Homeschool Ideas & Activities Your Child Will Love
For many parents, homeschooling their children is a way to provide a learning experience that doesn’t focus on exam pressure and enables young people to develop skills away from the crowded classroom environment.
Children who experience bullying or have special needs might benefit from a more tailored home school approach. But one of the most significant issues for parents and private tutors is creating an enriching experience.
Luckily, there are some great ways to add fun to your child’s daily learning schedule while still teaching them valuable skills. In this post, we’ll reveal homeschool ideas and activities your child will love.
Let’s dive straight in.
1. Use Arts & Crafts
It’s no secret that young people love getting messy with paint – which is why many parents avoid it! But creative expression is one of the best skills any child can learn. Your little one might not be the next Van Gogh or Bansky, but being able to take ideas and express them is a vital factor of professional success as an adult.
You can try so many activities, and lessons such as science and maths can be more fun if your child can use Lego, modelling clay and paint as part of the lesson.
For example, you could incorporate art into a geography lesson by naming a country and getting your child to paint or make a lego of a famous landmark related to that country.
2. Watch Documentaries
Children love an interactive learning experience and will take any excuse to watch something on TV. You probably remember the excitement that circulated your classroom when your teacher would sit you and your classmates down in front of a video.
Documentaries can be a great way to get children to pay attention to a specific subject – and they can make it easier for you too. Some of our favourite lesson ideas include geographic and nature documentaries or historical reenactments.
YouTube is one of the most valuable (and free) platforms available. You can source some incredible videos for kids.
Another great platform is Curiosity Stream, a US-based documentary website, but highly beneficial if you want to teach your children about the environment and world history.
3. Create a Quiz Show Game
Even as adults, we dread tests and exams. Whether it’s getting a professional certification or an annual performance review, anxiety about how well we’ll perform is often learned from our school days.
You can, however, make testing your child’s knowledge and learning progress fun by turning an exam into a fun quiz. For example, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is one of the most famous quiz shows, and you can use it to create a fun exam experience for your child.
Instead of using money as an incentive, you can set prizes for each milestone that will appeal to your child. It could be anything from a day out to having some extra TV time, but the vital thing to remember is it makes the experience more fun and takes away the pressure traditional school tests often create.
4. Go On Field Trips
One of the most exciting things about going to school is the yearly field trip. Whether it’s heading to Hampton Court or a museum, children love to engage in an interactive learning experience, but there’s no reason why homeschooled children can’t benefit from field trips.
There are plenty of discounts available, and national learning centres such as The Science Museum offer free entry days for homeschool trips.
5. Don’t Forget Cooking Classes
Primary and secondary schools teach cooking and baking skills to young learners, and it’s an integral part of daily life. So, we advise you to make time for your child to experiment in the kitchen by making cookies, cakes and other baked goods.
You can incorporate healthier recipes and combine cooking and art sessions by letting your child decorate the cookies and cakes afterwards.
6. Use Grocery Shopping As a Maths Class
Even the weekly food shop can become a fun activity for your child. For younger children, you can write out the shopping list beforehand and ask your child to write down how much they think each item will cost.
When they go around the shop, they can write down the actual cost and see how close their estimates are. Not only does this teach them how to analyse data, but it also teaches them the true value of money.
Older children can practice their mental maths by calculating the cost of each item as you shop. They can then see how accurate they are when you pay for the shopping.
7. Get Help For Complex Subjects From a Tutoring Service
One of the most important aspects of homeschooling is maintaining a positive relationship with your child. It’s easy for both parties to get frustrated, but no parent wants home-based education to impact their connection with their child outside of school hours.
If you find there’s a particular subject that you or your child struggles with, it’s a good idea to seek some homeschooling support from a bespoke tutoring service.
A good tutor will work with your child to help them understand the subject, which allows you to focus on the topics you enjoy studying with your child.
Tuition is particularly useful for young people with special education needs because a professional tutor will be able to adapt to a range of learning techniques and provide your child with bespoke support.
8. Let Your Child Be The Teacher
Last but not least, if you want to engage your child and test their knowledge on a subject, why not switch roles and let them teach you? Kids will love the opportunity to play teacher, and you’ll be able to see how much they know about a specific subject.
It’s an excellent way to plan your future lessons, and your child won’t even know you’re testing them!
The Takeaway
With a bit of creativity, you can turn the homeschooling process into an enriching and enjoyable experience for your child. Every parent wants their child to see the benefits of learning, and the best way to achieve that is by showing them that even maths and the core subjects can be fun.
If you enjoyed this post, then please feel free to take a look at our blog. We regularly update it with learning tips and techniques, including our post on useful tips to make your child feel good about tutoring.