Thanksgiving & Christmas Traditions + Simple Cycle 2 Review Ideas

As we head into Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I love the slower pace that naturally settles into our home. These weeks feel like a gift. It’s a time to pause, review what my kids have learned so far this year, and focus our hearts on the story of Jesus’ birth.

In this post I’m sharing some of the simple but meaningful activities we’re doing together as we take a break from new memory work and enjoy the holiday season.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Thanksgiving Week: Learning the Story Behind the Holiday

During Thanksgiving week, we’ll be using our new Thanksgiving placemats at the table each day. My kids love coloring while we talk through the history of Thanksgiving: who the Wampanoag were, how the Pilgrims lived, and why we still celebrate this holiday today.

These little conversations over meals help my kids understand what Thanksgiving is really about and where it came from. You can grab this set of 2 Thanksgiving Placemats from my shop below!

We’ve also been enjoying the skip-counting pies I made for Weeks 1–12 of Cycle 2. The girls love putting each pie together while dreaming about the real pies we’ll bake and eat over the holidays. It’s such a fun, hands-on way to review math without feeling like “school.” You can grab these for FREE to use with your kids from my Resource Library.

A Fun November Project: Making a Planets Mobile

Earlier this month, we created a planets mobile as a way to review what we’ve learned in Cycle 2 science.
The kids colored each planet, added a fun fact underneath, and hung them all from their mobile. It turned into the sweetest decoration for their bedrooms, and they loved reviewing the planets in such a creative way.

If your kids would enjoy this too, you can grab the detailed instructions and planet printables to make your own!

Beginning in December: Focusing on Jesus’ Birth

December 1st begins one of my favorite rhythms of the whole year. Each morning, I read a portion of the Christmas story straight from my Bible, and the kids complete the matching activity page in the Christmas Activity Book I created for them. I also read the corresponding Bible story from our Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible.

Since my children are still young, I like to keep things simple: just God’s Word, read slowly, and a quiet hands-on activity that helps them listen and stay engaged.

This Christmas Activity book has 12 different activity pages that go along with the story of Jesus’ birth. You can grab one for FREE HERE! I would love to share it with you!!

Our Wrapped Christmas Book Tradition

One of our most beloved traditions is wrapping all our Christmas picture books and placing them under the Christmas tree. Starting December 1st, my kids open one book each day for us to read together.

So many of these come from our Christmas Picture Booklist. I have compiled a list of my 30 all-time favorite Christmas books, with descriptions about each one.

You can also get a printable version of the list to take to your library or have for reference. Get the printable list below!

My girls look forward to unwrapping a new book each morning, and this has become one of our very favorite Christmas traditions!

Using the Star From Afar

Another Christmas tradition I love to do with my kids is using this Christmas Advent Calendar and Playset. I let my children set up the nativity scene on our kitchen table and I love that it’s not breakable. Each morning in December, I hide the star and when my children come downstairs, they try to find it. When they find it, they put it back with the nativity scene and we read part of the book, A Star from Afar (comes with this nativity set) together.

This game is similar to The Elf on a Shelf, but I love that it is centered around the nativity scene and focuses on Jesus.

Cycle 2 Weeks 1–12 Review: Keeping It Light and Fun

Now that we’ve wrapped up Week 12, we’re shifting into a few weeks of gentle review before starting the second semester in January.

This year we’re using my Cycle 2 Weeks 1–12 Review Activity Book, which includes 50 hands-on activities covering:

• Geography
• History
• Science
• Math
• English
• Latin
• Timeline

Each page reinforces memory work while encouraging deeper connections and confidence. My kids love working through the activities, and it gives us a wonderful structure for reviewing what we’ve learned while still enjoying the slower days at home.

You can find the Cycle 2 Weeks 1–12 Review Activity Book in my shop below!

Memory Work Wonderland (Christmas Edition)

My girls love playing Memory Work Wonderland, a Christmas-themed review game (since Christmas is coming soon!). It works just like Candyland, but with the addition of memory work review built in. Players move along the board by drawing cards with color blocks or picture spaces, then answer a review question that matches the space they land on. Correct answers let them stay put, but if they miss, they move back. The game also includes fun twists with slides and ladders to keep things lively. The first player to reach the cozy Christmas cabin wins!

The best part is that I now have a fall version, a winter version, and a spring version, so you can rotate them throughout the school year. You can grab each one individually, or get the seasonal bundle with all three at a special price.

These games work for all three cycles and have been such a hit in our home. They are perfect for community review days, family game nights, or just a fun way to end your homeschool week. You can find them all in my shop below.

Our New Cycle 2 “Historyopoly” Game

Another game we’ve been enjoying is our NEW Cycle 2 Historyopoly game, which has quickly become a favorite in our home. It’s modeled after Monopoly but uses all of the Cycle 2 history sentences. My girls love rolling the dice, moving around the board, and reviewing history facts as we play.

It turns history review into something exciting, and I know we’ll be pulling it out many more times this year.
You can grab this NEW game below!

Christmas Ornament Skip Counting Review!

For our last week of community this semester, I put together a simple spur-of-the-moment activity that turned out to be such a hit! The kids got to decorate their own Christmas ornaments and then practice skip counting by organizing the ornaments onto their little Christmas trees. My girls loved it so much that we made extra trees at home, too!

It’s a cheerful, festive way to reinforce skip counting. Perfect for wiggly little learners who enjoy hands-on fun. I created ornament sets for skip counting by 2s all the way through 9s, so you can use whichever ones your child is working on.

You can grab this activity for FREE to use in your community group or at home with your kids below!

Why We Review During Break

Regular review is so important in the grammar stage. It keeps information fresh and helps children retain what they’ve learned once we pick back up in January.

But during the holidays, I like to keep things light, playful, and simple. A few fun activities each day is all it takes to help their knowledge deepen and stick.

How Are You Spending Your Holiday Break?

Do you have special traditions you’re excited to share with your kids this year?
What does review look like in your home during the first semester break?

I’d love to hear in the comments below!