Keep Kids Learning: Christmas Activities That Aren’t Homework

If you ask a young child what the Christmas season is all about, you probably won’t hear them say spelling or history or extra homework. Most kids would be happy to skip schoolwork altogether once December rolls around. According to my kids, any and all “school” has a way of crushing the Christmas spirit. How can we have any fun if we have to do math?? But even if you do put your formal lessons aside, that doesn’t mean there still isn’t learning going on, even if it looks different from your usual routine. I always liked to find projects and activities that incorporated the spirit of the holidays while also (subtly) reinforcing skills they were working on!

Kids love to think about their wish lists and the things they hope to find under the tree. This is where your Rainbow Resource Christmas Catalog (or any toy catalog) comes in handy to use as copywork. How do you spell “Snap Circuits”? Look at the catalog and copy it! And it has to be legible handwriting or you might get the wrong thing! Pre-writers can practice circling items that they want, or with your permission, cutting out and pasting.

And if your family celebrates the story of Santa, let your child write a letter and send his wish list to the man at the North Pole! (I’ve heard that Santa has begun using the new Rainbow Resource Center warehouse to store his extra inventory of toys!)

Sending out Christmas cards can be a lot of work, and including your kids in that project can add extra stress. But there are so many valuable skills your kids can learn by sending items in the mail—including handwriting practice and spelling/capitalization practice as they write the addresses. And knowing it will end up on someone’s refrigerator can motivate them to do their best work. As a bonus geography activity, get that map out and locate where your out-of-town friends live.

Bringing out the Christmas storybooks is a relaxing family activity that creates great holiday memories. We’ve curated Christmas literature lists if you want to begin building your Christmas library! If colder weather is keeping you in the house more often, then that’s more time cuddled up on the couch with your favorite seasonal stories. 

12 Books of Christmas Reading | Christmas Holiday Read Aloud Books

Like I mentioned earlier, my kids became highly allergic to math in December. So I had to work in math skills in a context that was more palatable. The earliest math concept my kids learned when they were little was the simple skill of counting down how many more days until Christmas? That’s where those advent calendars come in handy!

If they are working on a wish list for themselves or a list of gifts for other people, then time to add up those numbers and find the total. For the older kids, make sure they account for tax and shipping on the things they want to receive or purchase. Bring your older kids into how you budget for the holidays. It all adds up mighty quick!

How much paper should you pull off the roll? Wrapping is a great hands-on activity that helps kids to develop their spatial skills, cutting skills, and attention to detail. Anticipate that gifts will need to be re-wrapped occasionally, but there’s no better way to learn than by doing and re-doing. And if they’re writing their own tag, time for that neat handwriting again!

Everyone knows about the math and baking connection. (Shhh, don’t tell the kids!) All the measuring, timing, and often doubling, and does the tasting count? How many cookies will we need and do we have enough of each ingredient? How much did we actually spend on our ingredients? Baking goodies helps neutralize most math allergies while giving kids practical application of math concepts with a good amount of science as well!

You can give your kids some hands-on science fun with a themed Advent Calendar like the Science Advent Calendar or the Retro Radio Advent Calendar or the Science Tricks Advent Calendar!

Holidays are an ideal time to learn more about the culture of your own country. Have your kids ever wondered where we got our Christmas traditions? Are they the same in every country? Who was the real St. Nicholas? Holiday exhibits, musical performances, and citywide celebrations are educational and fun for the whole family!

Christmas is a natural time to review the story of Jesus’s birth. Learn about the story of Jesus day by day with this Advent Calendar. Many families read through the Gospels during December. You could also dig deeper into Messianic prophecies! There are also plenty of opportunities to teach the value of charitable giving and showing kindness to our neighbors. Work together as a family to choose a need to fill and the steps needed to accomplish the goal. Include your kids as much as possible so they can feel a sense of ownership.

Some days the goal is just to keep the kids safely occupied, and that’s okay too! Having some themed toys and new activities that kids can do on their own can be super helpful for mom and kids alike. Rainbow Resource carries a plethora of Christmas-themed craft kits and activities such as Christmas Origami, Christmas Sticker Books, Christmas Fingerprint Activities, or a Christmas Countdown Activity Book.

Lastly, remember to enjoy this short season, however it looks for your family. The years of having kids underfoot during the holidays are fleeting! In the blink of an eye, they’ll be coming home for Christmas, hopefully with great memories of learning together as a family!