I've been feverishly working on reorganizing our schoolroom.  It's almost finished - quite a task with a 7 month old!  As I was putting some things away in my new-to-me $5.00 yard sale filing cabinet, I thought I might share how I keep up with the seasons and holidays during our school year.

I hear these two questions a lot:  "How do you remember to plan fun activities for the seasons and holidays?"  and  "How do you fit seasonal things in with the rest of your curriculum?"

Question #1:  I keep seasonal and holiday folders in the filing cabinet.  If I find a good idea from a magazine, I rip it out and put it in the appropriate folder.  If I find a good idea on the internet, I copy it and put it in the folder.  If I see or hear about a good idea, I write it down and put it in the folder.  When the season or holiday is upon us, I pull out the folder I need and pick a few things to add to my lesson plans. 

Question #2:  My children will only be little once.  I want to create a sense of joy and excitement about God's seasons and special holidays while they're young, so they will always feel a tingle of excitement about them, even as adults.  I fit these sorts of things in as part of my curriculum, not on top of everything else.  Remember, it's okay to do things that stray away from the "regular" curriculum.  So much of the "fun stuff" covers many subject areas anyway.

For example, the Thanksgiving folder above is open and showing a turkey "glyph" activity.  Completing these fun turkeys requires mapping/graphing skills, decision making, crafting, reading and writing.  Who could ask for anything better?  Getting my kids to do all those things without realizing they're working and learning is priceless!

I've also run across many holiday-based Bible studies that I keep in these folders, too.  When I'm looking through the folders and making plans, I can be preparing to add appropriate Bible study lessons for the upcoming holiday, too. 

Upcoming seasonal things to think about - apples, pumpkins, sunflowers, Labor Day, Grandparents Day, autumn, Columbus Day.....