Activities, Lesson Plans, and More
- Y—Young (PreK-3rd)
- M—Middle (4th-6th)
- O—Older (7th-12th)
- T—Teacher Resources
Christmas Writing Prompts
Use one or all of these Christmas-themed writing prompts to keep your students' skills sharp and their minds engaged. These prompts can be easily adapted for an array of ages and writing levels.
The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry's short story, The Gift of the Magi, is an iconic Christmas story of love, generosity, and irony. This study unit includes the primary source literature, as well as a teacher's guide and discussion topics. From AmericanLiterature.com.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is a classic Christmas story most are familiar with. This comprehensive unit from EducationWorld.com includes links to the full text, activity ideas, and several primary sources to learn more about the famous author.
Winter Holiday Activities
This article from Thoughtco.com offers a brief overview of Christmas in several countries, as well as other winter holidays celebrated around the world. The lesson plans are accompanied by several fun interactive activities, project ideas, and discussion topics that can be adapted for multiple age ranges.
When Massachusetts Banned Christmas
Christmas in colonial America was much different than today. In fact, it was outlawed in the mid 1600s. Learn more about the history of Christmas in the United States and how it transitioned to our modern-day celebrations in this article from History.com.
Christmas on a Slave Plantation
Christmas was not the same for all in early America, yet it still held significance for enslaved peoples. Learn more about how Christmas was celebrated on slave plantations in this article from We're History.
Why Children Get Gifts on Christmas: A History
Where did the Christmas tradition of gift-giving begin? Christmas celebrations have undergone several changes throughout history. This informative article from The Atlantic takes a deeper look at where gift-giving began.
Christmas Volunteer Opportunities and Ideas
"The holiday spirit is all about giving. What better way to spread some cheer than by giving back? It can be a small gesture like a baked cookie or serving meals at a community event. Here are 30 Christmas volunteer opportunities and ideas."
Curled Paper Winter Holiday Cards
Curl narrow strips of colorful paper to make holiday cards. The technique is called quilling.
Christmas Coloring Sheets and Crafts
This collection of Christmas-themed printables, coloring pages, games, and crafts will be fun for all ages. From Crayola.com.
Christmas Symbols
Christmas is celebrated in many different ways all over the country and around the world. Christmas in the United States features traditions that originate from many places. Learn more about traditional Christmas symbols and their history at Apples4TheTeacher.com.
Mexican Christmas (Feliz Navidad)
Students learn about Christmas in Mexico through story, Spanish language, song, art, and dance. Accessed through Wayback Archives
The History of Christmas
Some Christmas traditions date back over 4,000 years. Learn about the winter celebrations from ancient times in this brief history of Christmas.
Kiddyhouse.com - All About Christmas for Kids
From Kiddyhouse.com, Christmas games and activities for kids. Most of the games here are for kids. There are some that adults will find it fun too.
All Things Christmas
One of the biggest websites about Christmas on the Internet.
DLTK's Holiday Activities for Kids
DLTK's collection of holiday resources for students and teachers. It includes crafts, games, plays, worksheets, and activities for younger students.
DLTK's Custom Dominos
Great tool for any holiday or unit study theme. Pick a theme for your dominoes and then choose color or black and white before printing.
Christmas Coloring Pages
"Students learn about Christmas in Mexico through story, Spanish language, song, art, and dance."
Christmas Literature Unit
From 4Reallearning.com. An Integrated Literature Unit for Advent and Christmas
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Take a virtual tour of the city where Jesus was born
A Medieval Christmas
What it was like to celebrate Christmas in the Middle Ages
Christmas Crafts and Printables
A large selection of Christmas KinderCrafts for younger children
Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus
An informative article that explains some of the transition from Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus. Customs Around the World, How to Celebrate, Events Around the World and a section just for Kids.
Suggested Reading About Christmas
Make Holiday Magic
Winter is rich with holidays—such a wonderful time for your children to learn more about your family’s holiday traditions and how holidays are celebrated around the world. Your kids can enjoy a living “social studies” experience as they learn.
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Our No-Matter-What Holiday Tradition
No-matter-what holiday traditions are a solid foundation for family bonds, whether they are traditions you are starting or ones you are continuing from your own childhood. This is ours.
