I am so glad you have joined us for planning your own version of Thanksgiving School or Christmas School! You will be so tickled when it’s all planned and ready and the only thing left for you to do is sit back and enjoy the time with your children.
Friends, if you only have one or two days for Thanksgiving or Christmas School, you can still plan time to read, learn, and enjoy being together. Some years, we’ve only had Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Other years, December commitments have left us with only a partial week for Christmas School.
You don’t have to squeeze a whole week’s activities into those days. And I definitely don’t advise that. I have tried several years to make that work, and it only ended in me feeling disappointed. So don’t be like me! Choose a book or two, decide what you want to do with them, and prepare those materials ahead of time.
In this lesson, I’ll share several ways we’ve made shorter holiday school plans work in our homeschool.
New to the series? The Holiday School Prep lesson will help you decide how much time you have and what you want your main focus to be.
Watch: Planning Holiday School When You Only Have a Day or Two
This lesson was originally recorded for All Access Pass members as part of our Holiday Homeschool Planning Challenge. The planning guidance is now free for everyone. 🎉
You can use these ideas with books and supplies you already own. Printable packets are optional.
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.
Start by Choosing One or Two Books
When time is short, my first priority is choosing the books we’ll read together.
For two school days, I would choose no more than two main books. You can certainly read other books at naptime, bedtime, or throughout the day; I’m talking about the ones you’ll use during your planned school time.
I especially enjoy stories that give us something to talk about together:
- Why do you think the character made that choice?
- How are the character’s circumstances different from ours?
- What would have been difficult about living during that time?
- Which character would you choose to be in this book?
Nonfiction can work just as well, too. Choose according to your children’s interests and what you want them to learn.
Here are several vetted book choices from you can choose.
Thanksgiving Books for Younger Children – Preschool and Kindergarten
This is the Feast by Diane Z. Shore
The Story of the Pilgrims by Katherine Ross
Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story by Pat Zietlow Miller and Jill McElmurry
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin
Thanksgiving Books for Older Children – 1st through 5th Grades
The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern (I love Ann McGovern! Great non-fiction author for children)
Squanto’s Journey by Joseph Bruchac
…If you Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern
The Pilgrims Before the Mayflower (Library of the Pilgrims) by Susan Whitehurst – This one is out of print, but excellent!
The First Thanksgiving by Alice Dalgliesh and Helen Sewell
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
Christmas Books for Preschool and Kindergarten
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keates
The Friendly Beasts: an Old English Christmas Carol by Tomie dePaola
Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff
The Christmas Story by Jane Werner Watson and Eloise Wilkin
The Animals’ Christmas Eve: A Christmas Nativity Book for Kids by Gale Wiersum
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell
Christmas Books for Elementary Children and Family Read-Alouds
Good King Wenceslas by John M. Neale
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston and Barbara Cooney
Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck and Mark Buehner
The 12 Days of Christmas: The Story Behind a Favorite Christmas Song by Helen Haidle
The Christmas Tree Ship by Carol Crane and Chris Ellison
O Christmas Tree: Its History and Holiday Traditions by Jacqueline Farmer and Joanne Friar
Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble
The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden and Barbara Cooney
Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
Choose One Approach for Your Shorter Plan
The ideas below are choices. You do not need to do all of them! Please don’t, in fact! That would be way too much.
Read through the options, choose what fits your children, and write down your plan.
Option 1: Use Your Book for Writing and Vocabulary
You don’t need a printable packet to include writing or vocabulary in your holiday school.
Depending on your child’s abilities, you might:
- Choose a sentence or short passage from the book for copywork.
- Jot down unfamiliar words and look them up together.
- Have an older child write a definition and identify the part of speech.
- Practice spelling a few of the words.
- Ask questions about the story and discuss the answers.
- Have your child write an answer to one of those questions.
An oral answer is important, too. Asking a child to answer in a complete sentence gives practice in organizing a thought and expressing it clearly.
Choose the amount of writing that fits your child. A beginning writer might copy one sentence, while an older child may be ready for a longer passage.
Option 2: Read Nonfiction and Respond to It
For older elementary children, a nonfiction book can provide reading, discussion, and writing over two days.
One approach we’ve used is to have a child write a one-sentence observation about something from each page we read. It might be a new fact or something that particularly interested my child. Afterward, my son or daughter reads those notes aloud to me.
