HOMESCHOOLING 
DOESN’T HAVE TO BE BORING
 
HOMESCHOOLING 
DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SO HARD
 
 
 
I have been compensated for this post from The Genius of Play. All thoughts, ideas, and words are my own. 
 
 
I hear from moms everyday that they are weary. They struggle to get it all done, and nobody in the household is enjoying life. Your child isn’t learning to read, or is behind their public school counterparts in math or their handwriting is awful. And I understand your plight. 

Welcome to my world!
This is my family.


I questioned whether I was making the right choices 23 years ago when we began this homeschool journey. I had too many days of weariness and too many sleepless nights. I still feel like there are never enough hours in the day. And I wondered if my children would grow up having the right skill sets to make it in the world.

I have five children, 2 daughter-in-laws, 4 granddaughters, have homeschooled for 23 years, helped my husband run a business, have started my own business, taken care of sick parents, volunteered at church, 4-H, and a homeschool group, and have an autistic son. 

And guess what? My adult children are making their way in this world. But I will share with you a secret. Homeschooling is harder because we make it that way. We have imposed standards on ourselves and our children that are not natural. If you are like me, you grew up in a traditional school environment. You are accustomed to the traditional school model of textbooks, teacher lectures, and learning through memorization. I was that way in the early years, and then I noticed something that happened in my home over and over again.

 
We “schooled” year round so when there were days that I was sick or “too busy” for school, I would give my children specific instructions. They could do whatever they wanted without electronics or television. They did something unheard of in today’s society.
 
THEY PLAYED – and when I watched them play, I witnessed something spectacular happening.

They were more productive; they were engaged with each other; they were happy; they were learning; and they were “hard at work” at play.
My oldest son in the chain maille that he made for “fun”. He actually made the rings himself. He researched and studied the medieval time period to get a finished product as close to “authentic” as possible. He then purchased the steel and made the armour working a little each night until he was finished.

David hand sewed his Robin Hood costume. He also made a coon skin quiver, took fencing lessons, and researched genetics of chickens to try to breed chickens for certain features.

My daughter Melissa was busy playing with her goats. She loved her goats so much she wanted to study about diseases, how to increase milk production, nutrition, anatomy and more. She was busy playing and having fun.

I experimented with this science of play, and found the same thing over and over again. Children really learn best at play. They retain more. They are focused and interested. So over and over again, I sought out toys, games, and activities that used their interests and their natural curiosity to teach them. I allowed them to play with what interested them, and they learned and retained the information.


 
I have watched this theory work in the lives of my now adult children, and I am witnessing this work in the lives of my two youngest children. Many of you know Jack-Jack, my 12 year old autistic son. Engaging him is much more difficult than any of my other children, but when we hit upon something that works, it is never rote memorization or knowledge found in a workbook. He can watch something once – how a game is played, someone hula hooping, or a movie, and know how to do the activity or task. But if I try to “sit and teach him” in traditional school methods, he will never learn. I have chosen a different path for Jack-Jack. We decided that instead of traditional therapies, we would play with him. And over and over again we have seen it work wonders.


Physical Play with Jack-Jack helps teach him coordination, balance, motor skills, and most important, helps expend his massive amount of energy, which helps him sleep better. 
 
 


Playing with others helps him learn how to deal with emotions. Losing and winning graciously are skills everyone needs in life. When playing with others sometimes emotions run high. Learning how to diffuse the situation is a helpful skill to learn.


 
Playing helps Jack-Jack with his communication and reading skills. To play a game he learns taking turns, exchange of information, and reading instructions and directions. Playing creatively helps Jack-Jack develop a sense of the world around him. He didn’t say his first color until age 4 and it was white. The name he used for snow was white. And he loved to play in the white! 

Experts have been touting the science of play for generations, but have been drowned out by traditional school advocates. Ask an early childhood educator if children learn best while preparing for tests or by playing, and they will answer playing, but for some reason we, as a society, continue to push for earlier and earlier “schooling.” 

As a mom, I have witnessed first hand this play phenomenon, and I know it works. It has worked for my older children, and it is working in Jack-Jack’s life. 
 
But the real secret is that this science of play doesn’t just apply to children. Think about yourself – How do you learn best? When are you happiest and most productive? Do you enjoy sitting and listening to boring lectures? I know that is not how I ever learned. One of my favorite college classes was taught my a man who entered our classroom a little late most days. He would bring a wheelbarrow to work on the days that he would collect our journals. He was unorthodox, used lots of word stories and illustrations, and encouraged us to keep journals that were based on our interests. Doing the required work for his class was more like play.


Knowing that children use play to learn, what changes can you make to your child’s day to encourage play? What games can be bought that teach cooperation, team play, problem solving, or just how to have fun? Remember Hopscotch? Remember Tag? Remember playing board games? Break out some classic games or try some new ones!


So today I urge you to set aside those textbooks and Play! And let the real learning begin!
 
MAKE SURE TO VISIT THE GENIUS OF PLAY FOR IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR PLAY AT ALL AGES.
 
TO SEE SOME OF MY SUGGESTED TOYS AND GAMES, CLICK HERE!
 

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