Including Christmas in Our Homeschool

Every year, we look for ways to easily incorporate the festive season into our homeschool days. From poetry, to books, and even field trips, we always seem to find some wonderful, new-to-us resources to use. 

Picture Books:
A Cobtown Christmas, by Julia Van Nutt is my favorite this year! Based on actual 1845 diaries of Lucky Hart, the book retells the tales in diary entry fashion.

A Carol for Christmas, by Ann Tompert uses the perspective of a mouse to tell a story of how Silent Night was inspired. This cute story is fictional, of course. For a more accurate history of the song, we recommend Silent Night: The Song and Its Story, by Margaret Hodges. {If you are looking for more books about Christmas carols, a few more of our recommendations are found here.}

A Cowboy Christmas: The Miracle at Lone Pine Ridge, by Audrey Wood is about a cowboy, a boy, and the boy's mother. Set in the West of the 1800's, the heartwarming story opens with a cowboy failing to reach the ranch by Christmas Eve. Tired and ill, he falls from his horse. The boy and his mom, who were expecting him, begin a search. The story ends happily.

Feliz Nochebuena, Feliz Navidad: Christmas Feasts of the Hispanic Caribbean, by Maricel E. Presilla explores holiday traditions and festivities. Presilla offers a remembrance of her own childhood memories and then expands to include many cultural traditions. She also includes recipes.

{Looking for more recommendations? In years past, we enjoyed Good King Wenceslas and The Gift of the Magi. A few more posts with some possibilities are found here, here, and here. Can you tell we like snuggling up with a good book around our Christmas tree?}

Documentary:
The Christmas Truce is a documentary from The History Channel depicting a truce both sides enjoyed during December 1914 {WWI} over the Christmas holiday.

Audio Book:
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, performed by Frank Muller is a fun way to enjoy this classic while driving or making cookies.

Read Alouds:
The Family Under the Bridge, by Natalie Savage Carlson is a book we read years ago and are revisiting this year. Set in Paris over Christmas, this story is heartwarming. Armand, a homeless man, befriends a newly homeless family. The friendship proves to be life changing for both parties.

A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time, by Mary Pope Osborne is one of the Magic Tree House books. We plan to read it next week.


All of the resources listed, except for The Family Under the Bridge, were found at our local library - love that place! Links provided for reference purposes only.