Think back to Christmas when you were a kid. Remember how excited you were as you counted down the days until Christmas eve when Santa would arrive?

You probably remember all the sights leading up to the holidays – the twinkling lights, the wonderful scents, visiting friends and family, dinner parties, cookies and treats galore and classic Christmas songs at home, at school, in the stores and even in the streets.

Hearing those old carols from years past can sure trigg6er a stroll down memory lane at Christmas time, can’t they? Today, children all over the world still love those same tunes and the same Christmas specials and they too will have fond memories to share with the next generation of children.

Here are a few of my own favorites:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was and is still one of everyone’s favorites. Remember how happy you were when Rudolph triumphed and ending up saving Christmas by helping Santa Claus guide the sleigh safely through the night? It was the one thing that made him different that also made him a hero.

Another one? Frosty the Snowman had us all imagining dancing with Frosty in the playground, in the streets, and at the train station. We’d singing happily about having fun just like Frosty suggested. Thumpity-thump-thump, thumpity-thump-thump, way more than just a song. In our childish imaginations, Frosty was real and we all delighted in hearing a song about him or watched him on television.

Another favorite is the catchy tune of Jingle Bells even though most kids these days can’t relate to a sleigh or horses. But one that they will be able to understand and be affected by (at least most of the children I know are) is Santa Claus is Coming to Town – many small children learn how to control themselves during the crazy holiday season based on the words of that song! We wanted to be on his list – the nice side not the naughty.

As for being nice during the season or good, another old time favorite is the Chipmunks singing their Christmas Don’t Be Late song.

As for me, I did have one particular favorite – being the poor kid in the county with a love for animals I really related to The Little Drummer Boy. Rum-pa-pa-pum.

Well that was a fun walk down memory lane. I sang them, taught them to my daughter and one day she’ll share them all with her child. And after all, isn’t that one of the wonderful parts of Christmas – passing on traditions in a very un-traditional world these days – and creating new memories of this cherished holiday with loved ones.

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But maybe you’re just beginning your Christmas holidays as a family and you don’t really have any traditions of your own yet. There are many popular traditions that you can pick from and make them a part of your own holiday traditions. There are traditions that are suitable for any age group.

One favorite holiday tradition in many families is making Christmas cards to send out. You can choose to send cards personalized with your own family photo and a poem or a few lines telling the receiver what they mean to you. If you don’t have the time to make Christmas cards, you can get store bought ones and add your own touch to them.

Family photos for Christmas are another age old tradition. Start today and have memories to share forever.

Another well-known holiday tradition is attending a church event together. Many churches have Christmas Eve services that are beautiful with all the decorations and the soft glow of candlelight. Many churches choose to pass on the live poinsettias they use in decorations on to the people who attend the service.

Young children can write letters to Santa and take it to the local post office. Some post offices have a special box set up just for letters from Santa. Kids can also get involved in decorating the Christmas tree and as you hang the ornaments on the tree, if there’s no history behind the ornaments, you can share bits of your history with your child or talk about the meaning of Christmas.

Putting up the tree can become a time of sharing conversation that children look forward to. You can start a tradition of listening to certain songs as you put up the tree. One family listened to Bing Crosby Christmas songs while putting up their tree over forty ago, then their grown children kept up the tradition and later passed it on to their children.

A well received tradition is the practice of dining by candlelight on Christmas Eve and afterward, each family member opens one gift. You’ll want to set aside a particular gift on Christmas Eve so that you’re not digging through the piles of gifts to find it.

After the gifts are open, gather together to sing Christmas songs. Christmas is filled with anticipation of the coming day and the days leading up to it should be celebrated just as much as the day is.

Most cities have Christmas parades or Christmas music shows that residents can attend. Make it a habit to attend one every year. The night before Christmas, begin the tradition of reading a Christmas book, sharing the Christmas story, or watching a much loved Christmas movie together. Whatever traditions you decide to incorporate into your family, you’ll be glad you did. It’ll make the holidays more meaningful and give everyone something to look forward to.

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"Factory educations" — traditional schools — are said to be ruining our children’s minds.

