Making Homeschool Fun and Memorable

Homeschooling. It's taken on a whole new meaning these days, hasn't it? I know this wasn't the plan for many families, but for one reason or another, it might be the new reality for the upcoming school year. Both my husband and I were homeschooled the whole way through, so it seemed the natural course to take when we had children. It's true, not a whole lot has changed for us, aside from now it's even less out of the ordinary than a year ago. This fall Natasha is headed into 5th grade (what?!) and Lincoln is doing preschool.  

I want our learning to be done everywhere we go, but especially to be fun and memorable if possible. My kids might not remember every detail of every world history event, but if they remember the feeling of snuggling up on a winter day reading together, that's success in my mind. (It wouldn't hurt if they kinda know the gist of the bigger moments of history too.) 

Here are a few of my favorite ways to make schooling memorable, beautiful and hopefully fun. 

For Mommas and children.

• Morning Time is...not always done in the morning. :) It's a general term that basically means we gather to go over a few subjects together. I like to incorporate a Bible story or go over a character trait, learn a new hymn, play a game such as bird memory or Atlas Adventures, do an artist study, go over some Greek and Latin root words, and read some picture books or our current read aloud book. We don't do each of those at every morning time, but I aim for two or three. While I read, the children might quietly play with legos, draw or color, work on a puzzle or other semi-quiet hand craft.

• Good books and reading have always been a big part of our lives and if I can read a story about a topic we're studying, that is the route I take. Don't we all perk up when a story is being shared in a group? It gives everyone mental pictures and illustrates bigger ideas so well. Picture books, non-fiction stories with lovely illustrations, or superb photography make it even better. Beautiful Feet Books have fabulous history and geography guides that teach those subjects without a boring textbook. Whenever possible, I take our reading outside under a tree on a picnic blanket. What better way to enjoy the outdoors and get school done at the same time?

• Some reading tips: 
• Read alouds do not always equal non-interrupted-peaceful moments. But, set yourself up for success by starting out with the snack ready, the coloring books and crayons prepared, and everyone already having visited the bathroom. Still, expect that *one* crayon to be missing, a child to constantly ask questions and to be asked to print more coloring pages. 
• Reading aloud doesn't have to take up hours of your day. 10 minutes is great! If everyone wants more, go for it. If not, move on and don't stress about it.
• I've learned so much about reading aloud from Sarah Mackenzie with The Read Aloud Revival. One of the best tips? Don't read too fast. We tend to read at double the speed, but if you try that to a podcast, you're probably scrambling to catch up. The same for children-they're having to not only hear the words and make sense of them but then visualize it all while trying to listen at double the speed. If we as the narrator slow down, it also gives us time to look ahead and provide better voices or emphasis where needed.

• This year, I'm using "A Year of Tales" as our preschool curriculum for Lincoln. It's based on the Beatrix Potter books, with fun activities and nature-based discovery themes for each week. This is the first time I've used a preschool curriculum, mostly because I didn't want to plan out activities for each letter myself and he's so excited to do "school". It is such a beautifully laid out curriculum. 

• Whenever there's an experiment or hands-on-activity to make the current subject more interesting, I try to make it happen. Pinterest is FULL of ideas for every subject under the sun. The hard part for me is narrowing it down to what I want to take the time to do, what supplies I have on hand and how in depth I want to go. Not every single lesson has to have an activity. But when it does, I feel like the subject will be retained longer than simply reading a section from the book. Last year for Greek Myths, we made clay columns, experimented with architecture and tried writing the Greek alphabet in clay. 

When we studied mushrooms using "Exploring Nature with Children" we not only looked up mushrooms in books and watched YouTube videos, but went out to find some real mushrooms to draw and examine up close. 

• Another great way to make something way more fun, is to share it with friends. We have been part of an IEW writing class with a small group of other homeschoolers for a couple years now. Last year we gathered around our dining room table and the children read their essays and papers aloud to one another. They shared ideas and laughed together all while learning to write well. 
• Other group activity ideas are: 
• Book clubs with a themed craft and snack to match the book
• Nature walks focused around a specific topic. Check out Wild + Free groups for a group in your area of mommas ready to explore the great outdoors.
• Science experiments. Great way to spread out the resources for the mom!

• Visiting museums and going on field trips are a fabulous way to make the current topic alive. Last year when studying Impressionism, first we read books about it, tried some Impressionist painting of our own (outside, of course) and then visited the museum to see the actual art we had just seen pictures of in books. 

• Sometimes we have tea time and listen to music, read poetry, eat scones and light a candle. (This is not the norm.) Many times, we just have snack time with no candle, no poetry, no music and I just read while the kids snack. :) Not every day is picture worthy, and a lot of times it's not picturesque. But it doesn't have to be Instagram worthy to be memorable and worthy in the big picture. 

Just remember, school doesn't have to always be serious. 

• Take a spontaneous cookie baking break. (My best tip if you're not a baking-with-kids-kind-of-mom, is to set up all the ingredients like a cooking show. Everything is pre-measured and all the kids do is dump it it. Less mess, less concern if there's too much salt, your blood pressure stays low and a memory was made. It still counts as baking together!)
• Take the books to a coffee shop one rainy day.
  
• Pop popcorn and drink hot cocoa while watching a movie mid-afternoon.
• Figure out how your child likes getting assignments: If schoolwork isn't getting done on time, maybe they need motivation/goal. Maybe they need a list. Maybe they hate lists. 
• History causing problems? Try a genealogy study of your family tree and research what was going on during a certain ancestor's lifetime. There might be a Civil War soldier in your past with a story to tell.
• Put those Lego mini-figures to good use and make a timeline of historical figures, or have them act out a story.
• Make a blanket fort and read in it.
• Race your child in a set of math problems to encourage her along or do the same problem together.

• Take a surprise trip sledding. 
• Ask your child what they want to study and dive in. You might be surprised what they're interested in. 
• Make plans, but don't over plan. Hold them loosely so you don't feel like you failed if the plans don't work out.
• Get outside every day! Take a walk to get the jitters out if sitting still is just too much.
• Play board games all day instead of opening a textbook. They learn so much with games!
• Let the child be the "teacher" and read you the questions at the end of a lesson for a change. (This is actually quite a challenge and the child loves being able to correct you.)
• Use an unconventional textbook:

• Take some goodies to the neighbors for the next upcoming holiday. 
• Better yet, celebrate some obscure-to-Americans holiday like Guy Fawkes Day or St. Lucia day.
• Write letters. That can be the writing assignment for the day. It covers grammar, handwriting, punctuation, and if you're feeling ambitious, study the postal service while you're at it.
• Can't think or focus because the house is a mess? Turn on loud music, and tell everyone to pick up as much as they can before the song is over. 
• YouTube can be your friend. Take advantage of the videos explaining a science theory so you don't hurt your brain trying to figure it out yourself. 
• Don't compare your unique homeschool with others. It won't look like theirs, because your home isn't theirs. 
• Keep things simple. 
• Remember the basics: The 3 "R's": Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. If just one picture book gets read and one sentence gets written, one math problem is solved in a day, that's fine. (If even those don't get crossed off the list, it's still fine!) You don't have to cover every subject in one day. 
• Relax
• Take a deep Breath
• Jump in puddles.

I'd love to hear if this is your first year homeschooling or if not, what you do to keep school lively and more enjoyable. Just comment!