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Teaching during the holidays...

If you are like most folks, we have a three-day school week ahead of us since (as always), Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday. Christmas is on a Wednesday this year, so the same thing will happen next month. In a nutshell, you want to do a whole week's worth of schoolwork in a couple of days. It can be done; I assure you.Begin by looking at your unit study; for most of you on this mailing list, this is Tapestry of Grace. What is your history topic and the weekly learning goal? Consider meeting your learning objectives in a different way during your shortened week.

• How about watching an educational DVD about the topic? These are interesting and definitely provide a change of pace. Check out your library, or your video streaming service for some options.

• Instead of having your kids read everything independently, read from the middle student's books only. Take turns reading aloud. You can even make your dressing or cranberry salad at the same time!

• Whichever you choose, discuss as you go rather than at your regularly scheduled time.

Your literature assignments are a bit different in that there are usually still terms to learn and maybe even a plot diagram or character chart to work through. You could still use a video or reading aloud to get through the assignments for younger students, but rhetoric students will be more challenged. Consult your curriculum for tips on shortening that will work best.In terms of subjects like math, spelling, grammar, and science, just double up Monday and Tuesday, and do the normal Friday assignment on Wednesday.This is how we conducted our homeschool every holiday for many years and it worked! It also gave me less stress as we were preparing for travel or company.

We have lots of goodies coming up for you, so be sure to follow us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are all a part of the beginning of our Twelve Days of Christmas!

We want lots of people to get in on the shopping bargains, so we are giving away three copies of Gift of Peace. All you have to do is upload to social media a picture of you and/or your kids reading a book from Bookshelf Central. Tag us by typing @BookshelfCentral and also use the hashtag #mybookshelfcentral. And yes, you can enter daily as long as the pictures are different.On Tuesday, November 26, we will choose three winners and your name might be one of them!

Check us out on Amazon. We've got lots of kids' books, historical fiction, Bibles, Bible studies, and more!