92: Using the 15-Minute Music Method for Christmas School in Your Homeschool

What if December in your homeschool could feel peaceful, meaningful, and beautifully simple?
In this episode of the Music in Our Homeschool podcast, Gena Mayo shares exactly how to use her signature 15-Minute Music Method to build a calm, joy-filled Christmas School rhythm for your family. If December often feels chaotic—with performances, events, shopping, and disrupted routines—this episode will show you a better way.

Gena explains what Christmas School is, why it works so well for homeschool families, and how shifting your learning rhythm for a few weeks can actually deepen connection and spark more meaningful learning. She also walks you through her favorite resources for a rich, low-prep December:

• Music of Christmas (three full years of lessons)
• Christmas Musicals Mini Course
• Christmas Carols Made Easy
• Fine Art Pages: Christmas, Adoration of the Magi, and Nativity Through the Ages

You’ll learn how to structure a simple four-week plan, how to combine music and art to create a beautiful atmosphere, and why 15 minutes a day is enough to make December both manageable and memorable. Gena also shares personal stories from her early homeschooling years and a short Scripture reflection to encourage you as you approach Advent and Christmas.

Whether you want an easy Morning Time plan, need something meaningful for busy December days, or simply want to bring more beauty into your home, this episode will help you create a Christmas School you truly look forward to.

Find links to all resources mentioned in this episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/15-minute-music-method-christmas-school/ 

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Transcript

E92 Using the 15-Minute Music Method for Christmas School

Speaker: [00:00:00] Hello, Harmony Heroes, and welcome back to the Music in Our Homeschool podcast. I'm your host, Gena Mayo, and I am so glad you're here today because we're talking about one of my very favorite homeschool traditions, Christmas School, and how you can use my 15-Minute Music Method to make it the most peaceful, joy-filled, and meaningful December you've ever had in your homeschool.

Now, if you've been homeschooling for any length of time, you probably know that December can feel like a lot. The excitement, the performances, the shopping lists, the parties and extra events. Sometimes it all adds up, and the regular homeschool rhythm feels impossible to keep up with.

That's exactly where Christmas School comes in. It's when homeschooling families take a break from their usual subjects for a few weeks and replace them with activities that still teach, but in a more [00:01:00] festive, relaxed way. Things like Christmas crafts, baking, poetry, advent studies, reading aloud favorite stories by the fire, and of course, music and art.

And that's where my 15-Minute Music Method really shines.

It's about keeping things simple, doable, and consistent, 15 minutes a day that spark joy, nurture creativity, and teach rich content without stress. So today I'm going to show you exactly how to use the 15-Minute Music Method to build your very own Christmas School plan, and I'll share some of my favorite Christmas courses and Fine Art Pages that fit beautifully into it.

Let's start with the why. Years ago, when I was homeschooling all eight of my kids, December used to be one of those months I dreaded. I wanted it to be peaceful and full of meaning. But in reality, it [00:02:00] was usually chaotic, half-finished math lessons, cranky kids, and a very tired mom.

And then one December, I finally gave myself permission to pause. We stopped the regular curriculum, turned on some Christmas music, and spent the morning reading Jotham's Journey. It was magical. That's when I realized that learning doesn't have to stop in December. It can just change shape. It can become gentler, slower, and more relational, and that's really the spirit of the 15-Minute Music Method.

Fifteen minutes doesn't sound like much, but it's amazing what happens when you show up with consistency and intention. It becomes a habit, a rhythm, and before long, your kids are learning so much without even realizing it. That's what I want for your Christmas School. A time to reconnect, reflect, and rejoice.

 If you're new to Christmas School, the [00:03:00] very best place to begin is with my all-time favorite course, Music of Christmas. This course actually has three years' worth of lessons, so you can rotate it and never repeat the same content two years in a row.

Speaker: Year one is called Christmas Music Lessons. It introduces your kids to classic carol's, beloved Christmas songs, and beautiful instrumental works. Think the Nutcracker Suite, Handel's Messiah, O Holy Night, and Carol of the Bells, as well as White Christmas, Joy to the World, Sleigh Ride, Frosty the Snowman, and Mary, Did You Know. Each lesson includes video, so you don't have to search for anything. It's perfect for Morning Time or for an afternoon wind-down.

Year two in Music of Christmas is about Christmas traditions around the world. This one's especially fun if you [00:04:00] have kids who love geography or other cultures. Each lesson highlights how a different country celebrates Christmas through its own music and traditions. You'll visit places like Australia, China, Russia, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Egypt, Israel, Brazil, and Mexico.

And year three is called Lessons and Carols. This takes inspiration from the traditional English service. Each lesson pairs Scripture with a carol and a related piece of art. It's gentle, worshipful, and deeply meaningful. Perfect for Advent or the week before Christmas.

If you want your Christmas School to have structure but still be simple, this one course could fill your entire December. Fifteen minutes a day is truly all you need.

