyrography.

Last Christmas we did a full Christmas Curriculum, which was a lot of fun. We had started school in July, anticipating a one month trip in the fall – a trip that never happened. So when December rolled around I decided we would change things up a bit. I’m so glad we did, because it reminded us of how much fun school can be.

This is a little off the subject, but I have been noticing that there are a lot of people hugging one extreme or the other of this homeschooling method. Either they are striving for perfection to the point of making themselves and their family miserable, or they are just throwing in the towel and either turning to some other “easier” curriculum, or turning CM into some kind of unschooling.  I hear you, dear friend, but I would beg you to step back and reconsider finding some middle ground. A Charlotte Mason education shouldn’t be all “joy and bubbles” as I’m fond of saying, but on the other hand, it should NOT be drudgery. There are hard subjects, yes, but they are balanced by the true joy of finding things out.

Maybe I will talk on this subject more later, but for now, maybe you should start planning for a little something fun in your December curriculum. Something you all can look forward to. Something that brings you all together and reminds you what school can and should be like. You don’t have to change out every subject for a Christmas theme, but you can easily pick a few things to swap. Maybe a Christmas Hymn and a wonderful Christmas story to replace your current literature selection.

Please don’t fret that Poor Richard or Robinson Crusoe won’t get done in time. It will be there waiting for you in January. I promise. But in the mean time you may just jump start your resolve and your kids desire to learn. Maybe it will even be your first time off program, and you might find some liberty in that! One word of caution – don’t try to “catch up” later. In January, just go back to where you left off and keep on going. No need to double up. That is not the Charlotte Mason way.

Ideas? I suspect this will be easy for you, but if you would like to see what others have enjoyed in the past, then here are a few links:

• My Christmas Curriculum from last year
• Living Books Library’s Review of their favorite Christmas Story ever which happens to be back in print and for sale through their site.
• Brandy at AfterThoughs shares her 5 favorite Christmas picture books
• Ambleside Online has Christmas Carols, Christmas Poems and Holiday Stories and Poems

This year we won’t be switching over entirely like we did last year, but I do plan to swap out a few things.  We will be reading This Way to Christmas by Ruth Sawyer, and of course our hymn will be a Christmas hymn. We will likely make a wreath again like last year, and we plan to make felt bird ornaments as gifts.

I hope you enjoy this Christmas season. Or maybe I should say I hope you PLAN, in order to enjoy this Christmas season. 😀

Some of the kids ornaments from last year’s handicraft project.