Hello 2026!
I love the New Year. There is so much potential for good days ahead.
Happy New Year! I hope you had a memorable Christmas. As we welcome the new year, with all of its unknowns and opportunities, many children are just coming off a long school break.
In much of the northern United States, January brings cold weather. Winter sports and exotic vacations are often out of reach for many families, so people tend to stay inside to keep warm. With all this extra time together, families can struggle with what to do, and too often, entertainment becomes an easy escape.
During the Christmas season, habits and routines often slide. While that is completely understandable, re-establishing those routines afterward can feel challenging… but it is doable.
As decorations come down, children may resist while parents begin restoring habits, routines, and homeschooling rhythms. Many families struggle with this transition, and you may even hear the familiar refrain: “Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.”
So what can parents do to gently bridge the gap between Christmas break and Back-to-School January?
Seven Ways to Bridge to a New Year of Homeschool
1. Daily Devotions
In November, we used our Classic American Thanksgiving Devotional. In December, we homeschooled Christmas using our Classic Christmas Devotional Anthology. When January rolled around, we always chose a Scripture theme for the year.
Yes, we read all of Scripture. This January, we are taking a deeper dive into the Old Testament.
Tips for Daily Devotionals:
- Study and discuss Scripture stories together as a family. We included all ages and used the King James Version.
- Select an uplifting verse to ponder and memorize, using it as a daily affirmation to set a positive tone for the day.
2. Restore Routines—
Restoring routines always helped us set the tone for the New Year. While we tried to keep a basic rhythm going in December, once the tree came down and decorations were put away, we worked to re-establish our full routines.
Tips to Restore Routines:
- I plan weekly menus so dinner is on the table at a regular time.
- We re-establish a consistent bedtime routine to ensure everyone gets the rest and recovery they need. Quality sleep is crucial for physical health, mental well-being, and effective learning
- After dinner, the whole family helps clean the kitchen and tidy the house. Starting the next day with an organized space makes mornings much smoother.
3. Indoor Activities—
When it’s cold outside, I intentionally plan more indoor activities.
During one winter remodel, my daughter and her children stayed with us. She had the children do daily exercises in the living room. I love to dance or move to music myself.
Tips for Indoor Activities:
- Allow children time to enjoy their Christmas gifts. Play supports cognitive development, physical health, and family bonding. Play is not an extra, its essential.
- Create moments of relaxation...time to breathe deeply, unwind, and recharge.
- Engage in family exercise: dance to favorite songs, create a fun indoor obstacle course, or exercise together.
4. Outdoor Activities—
No one wants to feel stuck indoors for months at a time. We always bundled up and got outside for fresh air and nature walks, there is so much to notice, even in winter. And some years, we were blessed with snow to play in!
Tips for Outdoor Activities:
- Bundle up for short nature walks when weather permits. Keep a winter nature journal or weather log to record observations.
- On snowy days, build snowmen, make snow angels, try color experiments in the snow, then warm up with hot cocoa or a hearty lunch.
- If weather is too harsh, bring the movement indoors...physical activity is essential for mental and emotional health.
5. Read Aloud Activity—
We snuggled up for read-alouds year-round, but winter made it especially inviting. After a brisk walk outside, there was nothing better than warm blankets and a shared story.
Tips for Read-Alouds:
- Choose a book to read aloud as a family. If you don’t already have this tradition, January is a wonderful time to begin!
- Reading aloud fosters imagination, builds lifelong learning habits, and creates treasured family memories.
6. Documentaries—
We loved documentaries—and even shows like Martha Stewart, which taught cooking, crafting, and gardening!
Ideas for Documentary Learning:
- Watch documentaries together and discuss what you learned.
- Take a virtual trip by exploring other countries. Cook a dish from the culture, listen to native music, or create a themed craft.
- Make it extra fun by creating travel tickets, itineraries, and a little “guest room swag” for bedrooms
7. Jigsaw Puzzle Bridge Activity—
Jigsaw puzzles have been a cherished tradition in my life since childhood. I grew up in a puzzle-loving family and married into one as well. We almost always had a puzzle out between Christmas and New Year.
One Christmas Eve, we realized we had forgotten to buy one, so we made a late-night trip to pick one up. Some years, we reused favorites from previous holidays.
Another year, we found a box in the toy closet filled with mixed puzzle pieces from several sets—with only one picture guide. The children embraced the challenge and soon discovered the box held three separate puzzles! Though frustration arose at times, they persevered and completed all three—without a single piece missing.
That experience taught lessons in perseverance, problem-solving, and teamwork. Puzzles build brain connections and strengthen family bonds in a uniquely collaborative, non-competitive way.
Puzzle Tips:
Puzzle Tips:
1. Turn all pieces face up..
2. Sort by edge pieces. color. and shape.
3. Assemble the edge first.
4. Work from the outside inward.
5. Take breaks—fresh eyes make all the difference.
Correlating Puzzles to Life—
As you work on the puzzle, draw parallels to real-life challenges:
- “Notice how a fresh perspective helps solve problems.”
- “Sometimes stepping away allows us to see solutions we missed.”
When the puzzle was finished and decorations stored away, our family was ready to return to homeschooling with renewed focus and energy.
Bonus BINGO
We married between Christmas and New Year nearly five decades ago. Every January, we set goals in six areas:
1. Literacy and Education
2. Financial and Resource Management
3. Physical Health
4. Social, Emotional, and Spiritual Health.
5. Home Production and Storage
6. Career Development and Developing Talents.
This year, I’m gamifying my goals with BINGO—creating a 5x5 card with goals and bucket-list items, and a heart-and-home free space in the center.
My word for 2026 is BINGO.
Be Inspired, Nurturing, Gracious, Optimistic!
I am truly looking forward to this year—it’s going to be epic.!
May You Find Joy in the New Year!
Embrace these precious days together. Small traditions and simple activities make all the difference as you bridge into a new season of homeschooling. Make Back-to-School January a tradition your family looks forward to..
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