Big ol' List of Christmas Schooling Resources

Building a gingerbread house

I've been told there are three types of homeschoolers in December: those who stick to a regular school routine until a few days before Christmas, those who take the entire month off and completely embrace the delights of the holidays, and those who incorporate seasonally-themed learning activities to create Christmas School.

I kind of land somewhere in the middle, taking a full three weeks off during the month to sprinkle in lots of Christmas traditions and learning activities into our days. Truth be told, I've never done an open-and-go Christmas curriculum but have always preferred to piecemeal my own resources.

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Big ol' List of Christmas Schooling Resources

Annual Christmas School Traditions


A few activities have become staples in our seasonal learning--pursuits that I'm resolved to continue for as long as I'm still homeschooling. They include the following:

Read one chapter of Luke out loud each day 

Since there are exactly 24 chapters in the book, Luke makes for the perfect Morning Time reading for any age. Unless I have a specific Christmas-themed devotional selected at the start of December, we always read through Luke's gospel.

Learn a new Christmas carol and its origin 

Using a few vintage songbooks, I teach my children one new carol each year. Then we read about its origins and its writer from Then Sings My Soul.


Countdown with an heirloom Nativity set

At the close of our daily Morning Time, each of my kids unwraps one of our heirloom Nativity pieces and places them all in certain designated spots around the house.

Countdown with a magnetic Nativity set

Each day, one of my kids puts a piece of a magnetic Nativity set on the refrigerator to create a 2-dimensional manger scene. The pieces are numbered on the back, allowing us to add one character in reverse order of importance to the story, ending with Baby Jesus on December 25. Unfortunately, our set is no longer being produced. But, here are three similar sets to consider:

Unwrap a Nativity or Christmas-themed living library book

I wrap library books in festive paper and let my children take turns opening one each day. At this point, my oldest kids have outgrown this tradition but are willing to continue participating for the sake of their youngest brother. I usually select books from the following lists and reserve them from my local library branch the week of Thanksgiving so that I can pick them up and have them wrapped before December 1st. 
12 Christmas Books for Living-Literature Learning

Read one Christmas-themed chapter book aloud

Every afternoon just after lunch, I read one chapter of a favorite Christmas-themed novel out loud to the entire family. 

20+ Christmas Chapter Books to Read Together

Countdown with the names of Jesus

We end dinner each night by unwrapping one of our Christmas names of Jesus ornaments, reading the corresponding Scripture passage, and hanging the ornament on the tree.

Christmas names of Jesus ornament

Countdown with daily activities

Each afternoon or evening, we do one family fun activity together as dictated by our family Advent calendar. My kids have never really enjoyed doing seasonal crafts. So instead, when making my list of ideas each year, I try to include games, service projects, local events, play productions, choir concerts, and get-togethers.

Decorating gingerbread houses with homeschool friends

Other Christmas School Ideas 


Over the years, I've also rotated in a few other resources and activities to make each year slightly different from the last. They include the following:


chalk pastel art for Christmas




Homemade Jesse Tree with Scripture verses-The Unlikely Homeschool

Remarkable Advent- daily readings appropriate for middle schoolers through adult


The Adventure of Christmas- readings plus activities


'Twas the Season of Advent- daily readings appropriate for preschoolers through middle schoolers


Other Christmas Devotionals to Consider


The following is a list of books that I am not personally familiar with but which look to be good resources for Christmas schooling. 

Devos for children








Devos for teens and adults















Christmas Schooling Curricula to Consider


The following is a list of learning resources that have been made for homeschoolers by homeschoolers. While I have not used any of these, I know all but three of the authors personally and trust that the materials are solid. For the most part, these are appropriate for preschool through elementary kids. That said, almost all of them can be adjusted for older kids. The asterisks indicate curricula that could be used for teens with little to no alterations. 

Christmas Character Activity Pack || September & Co. 

A Connected Christmas || Treehouse Schoolhouse (Use coupon code UNLIKELY_HOMESCHOOL at checkout to score 10% off your entire order.)

Slow Down Christmas || A Year of Learning

The First Christmas || Gather 'Round*

Christmas Around the World || Gather 'Round*

Signs of the Savior || Little House Learning Co.

Come to the Manger || Brighter Day Press

The Advent Guide || Brighter Day Press

The Christmas Bundle || The Peaceful Press

Adoration at the Manger || Not Consumed

Uncovering Mercies at the Manger || Not Consumed*

Camp Christmas || Your Morning Basket

Advent Morning Time Plans || Your Morning Basket

Christmas Celebration Morning Time Plans || Your Morning Basket

Truth in the Tinsel || Truth in the Tinsel

An American Girl Christmas || Little Schoolhouse of Smiths

Christmas Schooling Suggestions from Others

If you know of a Christmas Schooling curriculum or resource that is not listed above, feel free to leave the title or link in the comments section below and I will add it here. That said, as you look through the following, know that I am not familiar with any of these. I can't vouch for their Biblical accuracy or lack thereof. 

Christmas Around the Campfire || Campfire Curriculums

In the Season of Caroling Noel || Campfire Curriculums

A Final Word

Even if you are not a full-on Christmas schooler, might I encourage you to sprinkle a little bit of extra into your December school days to help make them more diverting? Connection should always be a primary goal of home education, but especially at Christmas. Don't be afraid to set the textbooks aside for a bit, slow down, and savor a new type of learning for the season. Together.

3 comments:

  1. Campfire Curriculums is another one to look into. They have two Christmas units to choose from. They are both wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gather Round has Christmas Curriculums

    ReplyDelete