Easy Ways To Homeschool On Thanksgiving Day

With the holiday season starting, it can be easy for a homeschooler to get overwhelmed at the thought of homeschooling on the holidays.

I mean, it’s hard enough to homeschool through the holidays, keeping up with math and science while you make sure your Christmas cards are delivered on time or that your holiday cookies are better than last year.

But what if there was an easier way? What if you could homeschool on Thanksgiving Day, or any holiday for that matter, without your kids (or guests) even realizing that learning was taking place?

Well, that would be one way to make holiday learning simple, wouldn’t it?

So today, while your turkey is in the oven and you have a few minutes with your feet up before you need to start the potatoes and green bean casserole, I’m going to show you just how holiday homeschooling can be done without anyone even knowing!

Homeschooling On The Holidays

Now, before you get too worried, I am not suggesting you dig out your favorite math program or sharpen those pencils for a history lesson.

I am suggesting that you use your holiday festivities, the events and opportunities that naturally occur, to learn.

I’m talking about cooking in the kitchen and teaching your children how to make a pie crust or spatchcock a turkey.

I’m talking about conversations with grandparents that are intentionally led so your child can learn where they came from.

I’m talking about the history of Thanksgiving, traditions and where they came from, and even a stroll down memory lane sparked by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

I think you get the drift, friend. I’m talking all things unschooling, life schooling, and simply living life and learning naturally as we did well before schooling became a thing.

7 Easy Ways To Homeschool On Thanksgiving Day

As homeschoolers, we know that learning never really stops.

Sure we log school days, but we are fully aware that learning can happen on a Saturday at 10 AM just as easily as it can on Tuesday at 2 PM.

In fact, sometimes learning at non-traditional times using non-traditional methods can be easier.

Without the books and the schedules, the pressure to learn is gone. Curiosity can take the lead rather than the scope and sequence, and regardless of planning, a lesson can form from the most ordinary of events.

And this is what I want to help you harness as you homeschool through the holidays. The moments of life schooling that cannot be planned, the lessons that may not even be recorded.

1. Homeschool In The Kitchen

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to homeschool on Thanksgiving Day is by getting your kids into the kitchen.

Show your children how to measure, set the temperature for the oven, start a timer for the pie, or how to (properly) set the table.

Have them help with cutting, boiling, stirring, mashing, and even let them knead the dough.

While little hands underfoot can sometimes slow things down, the lessons (and the memories) are priceless and irreplaceable.

2. Homeschool On The Map

Whether the family is traveling to your home or you are traveling to theirs, these trips present an amazing opportunity to discuss geography, travel, and even weather in a low-pressure and (dare I say) fun way – especially if you have a map handy!

The possibilities are endless as you discuss different areas of your state or regions of the country.

3. Homeschool On The Weather App

Nothing say the holiday season has arrived like a good dose of winter weather.

Track the storm, look at different forecasts, create your own predictions, and, once the weather arrives, see who was right.

Plus, you can use this, combined with #2 to see if everyone will be arriving or if plans need to change – especially if someone in your house works a job where the weather means they are on call. 😉

4. Homeschool with Grandparents

I’m talking getting to know your family tree, learning what life was like when they were younger, and how celebrations have changed over the years.

Don’t have Grandparent coming this year? Chat with Aunts, Uncles, cousins… anyone who is gathered around your table because they are a living history filled with knowledge that can inspire your children for years to come.

5. Homeschool with Traditions

Do you like to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade? Perhaps your family is gearing up for the big game (they still have Thanksgiving football, right?). Maybe Great Aunt Ethel has the family’s best dinner roll recipe and that’s why she’s always making them.

Whatever your family tradition is whether it’s sports, family games after the dinner, that one family member who always makes a specific dish, or even those once a year holiday dishes that are packed with nostalgia, be sure to share the why behind what you do.

6. Homeschool with Table Setting

Do you know which side the silverware go on, how to fold a cloth napkin, or even which fork is the desert fork?

Perhaps your family uses placecards at the table or buffet line.

Either way, table setting is a great way to homeschool on the holidays as you teach your children how to host well. Bonus points if you can get Grandma to help pass down the knowledge! 😉

7. Homeschool with Gratitude

Yes, I’m talking making an attitude of gratitude part of your holiday celebration.

One of the easies ways to make this shappen is by having everyone sharing who or what they are grateful for.

Perhaps you are grateful that the forecast changed and someone was able to stay for the big meal afterall.

Maybe you are grateful for someone made it home for the holidays.

Are you thankful for homeschooling?

Whether it’s the arrival of a new baby, surving cancer, or even just a day filled with laughter… it doesn’t matter what you are grateful for, only that you share it and encourage your children to foster their own gratitude.

Homeschooling On The Holidays

Without a textbook, without a lesson plan, and even without it being on the schedule, or scope & sequence, you can easily homeschool on the holidays as you look for the little moments and work some lifeschooling into your days.

Happy homeschooling, friends, and happy holidays!

Want More Holiday Content?

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