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Gameschooling — How to Add Board Games to Your Homeschool Routine
Gameschooling is a popular term in the homeschool world — and for good reason (hint - it works!). Learn what gameschooling is and see examples of games you can play with your kids to teach a variety of subjects.
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20 Things Almost Every Homeschool Parent Wants This Holiday Season
What do we, as homeschooling parents, want this holiday season so that we can stay fresh, sane, and grateful? I've put together a list that I hope will inspire you and make you smile too.
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Christmas Around the World for Kids
The celebration of Christmas offers a world of fun activities and lesson opportunities for homeschoolers. From recipes and crafts to discussing the historical and cultural background of Christmas traditions, opportunities for learning are endless.
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7 Holiday Activities for Kids for Frugal Family Fun
We’ve put together a handy list of ways to keep the family entertained that are budget-friendly, easy to pull together, and fun for all ages!
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100+ Educational Gifts for Homeschoolers
Gift-giving doesn’t have to be stressful! With our list of over 100 educational gift ideas for kids, you can cross off your gift list with educational gifts that are fun and promote learning and creativity. It might seem challenging to find fun and educational gifts that are not all technology-related. Now, I don’t have anything against technology, we use it every single day in our lives and homeschool. That said, I do try to find items and gifts that get them moving, creating or building and exploring.
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Make the Most of Holiday Homeschooling with Tweens and Teens (with Activity Ideas)
Does the holiday season bring a sense of excitement? Or does it make your head spin with all the amazing possibilities for homeschooling piled on top of all the holiday festivities, food, and fun? The holidays can be a double-edge sword for homeschoolers. We have the freedom to schedule our days how we please or not please. We can sip hot cocoa and read, decorate the house, and take time for special family celebrations.
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Holiday Crafts with Kids
Holidays offer such a wonderful opportunity for crafting and creating. Thoughtfully handmade decorations and gifts always seem to have a willing recipient or admirer, and there is something special about creating something that will be seen and enjoyed by others. Whether you are someone for whom crafting comes naturally or someone who wants to find a way to make more creative opportunities for your children, there are many ways to weave crafts and activities into the holiday season.
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Home(schooling) for the Holidays: 9 Reasons to Worry Less about Schoolwork
Thanksgiving is almost here in the U.S., which means homeschooling may take on a different look in the coming weeks. I've seen a lot of newer homeschooling parents panic as it becomes clear that forward progress through a math workbook comes to a crawl or the curriculum guide gets misplaced under the clutter -- for days. Then, uh, maybe for weeks. Here are my 9 reasons why homeschoolers should worry less about schoolwork during the holidays and embrace the season.
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An Answer For Our Constant Christmas Quandary
We have always struggled, like many homeschoolers, with the gift-giving part of Christmas. My husband comes from a huge gift-giving family. I come from a family in which money was always tight and gifts tended to be few but meaningful. We both have a faith that leads us to condemn unmitigated materialism, convicts us about our prosperity amongst a world of poverty, and challenges us to find a balance between the joy of giving and the selfishness of indulging.
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Homeschooling the Son of God
Sometimes by the time Christmas approaches, I feel like I've squeezed out every possible ounce of meaning from the season.
We've done plenty of family traditions, like putting up the tree and making Christmas cookies. We've listened to Christmas carols and reveled in the peace of Silent Night and the reverence of O Holy Night. We've served together to raise money for the impoverished of the world. We've talked about the importance of giving, and gone out to purchase gifts for family members. We've lit our Advent candles each Sunday of Advent, put up our Jesse tree ornaments, and done a ... Read More »
Our Favorite Homeschooling Christmas Tradition
It’s like fall comes and then…
Boom! You’re getting ready for Christmas.
Now, I’m certain that many of you homeschoolers out there already have your December homeschool-worthy Christmas plans in the works before Thanksgiving rolls around, and, well...yay for you. Me? The thought of Christmas plans doesn’t usually seriously cross my mind until the turkey and dressing have become turkey sandwich leftovers.
Christmas Traditions
That being said, it’s usually not too much of a deal to get prepared, because many of our family’s Christmas preparations are traditions that we do every year. No stress, no planning -- just pull most of it down from ... Read More »
What to Do About Christmas Giving
It hadn't even turned December when we were already starting to hide the Christmas boxes from the girls. The niggling question pricks every year at the same time: What do we do about Christmas giving? As irony works, I sifted through the most recent wave of gifts arrived via mail right after coming home from set-up efforts for the weekend Christmas Fair to raise money for impoverished orphans in India. Sometimes it's those ironies of life that wake us up and allow us to see in a new way.
