As homeschoolers, we all tend to experience a slump in motivation as the weather turns cooler and the holiday season approaches. There are so many more interesting things looming on the horizon, like big turkey dinners, visits with relatives, holiday parties, presents, and the chance to feel like a kid again in the snow!

Unfortunately, these things tend to get in the way of our homeschooling intentions. So how do you keep your focus as winter sets in?

These four tips will help you stay on track with your homeschool plans! These are valuable lessons I’ve learned through the years.

How to Keep Your Homeschool Motivation Alive as the Holidays Approach

#1 - Set your goals and create a plan.

The holiday season can be an extremely difficult time to think of homeschool goals – you just want to let loose and make the most out of the season!

But to keep your life organized, nothing beats a well thought out plan. As the holidays approach, you can take these steps to adjust your homeschooling plans:

• First, know what you want to accomplish. Make sure these goals are achievable and set a reward for every accomplishment.
• Second, determine which activities you can move onto the back burner until the New Year.
• Third, put your plans into action by creating a schedule that balances homeschool and holiday activities into your timetable. This way, you and your students know what to expect.

Bonus Tip - When you’re traveling with the family, make sure to finish all lessons at a few days before the travel date, to give you enough time to pack and prepare for the journey.

#2 - Eliminate distractions.

When you have to juggle parties, traveling, and homeschool, there’s a good chance you’ll lose focus and momentum.

You can prevent this by strictly sticking to your set schedule. Sure, that holiday sale is tempting, but hold your horses! You do not want to go shopping during study time and regret it later.

Get rid of unnecessary interruptions to your school time by tuning out things that may expose you to a world of distractions like your phone, tablet, or social media.

Bonus Tip - Declare your study space a gadget-free zone. Unless of course if you’re using digital tools for a particular lesson.

#3 - Take a breather.

With the challenging demands of the holiday season, it is very easy to get overwhelmed. You don’t want to burn yourself or your students out.

Don’t be the Grinch who sucks all of the life out of the most wonderful time of the year.

Instead, insert regular breaks into your timetable and reward yourself and your children for what you accomplish.

Bonus Tip - Schedule downtime, which will keep you more alert and focused. 

#4 - Add science to your holiday homeschool plans.

Make homeschool interesting and fun by indulging in learning activities that suit the season by doing some holiday-themed science projects!

The frosty weather is perfect to do several hands-on science activities. You can:

• Make indoor snow,
• Create borax snowflakes for your Christmas tree,
• Or view snow under the microscope.

There are a lot of winter science activities you can do to keep your students busy and motivated during this holiday season.

Bonus Tip - Pin a few of those holiday science projects now, so they will be there when you make your schedule.