Some of you have started school and are finding that your children aren't always as excited about learning as you are. Sometimes it's as simple as switching to a more lifegiving resource, but here are a few tips to help your children love homeschooling.
🎈Incorporate hands on learning. Children thrive academically, emotionally and developmentally when their whole body is engaged in learning. This is why we include motor skills and practical skills in our lesson plans. Try alternating seat work (copying poetry, doing a math worksheet) with a whole body learning activity such as searching for acorns, making letters out of clay, or learning about the points of a compass through following directions.
🎈Read engaging stories. When you read amazing books as the core of your curriculum, thinking skills are developed and world views are formed. Children won’t hate school if great literature is the center. (Check out the amazing book list for Playful Pioneers Volume 2)
🎈Keep lessons short. If you or your children are getting fed up, take a break from the lesson, switch up the learning environment, or do some of the work orally. Anger creates fearful environments which stifles learning so take a break before you get to that point. You don't have to do every math problem, you don't have to finish every activity in a parent guide. Connection and a peaceful atmosphere facilitate interest led learning, so keep a calm spirit and carry on.
🎈Pay attention to development. Some children learn to read later, some understand math concepts later, so keep learning hands on until you get to understanding and be willing to teach to their learning style or developmental age. For example, many families use Nourishing Nature Kindergarten with their first grade children to give them extra time to work on motor skills before moving on to Playful Pioneers, or they are putting aside tedious workbooks in favor of oral narration as they realize that their children aren't quite ready for long writing exercises.
What would you add to this list?
If you find that your children aren't enjoying learning this year, check out our learning bundles.
The Peaceful Preschool and Nourishing Nature Kindergarten are ideal for young learners, and Playful Pioneers Volume 1 or 2 are fun ways to learn about American History. If you are ready for the next step, check out Kind Kingdom Volume 1 or 2, or The Precious People.