A forced curricula, the stress of constant testing (therefore labeling) and imposing our interests over a child’s personal interests are killing our children’s natural curiosity about the world and it’s workings.

And don’t get a home schooling parent started on socialization concerns! Unless you want to hear about how children are raising each other – with all their bad habits and rudeness – in schools.

No where else in modern society does peer-to-peer interaction exist on such an extreme scale then in our grade and high schools. Look around your workplace? Is everyone else your age and struggling with the same challenges? Can you imagine the mess of your company if they were?

Schools do not prepare our children for life socially by any stretch of the imagination – they just allow our children to pick up other children’s bad habits and teach them to say "Well, Johnny’s allowed…" or "Susie did it…"

Benefits of Home Schooling Your Child

Home-schooling, on the other hand, has been proven to instill responsibility, creativity and curiosity — three traits that will serve your child well as adults and set them up for success later in life.

One Step Further Away From Traditional Schooling

To take our children further from the classroom we move into the realm of "un-schooling" or "de-schooling" – these provide the maximum benefit to raising healthy children that turn into healthy adults. Although not as popular as the home-schooling movement, de-schooling is gaining ground.

Here we benefit our children most — allowing them to study, research, explore what ‘moves them’. If you’ve heard the term "child-directed learning", and the wonders that the approach has created, you’ve been hearing about de-schooling.

Check out the home schooling resources if you want to do some more research online.

One of the best places to start your journey into learning about the effects of home schooling vs. public schooling, home schooling ideas and alternatives is through the author and pioneer in the industry – John Holt.

Laura Childs
This article was originally published on GoodByeCityLife.com in 1998

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Socialization is hailed by public school supports as the greatest advantage to typical schooling. Yet this is the place where some of the worst habits and insecurities are picked up by our children!

Public school supporters say that school is the place where a child picks up the rudiments of social skills that will help him survive later in life. Yet in truth, a regular school attending girl or boy can interact only with his peers. He or she may bully younger children or fear older ones. He or she does not know how to interact authentically with an adult.

These are just two of many reasons public schools do not service our children’s social capabilities well. In the school environment our boys and girls are interacting only with their peers.

On the other side, home schooling environments bring in a more natural social environment.

Public Schooling is Unnatural Learning

There is no other time in a person’s life where they are forced to interact only with people their own age. It is completely unnatural. Therefore the ’social’ stigma of non home schooling parents is eradicated.

A regular schooled child cannot read literature, keep silent, or think in depth about any one topic. This artificial education style, imposed upon him by the school, disallows quiet contemplation. Rowdy and destructive behavior from peers as well as perpetual noise from the teachers, are far too common.

There is little long-standing knowledge among regular school goers because most facts are learnt solely for the exam. There is no association of these facts with everyday life. The child may know a lot, but understands very little when the time arrives to be functional in society. This is where the home schooling families excel. Ultimately, homeschoolers emerge more adept at facing the outside world.

Is Home Schooling Legal?

As I write this, home schooling is legal in all 50 States of the U.S. as well as Canada. However laws and regulations regarding home schooling vary from state to state, province to province. Furthermore, interpretations of these laws can vary from one school district to the next. These laws are often changed and revised on a regular basis.

I might suggest checking out state laws regarding home schooling before you begin to educate your sons and daughters at home to prevent any surprises by the authorities.

Who Is the Home Schooling Teacher?

The teacher is the key to the success in home schooling. In most cases, the teacher is a parent or relative. In some cases, parents divide the subjects between them, hire a home school teacher, or join a group of homeschoolers in their area and pool their resources between families. Whatever your situation, children need time with their parents. Parents, as a rule, make very good teachers for their home schooled children.

Teaching does not require a degree nor does the style require a clinical presentation of facts. Learning has to be integrated lovingly into daily life for it to interest the child. If you feel anxious about your skill or knowledge, relax.

You Are Not Alone in Home Schooling

There are countless home-schooling resources that are aimed at helping you. Professional curriculum packages, support groups, online help via websites, virtual schools and library resources are all available resources to the home schooling family. When you start out, you may want to make use of the commercial curriculum packages. Specialized software allows you to record and log important achievements and lessons learned.

Laura Childs
Another Home Schooling Mom

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