The days are short and the air is very cold, which means winter is upon us. For some families, the arrival of winter brings great joy and happiness. However, for many of us who spend the majority of our time at home, schooling our children, this season has the potential for driving us a bit crazy.
So what’s a homeschooling mom to do? I believe that with a little planning, you can eliminate the winter blues that threaten to take over during the long, freezing days. What’s the number one way to make it through the winter without losing your sanity?
Have a plan.
Don’t wait for the cabin fever to invade your house before you think about how to beat them. Sit down and map out a strategy now when the cold and snow is just a novelty. Trust me, you’ll be thankful you planned ahead.
Get outside every day, even if just for a little while
I know it’s freezing and there’s probably snow on the ground. It really doesn’t matter. It’s imperative for everyone’s mental and physical well health to get out of the house, into fresh air, so bundle up. Sit down as a family and come up with a list of fun activities you can do together outside.
Go on a nature scavenger hunt.
Do some winter science experiments like make a snow volcano, see if ice changes Newton’s laws, or try to make frozen bubbles.
Learn a new winter activity like ice skating, snowshoeing, snowboarding, or ice fishing.
Make a campfire and cook lunch outside.
Focus on activities you don’t normally have time for
Let’s face it, we’re all very busy. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do all of the interesting school projects we would love to complete. With winter being one of the seasons when you spend more time at home, why not spend some of those hours on those extras you’ve been dying to fit in.
Work on an extended history project like recreating a famous battle, design and build a Native American dwelling, or mummify that chicken.
Teach your child new life skills like sewing, cooking, money management, or home maintenance.
Read classic books aloud then discuss them. Bonus if you can find a film to compare and contrast.
Plan escape room games to reinforce math and language arts lessons.
Make time to incorporate more Art, STEM and Music.
Build a day of fun into your school schedule
What this looks like is totally up to you. Consider moving to a four day school week and spend that extra day having fun and enjoying each other.
Build forts in the living room, have a movie marathon, put together a puzzle, color, play video games or play board games.
If you don’t want to skip the learning completely, give some thought to setting aside your normal lessons and do something different but fun and sneak in the learning.
Focus on your child’s favorite subject. Go deep into history, work on art projects, learn a challenging piece of music, programming or coding, etc.
Put away the formal writing plans and instead teach your child how to journal, give her writing prompts, or read and write some poetry together.
Play educational board games like Scrabble, Buy it Right, Where in the World, Colorku, or Trivial Pursuit.
Use the day to dedicate to Art and STEAM studies
Breaking up your routine is a great way to keep everyone motivated, engaged and connected.
Hopefully, with a little planning, you’ll be able to eliminate any grumbles that threaten your home school (and your sanity) this winter.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to be notified when new content is posted scroll down and subscribe below.
This blog contains affiliate links from which I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.