Now, if your kids [00:05:00] are like mine, they might start to get a little restless mid-December, and that's when it's time to add something fresh and fun. Enter the Christmas Musicals Mini Course. This course dives into three musicals with a Christmas theme: A Christmas Carol, the Musical; Elf, The Musical; And Irving. And Irving Beli and Irving Berlin's White Christmas. You'll explore their stories, the composers, the songs, and the musical concepts behind them. I like to think of this one as your holiday movie week. You can watch clips together, talk about what makes the songs memorable, and compare the musical storytelling to versions of the movies you already know.

One of my favorite things about White Christmas is how it connects generations. I still remember it, watching it as a girl, the costumes, the incredible dancing, and Bing Crosby's smooth voice singing, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." Now I've shared it [00:06:00] with my own kids and it's become a family favorite.

Christmas Musical Mini Course encourages exactly that, connecting through music, story, and tradition. And again, it fits the 15-Minute Music Method perfectly. You can do one musical per week and still keep things light and easy.

If you'd like your kids to make some music this season, I recommend adding in Christmas Carols Made Easy. This course is best for ages nine and up, and it teaches 11 classic Christmas carols, each with sheet music, demonstration audios and videos, instrumental accompaniments, and even harmony parts for group singing.

You can use it as part of your family worship time or in a homeschool co-op gathering. This course helps make that possible even if you don't play an instrument or read music. It's approachable, simple, and of course, fits beautifully into a 15-minute [00:07:00] lesson.

Now let's talk about art because music and art together tell the whole story of Christmas. My Fine Art Pages are designed to make art appreciation completely stress-free. You simply print them, display them, and enjoy them. No prep, no lessons to read, no quizzes to grade.

For Christmas School, there are three sets that pair perfectly with the season. Fine Art Pages: Christmas. This set includes seven holiday-themed artworks from nativity scenes to family celebrations. Artists like Ruben's and Carl Larsson capture the warmth and wonder of the season beautifully.

Fine Art Pages: Adoration of the Magi is a set that focuses on the biblical moment when the Wise Men visit Jesus. You'll see how different artists across the centuries portrayed the same sacred story with gold, light, and reverence.

And Fine Art Pages: Nativity Through the Ages [00:08:00] is one of my personal favorites. It includes 20 historical depictions of the nativity from the 1300s to the early 1900s. I love seeing how each artist reflects their own time period, culture, and theology through color, composition, and expression.

Displaying these Fine Art Pages during December is an easy way to surround your family with beauty and remind everyone what the season is truly about. You can talk about one piece per week, or simply hang them all around your home and let them spark conversation naturally. That's the beauty of the 15-Minute Music Method. It's flexible enough to work around your life and not the other way around.

So how do you actually use all of these tools during Christmas School? Here's a simple example of how you could plan out your four weeks in December.

Week one: Use Music [00:09:00] of Christmas "Christmas Music Lessons" plus Fine Art Pages: Christmas.

Week Two: Use Music of Christmas "Traditions Around the World" plus Fine Art Pages: Adoration of the Magi.

Week three: Use Christmas Musicals Mini Course, one of the musicals, plus Fine Art Pages: Nativity Through the Ages.

And week four, use Christmas Carol Made Easy and then sing the new songs you've learned at your family Christmas party.

Each day, just spend about 15 minutes. Some days might be more listening and observing. Other days we'll be more active with singing. The goal isn't to finish everything. It's to fill your home with beauty, joy, and peace. And honestly, you can use these resources year after year, mixing them up in new ways each time.

Christmas School isn't just about festive activities; it's about [00:10:00] remembering. In Luke 2: 10-11, the angel says to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Messiah, the Lord."

This verse captures everything I want Your Christmas School to be: joyful, peaceful, centered on the good news of Christ. Music and art help us feel that message, not just understand it. When your kids sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" or gaze at a painting of the nativity, they're experiencing the gospel in ways that words alone can't express.

So as you build your Christmas School this year, I encourage you to let music and art lead you back to that wonder. If you're ready to make December simple and beautiful, here's what to do next. Choose one or two of the resources I mentioned today. Head over to the accompanying blog post to see all the links.

Don't [00:11:00] overthink it. Just remember, 15 minutes a day is all you really need. Choose some Fine Art Pages to print out and put up on the fridge. Pick a consistent time, maybe Morning Time or after lunch or even right before bed, and make your Christmas School music and art a part of your daily rhythm.

Invite your kids into the process. Ask what songs they'd like to learn or which paintings they love the most. You'll be amazed at how much these small moments will add up. Christmas School is your permission slip to slow down and savor the season. You don't have to do everything. You just have to do the right little things consistently, joyfully, and together.

If you'd like to explore all the Christmas resources I mentioned today, find them linked up in the show notes or description. You'll see Music of Christmas, Christmas Musicals Mini Course, Christmas Carol Made Easy. And the three Fine Art Pages sets all ready for [00:12:00] instant access, so you can start your Christmas School even tomorrow if you want to.

And remember whether you study "O Holy Night," or watch White Christmas, sing as a family, or admire a Renaissance nativity painting , every one of these moments becomes a part of your family's Christmas story. So take 15 minutes, press play, and go. Merry Christmas, my friends, and I'll see you next time on the Music in Our Homeschool podcast. 

Find links to all resources mentioned in this episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/15-minute-music-method-christmas-school/