Follow our Ten Ways to Beat the Winter Blues and you’ll be welcoming spring before you know it.
1.) Sunscreen in December. Since lack of sunlight is probably the source of your restlessness, get outside with your kids whenever you can. Bundle up your family and go for a brisk morning walk every day before you start the schoolwork. This will wake everyone up and get them feeling ready for the day. Reward your kids for a job well done with sledding or playing in the snow…think how great their memories of winter will be if they’re full of snow ball fights and being buried up to their necks with snow! Have a snowman-making contest or just be fun and silly. Remember, homeschooling is more about spending time with your kids and making lasting memories and less about the schoolwork.
(Barbara wrote in and told us of making snowballs with her mom and brother after a day of homeschool and stockpiling them until Dad came home. It turned into an unforgettable childhood memory.)
2.) Skip the Sodas. In winter, our serotonin levels tend to drop. When this happens we can start to crave junk foods (like cookies or sodas) because high-sugar carb foods can produce more serotonin in the brain. However, try to focus your diet on healthier forms of complex carbohydrates (like whole wheat or brown rice) because you’ll get the same effect (more serotonin) without the energy drain that can follow a sugar binge (and without the weight gain!)
3.) Kitchen Gardening. Everything may be dead outside, but why not start growing a garden inside? It’s educational and a great hands-on experience for your children. Find a sunny spot near a window and set up an Indoor Garden. Plant herbs or tomatoes; they’re easy to grow and it’s great fun for the whole family when you’re gardening efforts are rewarded with food. You could even get your kids involved in a fun Hydroponics project.
4.) Pick Some Flowers. What? The flowers aren’t blooming yet? Then make your own flowers! Use bright vivid colors to make pretty Paper Flowers that bring the feel of spring to your home. These make great art projects that will cheer up any down homeschooler. Glue paper to old Juice Jars to make vases and display your flowers all around the house. You could even make small flowers and then string them together to form bright, happy garlands.
5.) Help Out Your Neighbors.Volunteer at a local shelter and help the less fortunate in your neighborhood. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces can really make you (and your kids) feel better, too. There’s probably a lot to do, especially around Christmas time, from volunteering at a homeless shelter to donating old toys to Toys for Tots.
6.) Mr. Bear’s Cold, Too. You’re not the only one feeling cold during the winter – wild animals need to find ways to survive, too. This could be a great time to teach your kids about how Animals Spend Their Winter Days.
7.) Little House in the Livingroom. If you have a fireplace, why not abandon the kitchen for the day and cook all your meals on hot coals instead? You could teach your kids what it was like for the American Pioneers who first built houses on the prairies and had little resources for cooking. Maybe have your kids read the Little House on the Prairie books while you experiment with Fireplace Cooking. Easy Fun School provides tons of helpful resources to teach the Little House books – including yummy prairie recipes!
8.) Don’t Forget Your Picnic Basket! Who says picnics are just for summer days? Kids love picnicking on the floor in the living room – it’s fun and different and will bring smiles to their faces. If you’re really into the summer feel, you could even set up a tent in the living room and camp out in the warmth of your own home!
9.) Curriculum with Color! Since we’re so concerned with sunlight during the winter, why not teach your kids about how light works and where colors come from? They could play with prisms and learn about Light Waves – or they could learn about the Color Wheel and how colors compliment each other. Even younger kids can have fun creating their own color wheel.
10.) Have Fun with it. Don’t give up! Spring is just around the corner! And until then, have fun with these web sites that provide tons of free winter-based printables, from winter mazes to winter word searches. Homeschooling’s full of fun – even in the winter!
If you feel that you or your children are falling too far into the winter blues, check out this month’s Ask a Mom for more information on the connections between cold weather and depression.
So smile and have fun with the season. Don't worry so much about the dark and cold...focus instead on your kids and how you can liven up the winter months together!
Happy Homeschooling,
Amber
