Great Ways to Break the Cycle of Homeschool Boredom
Feb 11, 2022 Homeschoolers are just like any other students: they get bored. Add in social distancing and a global pandemic, and being at home virtually 100 percent of the time can make things get monotonous quickly. However, there are ways to break the homeschool boredom cycle, and the following advice can help you get your child excited about their school days.
Field Trips
A great way to shake up the day of homeschooled children is to take regular field trips. These should be planned, given a particular focus that relates to your child’s learning style, and also connected to the curriculum that you choose. Museums, zoos, farms, theaters, and swimming pools are always welcomed as a part of any learning-based curriculum.
Just talk about what you’re going to do, and then ask what you saw and did, how it felt, etc. These are all great language-building opportunities.
Entertain with Apps
We live in a digital age. And while screen time should not make up the majority of your children’s fun or free time, technology certainly has a place in homeschool programs.
Speech Blubs is a great example of an app with a purpose. Children ages one through eight can enjoy entertaining activities along with face filters, video modeling, and speech recognition. Used daily, these help children speak more confidently.
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Video games can also offer benefits for kids of all ages. According to the Understood Team, playing certain games can boost creativity and enhance social connections. Many can also improve reading skills and, for a very lucky few, lead it to a lucrative career in technology.
Before you allow your children to use any online programs, make sure that your internet is up to the job and that you have enacted safety measures. Firewalls, virus scanning software, and routinely checking to ensure your children are not talking to strangers online are crucial.
As for your internet, check that your service of choice can handle multiple streaming services, which is even more important if you also work from home and do not need a lagging connection.
Exercise for Ambition
When homeschooling parents want a real break, exercise. During the spring, summer, and fall, this should include lots of outside time. Hiking, biking, and even playing in the leaves are all great ways to break a sweat. As an added perk, physical activity is a great way to make the brain better.
Harvard University expounds on the benefits of exercise and notes that getting your heart pumping can improve memory function in just a few months.
When it’s too cold to enjoy a sunny afternoon, consider setting your family up with your own personal indoor yoga studio. Yoga is great for the mind and body, and it helps children remain flexible and attentive. A 30-minute yoga break is an excellent way to break up the day while doing something good for your whole family’s minds and bodies.
Say Hello to the Holidays
As Christmas continues to inch its way ever nearer, you may be tempted to start your holiday break early. However, that may put your children behind and will only create more stress come spring. Instead, channel your activities into new Christmas traditions that you can use as learning opportunities.
Write letters to Santa, practice secret random acts of kindness, or learn new holiday songs. You can turn these into a conversation about folklore, social responsibility, and history, respectively.
Each holiday – even the obscure ones – is a learning opportunity waiting to be recognized. Do your research, and let the kids enjoy getting to know everything there is about the days they celebrate.
The point here is that there are many ways to enhance the homeschool experience for children of all ages. The three ideas above, including utilizing technology, exercising, and playing in the holiday season, are all fun and inexpensive ways to make your homeschool days the best they can be.
Speech Blubs makes learning fun and helps children master the spoken word while engaging with the entire family learning at home. With prices starting at just $4.99 per month, Speech Blubs is the affordable way to supplement your child’s early education.