As “sparkle season” and “happy holidays” surround us on all sides, teaching our homeschoolers the true meaning of Christmas can be especially challenging. After all, advertisements for shiny new dolls and videogames bombard them for weeks before the big morning. Overspending abounds during the holiday season. How can we break this cycle of poor financial management, selfishness, and guilt?
The most effective way to instill a full understanding of the meaning of Christmas is to approach them from a young age with things that they understand. Some Christian homeschool families have “Happy Birthday Jesus” cakes to celebrate Christ’s birth during the Christmas season. Reading the first two chapters of Luke are a great way to introduce your children to the Christmas story. Our family reads this each year on Christmas morning before we open presents.
Always make sure to focus on the act of giving in tandem with the act of receiving. Encouraging your homeschoolers to make family members gifts, paying special attention to the individual creative abilities of your children, can give them an understanding of giving. Make sure to always react gratefully with plenty of “thank-you’s” in front of your children.
When your homeschoolers are giving and receiving gifts, remind them that Baby Jesus grew into a man that would eventually give us the greatest gift of all, the opportunity to live eternally in heaven with Him. You can touch on this again during the Easter season, recalling back to your Christmas lesson.
It’s important not to go overboard with gifts I have heard from so many parents who cannot think of what to give their children. It is often because their kids already have so much stuff! How can we possibly hope to surprise them with something new and exciting? Focusing too much on buying and receiving will cause your homeschoolers to forget what exactly we are celebrating. A few thoughtful gifts should be sufficient. You can also set spending limits to ensure that your children realize that it’s not the price tag that counts.
I try to encourage my children to take part in some good old-fashioned Christmastime charity. Have your kids volunteer at a soup-kitchen on Christmas Eve. You could also consider participating in Operation Christmas Child or an Angel Tree program. Allow your children to have an active role. Then, reinforce the idea that such goodwill should not be limited to Christmas, but should continue throughout the year.
Lastly, remind your Christian homeschoolers each Christmas that the “real” gift of salvation, that of redemption, was not gained by us being “good for goodness sake.” Rather, we received the gift despite our sinful nature. It is the one gift we never could deserve, but in God’s grace and mercy, He bestowed it upon us lovingly.
About the Author:Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children’s rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.
Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.
In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Articles consist of feature stories on online homeschooling and alternative education.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have different color furniture in different ...
By: mala1234 | 10-11-2007
can I have different color furniture in different room or I should have same color furniture in the entire house?
Home security system
By: 911247666 | 29-09-2007
what's a good home security system. Any recommendations. ie. ADT,TMC,Brinks etc
Becoming environmentally conscious on an every day basis
By: pleo | 12-08-2007
I have seen a lot of information lately about what is going to happen to the earth if we don't start to take care of it better. I was wondering how can I be more environmentally conscious on an everyday basis, at home?
Choosing furniture for a room
By: george | 28-07-2007
What should be the first piece of furniture that I consider for a room?
Homeowning Parents
By: mcorden | 25-07-2007
What percentage of parents in the UK own their own home when they have their first child?
Unbearably hot apartment
By: rivid | 03-06-2007
My brother lives in 3 story building, his apartment is at the top floor. In the summer his apartment becomes unbearably hot. Our guess is that it caused by the black color of the Coal tar, absorbing heat and releasing it into the apartment. Is there any solution for that problem?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Homeschooling Articles
Homeschooling - the 'ins and Outs'
By: Steve Cownley | 04/09/2008
Some top tips and ideas. What are the legalities for homeschooling. What are the benefits and how you can make it a fun place to learn for your children but maintain discipline and even have field trips!
Do People Need To Follow Any Homeschooling Laws
By: Scott English | 01/09/2008
The most important point to keep in mind before beginning to home school your child is to find out various homeschooling socializations and home schooling laws. This is the legal aspect of home schooling your child and it can not be neglected. Parents who have taken these laws lightly have landed in jails.
Introduction to Home Schooling
By: allhairlosstreatments | 01/09/2008
Home schooling is not easy and most parents that do home schooling will admit to you that it is a lot tougher. It is for this reason that many parents who do home schooling get together with home schooling groups, which does make it easier.
Can Adults Use Phonics?
By: Von Chucwuemeca | 29/08/2008
Can adults use phonics in order to learn how to read? The answer is yes, very much. The difference of ages between a child and an adult does not at all affect their capacity to effectively learn from the phonics method of teaching reading. As a matter of fact, the system of phonics as better developed today has shown tremendous potential in helping illiterate adults catch on their basic reading skills.
Home Schooling - Opportunities and Challenges
By: Dr. PM Anavaratham | 29/08/2008
Home schooling provides great opportunity to children with learning disabilities.. the merits of home schooling are many ... a child need not go for 'tutions' which is an inevitable evil in Indian education system. Tutions are no different from Home schooling..If tutions are inevitable, then is schooling necessary?..first of its kind is the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)..can afford to join courses without attending colleges. Home schooling is therefore a wonderful opportunity......
All You Need To Know about Adult High School Diploma Programs
By: Kris Koonar | 26/08/2008
Statistics tell us there are around 50 to 55 million adults in the USA without a high school diploma. Due to this lack in their education and the increase in office jobs, they are at a disadvantage when employers look for people.
Educating Children Using Homeschooling Software
By: Scott English | 25/08/2008
Homeschooling software used to educate children has become very popular for a number of reasons. Many situations require different solutions, and homeschooling, is no different. As you can well imagine, there are also many different opinions on the effectiveness of this homeschooling software.
Teaching Reading to Adults
By: Von Chucwuemeca | 23/08/2008
The method of teaching someone how to read is very similar to the way you were taught to read. And if you were taught like many children over the world, then you have most likely been taught using phonics. This is the manner of teaching students how to read by introducing sounds used in spoken English in order to form words. Examples of these phonics would be “an” “at” or “ap”. By knowing individual phonics, one learns how to use them in sequence when reading a word.
Education 
