Enhanced Homeschool Learning Miscellaneous Ideas

So far this week we have talked about setting up a plan for our homeschool, making the extra’s an integral part of our homeschool rather than just “extra’s”, getting ourselves on a good routine first, then we talked field trips and food!

Homeschool Learning Made Fun

Today is all the miscellaneous ideas that can’t fit into a neat category, but are important none the less. This is not an exhaustive list and is only limited by your imagination. Below are some tools that we have used to enhance the homeschool learning in our home:

Books – This is pretty much a no-brainer, but letting our kids loose in the library can really spark an interest in something. So can gently nudging them in a certain direction. Finding a fiction book that is loosely related to actual events is a great place to start.

Picture Books – Even as my kids are getting older, I still find picture books a great way to extend the learning.

Movies – When we were in the process of moving to Florida, I searched out movies that were about and filmed in Florida. One of our favorites was Hoot. The same can be done for virtually any subject.

Documentaries – We use Netflix as well as the library for rounding out some of our history studies with documentaries. I like being able to give them a visual glimpse of what we are studying.

Crafts – I will be the first to admit we aren’t very crafty around here. One activity that we all like to do and is good for all ages and crafting abilities is chalk pastels. We love using the tutorials from Hodgepodge. The supplies aren’t expensive and the clean up is quick!

Crafts for Boys – Ideas include whittling, woodworking, weaving, model planes, trains, and cars. Boy crafts can be a bit harder to think of.  Anything that’s hands on, moves, is messy and/or dangerous (preferably both!) is good for a boy 😉

Coloring Books – My girls in particular like to use coloring books and there seems to be a Dover Coloring book for just about any subject.

Dress Up – Let the kids loose with what you have on hand, or make a trip to the thrift store and find some long dresses, they can be playing pioneer girl in no time.

End of the Unit Party – Invite family to see what you have been working on. Recite a poem, do a short play, share art and other crafts, and of course food!

Sensory Bins – Awesome for younger kids, but bigger kids love them too. I have several ideas for sensory bins on my special needs Pinterest board, but keep in mind these are not just for kids with special needs! We did a farm unit one summer and I put an easy bin together, and then we also did an ocean theme.

Lego – Encourage your builder to build a Lego creation. Minifigs are an awesome way to make just about any scene you could think of from the Roman Empire to a scene from the Revolutionary War. It’s hard to choose between the Fairy Tale/History set or Community Helpers. You’ll never be sorry to have these in your learning arsenal – unless you step on them in the dark 😉

Building Blocks – One year when we were talking about Abe Lincoln we built log cabins out of Lincoln Logs {this is a great Christmas idea!}. Any generic set of building blocks is fantastic to pull out – I guarantee your older kids will dive in too. Use them with the Lego/Minifigs above and you just might get yourself a couple hours of quiet!!

As you can see from my list, the projects don’t have to be extensive to be worthwhile. Simple goes a long way and it’s usually these activities that my children remember.

What activities have you used in your home?