Homeschool Science Tip of the Month - Don't stop sharing Christmas Science with your older kids.

When your kids are younger, homeschooling is cute and Instagram-worthy. As they get older, school becomes less and less about crafts and more and more about hitting the books. But the great thing about the holidays is that we can do things together as a family.

And so that's why the tip for this month is don't stop sharing Christmas science with your older kiddos.

Yes, they will have to do some school throughout the season. It's not like the younger years when you could take a whole month off, but there are still ways your older kiddos can participate in your holiday science plans.

Here are a few ways we fit in Chrismas science with our older one:

• Take one day off a week for holiday fun. Usually, we did this on Friday Fun Day.
• Take an hour off your school time each day, either first thing in the morning or in the afternoon, to do a few holiday-themed activities.

Either way, the idea is to relax your expectations during the holiday season. You may not be able to take off school completely, but your older student will still enjoy sharing in the Christmas science fun!

In fact, I still plan on having my oldest, who is now at college, do a few Christmas science experiments with us this year. And we'll still sit down together and listen to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which we do every year.

Our holiday homeschool plans are not the same as when my kids were younger, but I am grateful to have these benchmark memories with them. And now, they can cut-out and ice the cookies all on their own!

Here are a few more holiday science tips and ideas:

• 25 Activities for Christmas Science, plus 6 Winter Nature Study Ideas
• Science Gifts {TOM December 2018}
• Holiday Science {TOM December 2017}
• Take a Break {TOM December 2016}