Any mamas feeling overwhelmed in your homeschool? Sometimes we become so serious and stressed about meeting educational goals that we forget about relaxing and having fun. Particularly around this time of year, you may have had a bit of fall burn out, leading right into the busyness of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Well, this post won’t solve all of those things, but it is my hope to lighten the mood a bit and encourage you to have a bit of fun. Here are some fun (maybe even goofy) ideas.
Have school in a different place. . .
Not just outside or sitting on the couch (the go-to place for homeschooling, right?) Have school under the dining room table, in a big closet, in the hallway or on mom and dad’s bed. Silly, right? But your kids will get a kick out of it! (The older ones may think you’re nuts, but trust me, they like this kind of thing, too.
Switch up the curriculum plans. . .
Sometimes neither you or your children want to see that English book for another minute this week. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the curriculum is not a good fit; it may just be that you need a little break. That’s when things like printables, unit studies and lapbooks can be a life saver. Two of my favorite places to turn when we need a break from curriculum are Currclick.com and homeschoolshare.com — both have resources available for free (or for a small cost) in every subject for a wide range of ages.
Announce a no school day. . .
That’s right. And spend the day with your kids, playing with them, talking with them, just being with them. Get on the floor and push cars and trucks around, go outside to play hide-n-seek, work on that space shuttle project, have a tea party, finger paint, tickle some toes, kiss a few faces, and give lots of hugs. Put the school books away for the day and relax.
Have an “electives” day. . .
Take a day to learn some out of the ordinary things for your family. Have a day to bake new recipes or try new foods. Pick a day to learn a new skill like sewing or crafting. Learn some common phrases in a new language. Work on a family project like organizing photos or painting a room. Pick something “new” to learn and make a day of it.
Have a dress up day. . .
Yep, do math a Minnie Mouse (or whoever!) and have your kids come to school as their favorite character, animal or person. You could do Biblical people, fairy tale characters or whatever you want. Keep it simple by using what you have around the house, and have fun. Try to guess each person’s character before they tell.
Let the kids choose the subject. . .
Maybe your little one loves history, but isn’t too keen on math. Or maybe you’ve got a little English major who just isn’t feeling science. Give them a break from everything except one or two of their favorite subjects, and let them just spend the day enjoying what they like most. It’s productive, low stress for you, and they’ll likely to get a few paces ahead in those subjects.
These are some little to no-cost, spur of the moment ways to change up your homeschooling routine a bit. Don’t forget, you can always add a bowl of ice cream to the end of a homeschool day as a sweet treat! What ways do you spice up your homeschool?
