Comfy, Cozy Winter Homeschooling

 

We are officially swirling around in my favorite season: sparkling, cold WINTER.  I am 100% here for it, and so are my husband and kids.  We love autumn, we love spring, and we find things to love about the summer.  Winter Wonderlands are where we thrive.  This is hilarious because we live in the southeastern United States.  Winter here can range anywhere from polar to balmy, though we typically have our fair share of cold winter nights.  We always pray for several inches of snow at minimum.  Sometimes, we get to don snowsuits and dust off our sleds, and other times we rummage around for a set of lighter-weight clothes.  It's also feasible that we will have a full-blown ice storm that is impossible to play in and foolish to attempt driving down our skinny country Olympic-bobsled track roads while the temperature stays below freezing.  It's a mixed bag.  We get what we get and we make hot chocolate.

We have to find a way to keep homeschooling as a retreat of sorts during this time.  It helps if education is enjoyable instead of stressful, overwhelming, monotonous, or boring.  The goal is to help our children be eager to learn.  Some days, this is not the case.  Moods sometimes try to work against us, and then parents have to decide if it's a day we learn how to push through and persevere, or if a one-day break will fuel a better quality of learning tomorrow.  Our atmosphere can greatly affect how our kids feel about learning, and as Charlotte Mason reminds us, "Education is an atmosphere."  I'd go so far as to agree with those who say Moms are responsible for creating and nurturing an atmosphere of learning.  To our kids, we are the atmosphere.  Some days, that realization slaps me in the face and I cringe a little.  Okay, sometimes I cringe a lot.  Those moments are little (ahem, BIG) reminders to completely reset.  Reset myself, reset the kids, reset my mind on the Word of God, reset the coffee maker, reset the pillows back onto the couch, reset, reset, R E S E T.  The atmosphere is important.  Here are some ways we maintain or reset the atmosphere for a calm, cozy homeschool.

BIBLE OUT

I like to leave the Bible out and open so my mind can be renewed by the washing of the Word little by little all day long. This kind of Bible-reading cannot replace my time sitting before the Lord, seeking His face, truly ruminating on His Word, or doing a deep Hebraic study dive.  It can, however, anchor me in the moment.  It can help me react well.  This is a practice I have used off and on for many years, and every time I begin to adopt it again, I wonder why I closed the Bible in the first place, instead of just leaving it open and easily accessible.

MUSIC UP

Turn up the tunes!  The calming tunes.  There is a time for the loud worship music.  In our house, it's usually not immediately before or during our math lessons.  I have musician and dancer children.  They will rock out to energetic music.  We would have a Broadway production up and running before you could say, "Gee, I wish I was back in the Army..." But I digress.  Some actually helpful information: we have been loving the LoFi Psalms album by Tom Read and any of Kevin Zadai's instrumental albums on Spotify (*NOT SPONSORED* this is just what we have been happily math-ing to).

SNACKS/COZY LUNCH

Have you considered a charcuterie board for your homeschool table?  We often don't even take a full break for lunch because the kids love snacking on a large plate of meat, cheese, fruit, and crackers as we journey through the day's lessons together.  Other snack options include an afternoon tea/hot cocoa/coffee/warm milk time with a yummy baked treat and a read aloud or an audiobook.  Our favorite cozy lunches are made up of grilled cheese, soups, chicken tenders, leftovers, or eggs and toast.  I've been inspired to make a homemade Alphabet Soup for the kids to try.  Keep your eyes open for the recipe soon!  We have been known to carry travel mugs of warm tea to our homeschool table as well, and just for convenience this winter, I am toying with the idea of setting up our extra kettle with our favorite teas and some honey on one of our bookshelves.  Sometimes, we just need a little warm-up without a kitchen-trip interruption.

HOME CLOTHES

We love having our cozy clothes on.  Yes, yes, sometimes we do wear pajamas all day long.  We are homeschoolers, after all.  It does happen often and I am not ashamed (lol).  Our cozy home clothes consist of sweat pants, long sleeves, hoodies, fuzzy socks, and slippers.  I prefer fleece-lined leggings, a sweatshirt or oversized cardigan, and my ultra-orthotic house slippers by Vionic.  Again, not sponsored.  But I love my Vionic slippers!  The goal with our home clothes is comfort, warmth, and coziness without that lazy, unkempt feeling you get from wearing what you've slept in all day long.  At least we can change from our nighttime jammies to our productive daytime jammies!  Three cheers for flannel and fleece!

TWINKLE LIGHTS

Repurpose all of those strands of Christmas lights instead of packing them away until next year.  These little treasures add such a warm glow to our homeschool space.  An inviting space is always appreciated.

DIFFUSER

Diffuse some focus blends of essential oils in your learning space.  Or maybe some germ-fighting oils.  

SEASONAL DECOR

We still have our Christmas decorations up, but even after they come down, we still keep the house winter-themed.  The kids love helping.  Currently, the favorite daily craft is to make a new paper snowflake to stick onto one of the glass doors or windows.  They wanted the sparkly snowflake ornaments to be hung on the corkboard where we place our month header and any art projects the kids have been working on.  We may attempt to hang snowflakes from the curtain rods or perhaps from the top shelf.  We only use winter-themed mugs and I drape a fluffy blanket on each chair at the school table.

NATURE NOTEBOOKS

These are wonderful for all seasons!  Taking a long walk and noticing the things happening around us in nature, sketching pictures in our nature notebooks, and gazing at our birding books or Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman is a special kind of cozy.  Add in some watercolor painting to those notebooks and a bowl of fresh popcorn to snack on, and you've got yourself an entire afternoon laid out before you to follow your morning nature walk.

FRESH AIR OR WATER

On the stir crazy, cabin fever days, I settle into two options.  Send them outside, even for just a few minutes, or give them a bubble bath.  On perfect days, I can send them outside and then call them in for bubble baths.  Before school?  After school?  Who cares?  Go with the flow (and the warmest part of the day).

BAKING

Warm up the kitchen with the oven, and warm up your tummy with some freshly baked cookies, pastries, muffins, or bread.  Whatever suits you is perfect.  And you can sample some of your goodies for your afternoon tea time!  

TOGETHER

Do everything you can manage together, even if that means things are not perfect.  Fold warm laundry together as a team.  Tidy the kitchen together.  Read together, all under the same blanket.  Plan your garden together.  Include your children.  Feelings of warmth come from more than just the oven or the heater.  They come from feeling included and not isolated or shoved aside.  Those warm fuzzies come from feeling needed instead of feeling like they are in the way.  The comfort will come from their attachment to you, the relationship with their parents.  Winter is a great time for conversations without a screen to distract, without garden chores or harvesting, without a looming holiday deadline.  Isn't a huge part of homeschooling the togetherness?  Focus on the home portion.  The school part is important, of course, and cannot be dismissed, ignored, or neglected.  But the schooling and education will accomplish nothing without the stability and foundation that we get at home.  

Shalom Shalom,

Rachel

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