Real-life learning goes together with Christmas like sugar cookies and sprinkles! 

Put aside those everyday lesson plans and jump into the holiday with some festive and practical ways to learn...and in case you have any doubt, it absolutely counts as schooling!

Consider it a lesson in...

1. Writing
   Have your children help with all the lists (cookie ingredients, gifts, guests, wish lists). Have them write out invitations, address holiday cards, and write thank you notes.  Creatively write a holiday story. Send a holiday letter to a soldier.

2. Math
   Obviously, holiday baking in the kitchen is a way to use practical math.  Let’s take it further...Ask some questions: How many feet of stringed lights do we need to trim the house or tree? How many combined miles, average miles, & cost of gas per gallon does it take to get guests here for the holiday?  What are the time zones around the world and how far are we from them?

3. Science
   Discover how snowflakes are formed, how electricity gets into the lights on the tree, and how those tiny lightbulb circuits work. Test what temperature chocolate melts or what happens to sugar when you make hard-tack candy. Learn all about reindeer, camels, or donkeys. Study the North Star and constellations.

4. Art & Music
   Make your own wrapping paper or crochet a stocking. Wrap your doors like presents. Sing while you bake. Go caroling. Draw a nativity scene. Encourage family members to create one holiday decoration.

5. History
   Interview grandparents about what they remember from their childhood Christmases.  Look closely at the history around the birth of Jesus. Research St. Nicholas. Watch videos on how the holiday is celebrated around the world.

6. Love
   Take cookies to the elderly & leave some for your postal worker. Hand out warm mittens to someone who has none. Sincerely wish people, “Merry Christmas.”  Volunteer at a food pantry, adopt a kitten or puppy, or offer babysitting to a single mom.

Using practical ways to learn is not a hidden excuse to “not do school.”  Hold your head high (and sport a Santa hat), count it ALL as learning, and use your holiday activities as your lesson plans.