In light of recent events, I’ve been trying to adjust my schedule for the next few weeks.
Given that we already homeschool, the change for myself and my boys won’t be a big one. We’ll continue doing our schoolwork from home, submitting it when it’s due, and basically keep on keeping on. While the quarantine definitely means more time at home for us, I’m feeling pretty lucky that our lifestyle isn’t being completely disrupted. This means fewer meltdowns. Or at least it should.
Unfortunately, I know several moms out there have a different view of the change—having your kids home all day when they should be at school is a strange adjustment. Heck, it still is for me somedays too. I figured now is a good time to share a little bit of what we do at our house on a homeschool day.
Some homeschool moms are really structured. While I do sometimes stick to a rigid schedule, I’m pretty laid back. My boys have worksheets due every few weeks to make sure we’re on track and learning with the rest of the district. While those worksheets do take time and usually result in long conversations or intensive study of a specific subject or concept, the majority of our school day consists of activities we plan on our own. Here are five of my favorite activities to help my kids learn and keep them busy while keeping things fun.
1. We Read
Reading is a beloved pastime in our house, and a way we spend the bulk of our time. My older boys can fly through a book they’re excited about in a day. My little guys like to practice the words they know and make up stories when they don’t. One of my boys prefers the encyclopedia to a chapter book. Yes, the encyclopedia. He’ll lay on the ground surrounded by open books like a college student writing a term paper, learning everything he possibly can about any given subject. Reading is such an essential part of life, you can’t go wrong encouraging it during those times you just need some peace and quiet, or when you want your kids to have some downtime.
2. We Play Games
Board games, that is. In addition to being fun, board games and card games also serve a more important purpose in helping my boys learn crucial concepts. Sum Swamp, for example, is one game my little guys love to play. It’s simple and requires them to add or subtract numbers to determine how many spaces they can move. The older boys prefer strategy games like Risk or Jaws. These games teach focus and help them with their sportsmanship. Plus, they’re entertaining. This is the type of environment in which my boys learn best—when the learning feels more like fun than work.
3. We Get Outside
This one isn’t so easy during the winter months when it’s snowy, but if the weather is nice enough, get your kids outside. We typically go to a local museum or garden to get out wiggles and learn at the same time, but given that everything is closed down for the time being, all we have left is the great outdoors in our own backyard. Let your kids run around and explore. Let them dig in the dirt, climb a tree, check out the bugs starting to emerge from hibernation. Don’t give them something to do—let them figure it out. They’ll learn a lot about the world around them and become more mindful of their environment—win win.
4. We Garden
Last summer was our first attempt at a garden and every single member of my family loved it. Now is a great time to get out and start plotting a garden or planting cold weather crops. I plan to spend a whole lot of time in the garden with my kids over the next few weeks, finishing up some projects and getting everything prepped for the warmer months. If you haven’t tried gardening with your kids, I highly suggest it. My boys were so excited to watch their hard work yield food for us to eat, and they were all happy to try every fruit and vegetable that they helped grow. If you don’t want to commit to something big, check out books about gardening in pots and small spaces. You’ll not only be doing something outside, but something beneficial for the environment, something healthy for your family, and learning a valuable skill in the process.
5. We Do (Limited) Screen Time
I know there are people out there who avoid screen time completely with their kids—to you, I say, teach me your secrets! While my boys do get their fair share of time to watch the shows and movies they love most, I try to incorporate learning into everything we watch. We love the National Geographic National Parks series, and the Who Was Show on Netflix is hilarious and informational. I regularly seek out documentaries to stream and we grab learning shows from the library frequently. On the rare occasion that I let the boys play on their iPads, we limit what they can play to educational games, and I’m always impressed by how much fun they have learning new words or practicing their math skills.
One important thing to keep in mind when navigating this time with your kids is to be patient. Let them lead the learning. When one of my kids asks me a question about something, like what an eyeball is made of or how many miles we are from the moon, we stop what we’re doing and look it up. I think the main thing is to keep learning fun. My kids learn from hands-on experience, so we do lots of science projects and painting.
Cut yourself some slack and enjoy this extra time you get to have with your kids. If you don’t get the work done you’d hoped, that’s okay. Reconnect with your kids and rediscover their interests. Talk to them about things you don’t usually have time to talk to them about. Cook together. Read out loud together. Go for walks. Make music. Do your best to make this time fun (and I don’t mean by filling the time with activity after activity) and I guarantee this will be a time you and your kids will not only enjoy, but never forget.