Some people say that we are certifiably insane, but we do all of our Christmas shopping in one day. That doesn’t sound so bad until you consider that we’re buying presents for 7 nieces and nephews, 5 of our own children, several friends in church, and of course we help our kids give gifts to each other. When we’re all done, we have a van full of presents, exhausted kids, and a whole night of wrapping ahead of us! There are a variety of reasons we do it this way but none of them have to do with homeschooling so I’m not going to share them!
Tomorrow happens to be our BIG shopping day. Being the clever homeschooling mom that I am, I have a series of activities planned to help keep my little ones somewhat entertained throughout the day and they will likely exercise their brain muscles too!
All About Money
One thing that we do around Christmas time is pay the kids a little extra to do their chores so that they have some of THEIR OWN money to spend on their siblings. Since we don’t pay that well they really have to budget and try to figure out the one thing that they can get that their sibling will love.
This effort, I can assure you leads to numerous discussions about percentages, making change, and how many quarters/dimes/nickels/pennies etc. are in one dollar. Give yourself a little pep talk before you go and remind yourself that it is in these moments, when your kids see practical value in what they’re learning, that you will make your greatest gains. Take your time and answer all their questions, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of your head that says, “only 12 more days ‘till Christmas. . .we have to get it all done.”
The BIG Scavenger Hunt
We also always include a scavenger hunt in the day. It could be for a particular gift, a certain color, or whatever. What do we teach while we’re scavenging? Map skills and following directions. Yes, it’s true, my husband and I are insane enough (and sadly, familiar enough with our local mall) that we actually plot out routes and encourage the kids to use their map skills to follow them. The year we were teaching our daughter the difference between left and right, her map was filled with directions indicating to the left, or to the right. Now we’ve moved onto North, South, East and West and next year my husband is talking about compasses.
It also teaches good observation skills. This year, my three year old will be looking for several different colors and making a sticker chart based on what she finds. This way, if we are in what she deems a “boring” part of the store (which is any part of the store that doesn’t carry My Little Pony,) she can hunt for things that are red, blue, etc.
Giving Back
One of the reasons we go shopping in this way, despite the chaos, is that each of our kids buys a toy for Toys for Tots with their own money. I will be writing another blog soon about other ways in which we as a family volunteer for the Christmas season, but this is one of the things the kids always remember. They actually work extra hard just to have enough money to get a nice toy and all three of my older children consider it a matter of high priority to buy their Toys for Tots toy first before they spend any of their other money.
There are lots of worthy organizations out there to give to. I don’t want to advertise one over the other. However, I do want to make a point to note that one reason we give to Toys for Tots is because my children chose the charity. To them, this is what represents the ultimate act of generosity. . .taking their earned money and using it to help someone else their own age. For a list of charities and their ratings go to Give.org.
Read other ‘Homeschoolers’ Advent’ Blogs!
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