Adjust the amount to the book and your child’s writing ability. After all, you know your child and his abilities the best!
If the book includes a map, you could also use it for map work. We’ve traced maps and labeled the places related to our reading, which is always fun!
Option 3: Choose Just a Few Printable Activities
You can use a printable packet without the pressure of completing every page.
For example, you might choose two or three activities from the Pilgrims packet to go with your Thanksgiving reading. Print those selections and put the rest aside.
The same approach works for Christmas School. Choose a few pages that fit your books and your children’s skills.
Thanksgiving Printables for Preschool
Matching games and coloring pages give little ones something to work on while introducing words they’ll hear in your books. Take time to talk about the pictures and vocabulary together.
Thanksgiving Coloring Pages – Includes handwriting practice in a mini-booklet style
Thanksgiving Match Games – Two sets: one with picture labels and one without
Pumpkin Cutting Pages – Scissor skills practice
Thanksgiving Printables for Kindergarten and First Grade
My Thanksgiving worksheet packet includes phonics, math, and other activities. Choose the pages that fit the skills your child is practicing.
Handwriting pages and the Thanksgiving Writing Booklet with Picture Dictionary are other options to consider, depending on how much writing your child is ready to do.
Thanksgiving Worksheets for Kindergarten and 1st Grade – Includes phonics, math, and a few fun pages like Crack the Code
Thanksgiving Color by Number Pages – Simple color by number
I am Thankful Writing Pages – Several styles
Thanksgiving Vocabulary Word Wall File Folder –
Thanksgiving Writing Booklet with Picture Dictionary – Use the picture dictionary for sentence writing support
Pilgrim Handwriting Worksheets (print) – Includes 3 pages
Thanksgiving Printables for Second Through Fifth Grade
For a week focused on early American history, I would start by looking at the Pilgrims packet. It includes map work, vocabulary, art study, and activities related to the Mayflower Compact and Native American leaders.
You can adapt how your child responds. Discuss the art-study prompts aloud, for example, or use them for written composition with a child who is ready for that work.
Select a few activities that support your books and your goals for the week. You don’t have to complete an entire packet.
History of Thanksgiving Unit Study Worksheets – Several activities about the First Thanksgiving
Pilgrims at Plymouth Thanksgiving Worksheets – Includes 14 different activities
Thanksgiving ABC Order Cut and Paste – Set of 3 worksheets to sort vocabulary in ABC order
Thanksgiving Word Search Packet – Set of 4 worksheets of different themes
Thanksgiving Bar Graph Worksheets – Graph the data and the analyze with the prompts
Thanksgiving Directed Draw and Write Pages – Use the prompts to draw the picture; write a sentence using the word bank
Pilgrim Handwriting Worksheets (cursive) – Includes 3 pages
Thanksgiving Blank Writing Pages – Includes several different styles and writing lines
Christmas Printables for Preschool
For a Jesus-centered choice, start by looking at the J is for Jesus packet and Nativity coloring pages.
You’ll also find matching games, cutting practice, tracing, and other Christmas activities. Choose the ones your little ones are ready to use.
J is for Jesus Packet – Focus on the letter J; phonics and writing
Nativity Coloring Pages – All pictures focus on Jesus in a mini-booklet style
Christmas Hidden Pictures Worksheets – Hide and Seek!
Christmas Cutting Practice Pages – Scissor Skills practice
Christmas Matching Game – Play this Memory-style
12 Days of Christmas Coloring Pages – Full-sized coloring pages
Christmas Coloring Pages – Various Christmas items in a mini-booklet style
Christmas Tracing Lines – Trace the lines and the letters
Christmas Printables for Kindergarten and First Grade
The Nativity Kindergarten and First Grade packet includes phonics and math activities centered on the birth of Christ.
Picture labeling and vocabulary activities offer other ways to practice early reading and writing. The Christmas tree sequencing packets can also fit alongside your books and family activities.
Nativity Worksheets for Kindergarten and 1st Grade – Variety of math and phonics activities
Nativity Label the Picture Pages – Cut and Paste or write-in using the word bank
CHRISTmas File Folder Vocabulary Activities – These are fun! Several phonics activities
How to Buy a Christmas Tree Sequencing Activities Packet – – A variety of activities: cut and paste, etc.
