Homeschooled for the Holidays: Tips to Cultivate Thankfulness

The holiday season is always hectic for a homeschool family. Family visits, decorating, cooking meals, gift shopping, and travel plans generate lots of opportunities for stress, frustration, and anarchy. As we approach Thanksgiving, it’s important to keep the focus on what really matters. Let’s look at four ways to remain thankful in this busy time of year.

1. Spend time in prayer daily. This may sound like a platitude, but it will help. Making prayer a priority sets your attention on God, not on the hectic activities around you. It allows you to focus on being grateful for the blessings he has given to you, taking a step back from the inevitable needs of the moment. It also sets a good example for your children about how they should behave.
2. Practice gratitude. Again, this seems cliché, but practicing gratitude yourself sets a good example for your children. You undoubtedly want them to be thankful, both to their relatives and friends for the kindnesses they show, and to God for his goodness to them. So be thankful yourself. Take time around the dinner table, during the school day, or at any time, to ask your children what they are thankful for. You may need to direct them a bit the first time or two, but they will catch on fast, and eventually they might surprise you. Be sure to encourage them to thank God for the things they have.
3. Focus on the positive. In this hectic season, it is easy for things to happen that threaten to derail the idyllic experience we imagine for the holidays. Find, focus on, and give thanks for the silver lining. In almost every situation, there is something to be thankful for. And even if you find yourself as Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail, find a way to sing praises to God anyway. That may not be easy. In fact, it almost certainly will not be. But the lesson you teach your children in that situation will not be forgotten.
4. List your blessings. This one is so cliché that there is even a hymn titled “Count Your Blessings,” but it works. If you start verbally reciting, or better still, writing down your blessings, it is difficult to avoid coming to the conclusion that you have been blessed. It is also an effective remedy for complaining. If your child complains a lot, have them write down a list of blessings. For younger children, you may need to help them a bit. Because God is abundantly good, it will be nearly impossible to remain angry as the list of blessings piles up.

In a time of year when life is busy and stress mounts, try to remain focused on the goodness of God and the gifts that are from him. Even in the worst of times, God is still good, and we have much to be thankful for.