4 Ways to Motivate Kids During the Holidays

 4 Ways to Motivate Kids During the Holidays

Are your kids ready to quit? The anticipation of the holidays really brings it out of most children. It’s not that they don’t want to do school. In fact, it’s more like the interruption of daily habits with the constant barrage of festivities. If you’re trying to keep yours motivated, you’ll want to read more!

Utilize Your “Subs”

Depending on their age, you may be able to utilize the older kids as “subs” for short periods of time. Older kids often love being put in the role of “teacher” to your other “students.” Choose lessons that won’t take up too much time, and let the older kids substitute for you.

Include December-themed Writing Projects

While writing may not be your student’s favorite subject most of the time, you can make a difference by changing up the writing prompts they follow. For instance, instead of writing about some historical event that requires research and is dry as dust, why not have have them research the effects of snow on asphalt over periods of time, study the history of St. Nicolas, or discover different Christmas traditions and learn about their origins.

If you’re stuck trying to figure out what standards to cover for writing each month and for each child, check out this school year plan that helps you determine what you should cover in a year!

 Try Unit Studies

December makes a great time to try a unit study! Unit studies are when all your children study the same topic and you pull various subjects into that topic. It’s easy to differentiate by giving older kids more difficult assignments and keeping the easier ones for the younger kids.

One pitfall with unit studies is that they do take some time and planning. But it’s easy to find Holiday themed unit studies that have all the work done for you! Check out these December Unit studies that are broken up by grade level and enjoy schooling this month!

Do a Countdown to Christmas Break

Similar to an Advent countdown calendar, a “countdown to Christmas break” calendar will help keep your kids’ enthusiasm going until it’s time for your holiday festivities! You can make these as simple or as elaborate as you’d like. Plus sites like Pinterest are loaded with ideas for homemade countdown calendars. If you have younger children, you could print up a black and white version where she can color in the numbers each day. Alternatively, you could make your own by drawing a basic Christmas tree and then drawing 15 “ornaments” on the tree (depending on your break). This simple activity can help your students anticipate each day as they approach the holidays.

Helping your kids stay motivated during December can be a challenge. How do you manage to do it? Have you done any of the things we’ve mentioned above? We’d love to hear about your discoveries! 

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