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree Sequencing Packet
How to Wrap a Gift Sequencing Packet –
How to Bake Cookies Sequencing Packet –
Christmas Color by Number Worksheets – Simple color by number
Christmas Directed Draw and Write Worksheets – Draw the picture using the prompts
Christmas Printables for Second Through Fifth Grade
The Birth of Jesus crossword puzzles are an activity my children and I have enjoyed doing together many times over. They involve looking up Scripture, so have a Bible nearby as you work.
Print and cursive Nativity handwriting activities are another option. For children interested in Christmas traditions, the Christmas history worksheets pair well with O Christmas Tree: Its History and Holiday Traditions.
Birth of Jesus Crossword Puzzles – You will need a Bible to complete these!
Nativity Words and Phrases – Print and cursive
Christmas ABC Order Worksheets – Cut and paste the words in the correct ABC order
Christmas Word Search Packet – Set of 3
Christmas Worksheets – Multiple activities that focus on the history of Christmas
Option 4: Set Aside Two Days for a Focused Study
Some years, we’ve paused our regular subjects and used our school time for one holiday study.
In that situation, we’ve been able to use more of the Pilgrims packet over two days, along with our reading and discussion.
This is a different choice from adding a few Thanksgiving activities to a full day of regular lessons. Look at the time you actually have and decide how much work fits comfortably.
Another Choice: Read a Little Each Day
You may find that setting aside one or two whole days doesn’t fit your schedule at all.
Instead, consider reading a short chapter together each morning leading up to Thanksgiving or Christmas. Talk about it for a few minutes, then continue with your day.
We did this for several years as our Plus One after Bible time, and it worked really well! We stayed in the Christmas spirit and continued with our regular studies that needed our attention. There wasn’t a large stack of fun printables or an activity planned—just a book we enjoyed reading together.
These are a few books I’ve used or suggested for that approach.
Pilgrim Stories by Margaret Pumphrey
We’ve read one or two of these stories at a time during our morning reading. A book with short chapters lets you include Thanksgiving reading without setting aside a separate school week.
🦃 See Pilgrim Stories by Margaret Pumphrey here
The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon
This Christmas story offers another option for reading a chapter each day and talking about the story together. I suggest considering it for second grade and up, depending on your children. A very sweet story!
🎄 See The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon here
Professor Carol’s Journey Through Advent by Dr. Carol Reynolds
This book includes essays on Christmas music, art, and traditions. We’ve enjoyed learning about the customs and symbols associated with the season.
It is another option to consider for older children when you want to read and discuss a little each day.
✝️ See Professor Carol’s Journey Through Advent by Dr. Carol Reynolds
Read Aloud While Your Children Make Something
Another possibility is to spend a morning reading while your children work on a simple activity.
You could make paper-chain garland for the schoolroom, for example, while reading a Christmas story aloud. This is one of our favorite traditions!
You don’t need to add a writing assignment afterward. The reading, conversation, and time together can be your plan for that morning! And that’s plenty.
🎄 See the Christmas activity ideas in this post
Write Down Your Plan and Gather Your Materials
Once you’ve chosen an approach, make a few notes so you don’t have to make the same decisions again.
Write down:
- The one or two books you’ll use.
- When you plan to read them.
- Any pages you need to print.
- Any writing prompts or vocabulary words you want to prepare.
- Any supplies needed for your chosen activity.
Gather the materials in a folder, basket, or box you already have. If you can’t finish preparing in one sitting, leave yourself a note about what remains. I am so happy with myself when I find a note that I’ve left telling myself where I need to start next!
A Small Plan Is Enough
If this is a heavy season for your family, give yourself room and grace to do less.
One book and one activity can be your Thanksgiving or Christmas School. Reading a chapter together each morning can be your plan, too. It truly does not have to be elaborate or Instagram-worthy to make wonderful memories with your children.
Simple is almost always best.
Choose what you can reasonably prepare and enjoy with your children. My hope and prayer is that this series helps you make those decisions and have your materials ready when you need them. ❤️
You’ve done it, Mamas! You’ve decided you can only do a one or two day Thanksgiving or Christmas School and you’ve got it all prepped and planned!
I am so proud of you!
Do you have questions? Just leave a comment and I’ll read and reply to every one! ❤️
xo,
Lauren
Return to the Holiday Planning Lessons
🦃 Plan Your Thanksgiving School
⭐ Return to the Holiday Homeschool Planning series
How to Plan Christmas School: Books, Printables, and Activities
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