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Did We Do Enough?
It’s just a few days before Christmas, and almost all of the gifts are purchased. The goodies have been made, the halls have been decked, and we wait in expectation for “the big day”. Yet in spite of all of the conscientious preparations, it seems that the same question arises every year: Did we do enough?
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Christmas Traditions, Part 2
When you think back to Christmases as a child, most likely the things of which you have the fondest memories are those special traditions your family experienced together. Having special routines that you do year after year helps children develop an excited expectation for the holiday to come, and builds family unity and bonding. "Home for Christmas" can be a lot more than just physical location – Christmas traditions can be the glue that makes people feel like they're home...
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Christmas Traditions, Part 1
As soon as Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas excitement begins! The whole month of December is an amazing opportunity to establish family traditions – rituals that ground children in their roots and help them to create meaning and a sense of belonging. Family traditions help to mark shared experiences, encourage intimacy and connection, and help children to identify in a positive way with their families. Consider, for example, the tradition of the family meal...
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Celebrating Christmas With School, Part 2
In a homeschooler's home is where you want to be in December! This month provides so many opportunities for creative, fun learning as families help children prepare for Christmas. But even for home educators, who generally seek to incorporate education into every aspect of life, it's easy to let December come and go in a blur of decorations, parties, gift buying and seasonal events. Don't let it happen to you!
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Celebrating Christmas with School, Part 1
During the month of December, there's no better place to be than in the house of a home educator! This month provides so many opportunities for creative, fun learning as families help children prepare for Christmas. Arts and crafts, special recipes, decorating, singing... it's worth taking a bit of a break from the academic rigor maintained through most of the year in order to enjoy some special Christmas-related activities as a family. To get the most out of the holiday, why not try a special study to prepare for Christmas? Christmas lapbooks, Advent devotionals, unit studies - the possibilities ... Read More »
Inoculating Against Madison Avenue
I was struck by the marketing comprehension exhibited in my children's play. I hoped it would inoculate them against Madison Avenue, relieving them of the false pressure to buy, collect, and throw away massive quantities of "stuff" in order to feel good about themselves and their lives.
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The Christmas Question
"What do you want for Christmas?" It's probably the line most often quoted this time of year, following "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays". Santa asks it, parents ponder it, and even passersby on the street use it as a greeting line for children. But is it the question homeschoolers really want to ask? Just like home educators seek to teach their children academic subjects, many also seek to inculcate something even more important - character. And this time of year is the perfect time to focus on the character quality of giving to others.
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Educational Christmas Gifts for Kids
Check out these great sources for educational Christmas gifts that kids love! These gifts encourage science, exploration, filmmaking, and more...
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Jesse Tree Advent Ornaments and Ideas
One of the most meaningful ways to help the family emphasize the true meaning of Christmas is through creating a Jesse Tree. This wonderful tradition not only centers the significance of the holiday around Christ, but it serves as an advent calendar as well, marking each passing day to count down until Christmas.
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Holiday Paragraph Writing: Describe a Holiday-Themed Process
The holidays can be a great time to assign writing activities that focus on the festivities, allowing children to immerse themselves in the fun while encouraging productivity. This month, have your kids write a paragraph describing a holiday-themed process where they explain, in a step-by-step manner, how something is done.
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Fun Family Christmas Projects
If there's ever a time to put aside the books and break out the project supplies with the kids, it's Christmas! With all of the emphasis on baking, making crafts, decorating, learning the history of Christ's birth, and establishing family traditions, Christmas for homeschoolers is like sitting down to a buffet of children's enrichment. Even if you homeschool with academics throughout the month of December, be sure to save some time in the day for some special family projects that will bring the family together and make the season meaningful for your children!
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Travel Games for Long Trips
Visiting with family and friends is the highlight of the holidays for many homeschoolers. Unfortunately, before the festivities and merry-making can begin comes a part of the holidays that most families dread - the process of "getting there"! These ideas for filling hours in the car will have your whole family enjoying your travel time.
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