One of the biggest challenges when schooling kids at home is keeping lessons engaging and diverse. It’s very possible to make the at-home experience just as dynamic as a classroom, but it may require some creativity and extra effort. Digital media offers a lot of exciting options, but there’s also plenty of older conventional ideas that are still great.
Get Students Involved
Interactive learning is sorely missing from many classroom environments with the exception of trade schools. That’s why you should look for opportunities to give kids real and meaningful hands-on experience whenever possible. This could be anything from basic, pre-packaged science experiments to cooking in the kitchen with real ingredients.
Integrate Videos and Media
Many homeschool curricula provide a solid academic base for the student’s education, but aren’t exactly comprehensive. Educators should always look for good opportunities to extend or add to coursework by presenting relevant videos. There are plenty of educational and topical movies for various subjects as well as a wealth of digital media available online for just about any purpose.
Games and Competitions
Homeschoolers have a lot of advantages in having a personalized education that matches their pace at each subject. However, one of the shortfalls of this experience is lack of competition, contest, and games. Homeschool educators should try to engage their students in friendly, but serious, contests. It’s also a good idea to look for local or regional contests, like spelling bees or a math league, to join. Of course, games can also be useful on a smaller scale to stretch the imagination or exercise other mental skills.
Join Athletic and Social Groups
Local athletic and social groups specifically designed for homeschool students can provide important opportunities for social learning. Proper conversation is something kids learn from experience, which is why these groups are important. It’s also important to give students opportunities to learn from people who may have different skills or interests than their parents. Art, music, or martial arts lessons are just a few examples.
Take Trips
Homeschoolers have the advantage of being able to take day trips more than public school students. These trips can help supplement material that has been taught over the past quarter. Consider visiting an aquarium or museum. This will allow history and science to come to life. You could assign a paper to be written based on their trip. Perhaps they can go on a scavenger hunt and use clues from class to solve riddles. There is no end to the amount of educational fun that can be had on a well-organized trip. Even a quick trip to the park to observe plants can help cement material into your child’s mind.
The decision to educate kids at home may be a matter of preference or necessity, but it’s important to do your best either way. The recent rise of remote learning has opened up a new way for at-home students to still benefit from the knowledge and experience of educators from all over the world.
