03/12/2019

Home Ed Voices Podcast – (Season 2) Episode 24 End of Season 2 & Avoiding December Overwhelm

This is the final episode for season two!

I want to give a huge thank you to all the people who gave their time to speak to me this season!

And thank you to the people who listened, who shared the podcast, reviewed it, and who sent me messages telling me that it was useful. I am really grateful and thankful for you all.

During the hiatus I’ll be replaying a few old episodes of the podcast, starting with Daksina and Kate so that you can get to know two of the writers on the Home Ed Voices website.

The podcast will be back with new episodes in february 2020.

If you home educate and fancy chatting with me next year, please get in touch either via instagram @homeEdVoicesPodcast or via the email address homeEdVoicesPodcast@outlook.com I’d love to hear from you!

How to have a December with minimum overwhelm:

Many families are celebrating a variety of festivals over December and trying to add seasonal festivities on top of a full home ed life is likely to result in overwhelm.

Here are some things you can do to keep things calm(er):

Know your own family – can they handle a shift in routine? think about what you need to do to keep things on an even keel. More time outdoors? More time to play and follow their own interests? More family time?
Know that it’s ok to cut stuff out for a month and pear everything back to the things that are most important to you. Making space is important.
spend a set amount of time researching things you might do together that can double as presents for family and friends (old enough to bake? old enough to decorate biscuits? make decorations? make small gifts?) don’t go overboard. Plan for maybe 6 activities over december, and know that social media will probably inspire you further if you exhaust those 6.
supplement with familiar activities you can make seasonal – playdough and cutters, freezing wintery animals in ice and letting them break it up outside, colouring sheets, decorating a dolls house or play structure.
You don’t have to do all the things. Let your children take their time, and come back to something a number of times rather than pushing through a whole series of activities.
read together – welcome back your festive and winter books like old friends – use your library! Play christmas audiobooks while they play or craft, share films with your children that you love, rewatch winter themed episodes of kids shows that you have enjoyed in the past.
sing songs, and carols – especially useful for younger children who don’t have the reading fluency to sight-read lyrics, and listen to festive music together
help children to give to others over the holiday season by giving them the opportunity to take charge of shopping for items for your local food bank, and clear out some toys or games they have finished with to give to local charity shops
spend time in nature and see how winter is changing the environment around you
seek out christmas lights, either in your local town center or decorating people’s houses. You don’t have to be out late to see houses lit up in the dark.
don’t burn the candle at both ends – get plenty of sleep and rest, and prioritize family culture over busywork.