Kids
love to learn. God made them this way. Their hearts are wide open - ready
to receive. Yet for many kids, their learning hearts close by the time that
they get to high school because of the way that they have been forced
to learn.
However homeschoolers….
here is the good news (drum roll)…learning does not have to be that way.
As homeschoolers, the whole world is at our fingertips. Learning can be fun.
Through natural play, story, song, dance, art-making, building, creativity,
active adventure seeking, and question-asking children can learn while being
who they were created to be…children. Parent- teachers can also
love watching their kids learn and let their homeschools be guided by a personal
relationship with God and by the unique gifts He has given to each one of
them.
Here are just a few examples of how I have been led to homeschool…
LANGUAGE LUNCHES:
Our lunches are Spanish lunches. I put on the "Red Hat" and our special guest - La Mujer in Roja (The Lady in Red) joins us for lunch. We speak Spanish and often times sing Spanish songs together. So if you speak another language or even know just a little bit, share it with your children!
MATH GAMES:
Number Bean Bag Toss - We turned an old washers game into a fun numbers game for all ages. The game can be used to learn number identification, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division…and it is fun. Here's how you can do it too…
Using cardboard, make a number grid and place it inside the washers board or use a permanent marker and draw directly on the washers board itself (see picture).
For number identification: Preschooler throws bean bags into washers board and identifies the number that it lands on.
For addition or multiplication: Choose a number to play up to - we usually pick 200 for addition and 350 for multiplication. Each person takes a turn tossing 2 bean bags into the board and adds up or multiplies his or her score. The first to get to the number goal wins.
For subtraction and division: Choose a number to start with - for subtraction we usually pick 200 and for division we usually pick 350. Each player takes turns tossing one bean bag onto the washers board and then subtracts or divides that number from the starting score. The first to get to zero wins.
If you do not want to purchase a washers game, the same game can be made by drawing number squares on cement using side walk chalk or by making squares out of cardboard or foam board. My kids of all ages - from preschool to preteen love this game.
Hide and Seek Math Problems- My kids enjoy cutting out math problems from a work book and hiding them around the house for each other. They then see how quickly they can find the math problems and compute them.
WRITING ADVENTURES:
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
The kids write for the Schaefer Family Times. When an interesting or exciting event occurs, they like to make a newspaper for dad telling him all about it. They create their own articles, illustrations or comic strips to share the "big event". Newspapers have also been made to share our month with long distant relatives. The kids add photographs, weather reports, stories, and drawings.
Mail Boxes - My kids have mail boxes on their bedroom doors. They write each other letters, give gifts or draw surprise pictures for one another and put them in the mail boxes.
Mail boxes can also be incorporated into character building exercises. For example, when a child hurts a siblings feelings, they can choose to write an apology, a love letter, make a gift, or draw a picture and put it in the others mail box. This encourages saying sorry, receiving forgiveness and turning a mean action into an act of love.
These are just a few of the fun ways that we have been led to learn. For more, look for my upcoming books:
Spirit Led Learning:
Let the Holy Spirit Lead your Homeschool
and Put More Mary into your Martha Homeschool: Spiritual
exercises for Homeschool Moms
