Fresh Ideas

I've mentioned this before, but we're a Sonlight family.  I love the company for its use of high quality literature - not boring textbooks - to capture my child's imagination while conveying valuable knowledge and information in the form of a story.  In just the span of a year, Noah and I have "traveled" on undersea voyages, followed missionaries as they shared the Gospel to those living in Africa, learned about the nomadic life of Johnny Appleseed as he supplied the pioneers of the mid-western USA with apple seeds, and explored the work people do in all sorts of various jobs.  We've sung along with They Might Be Giants about the moon, the sun, and the stars, tested out simple machines (we'll build some this year!), studied a bit of chemistry, and learned about the three states of matter.  We've gone on animal "scavenger hunts" at the zoo and played alliteration games with objects we find around the house.

We read, we play....and then we read some more.


Sonlight is brilliant in its ability to provide your children with a passion for learning.  There are days that Noah BEGS to go upstairs and begin his schoolwork.  It melts my heart every time.  But there are also days that we just want to spend all day outside - digging in the sand, chasing lizards, or chalking up our back lanai (patio)  - something other than a "formal" school day.  Call it unschooling, if you will. :)  And because I'm not always the most creative person on the block, I thought I would invest in something to help me along:      

This book is a compilation of hundreds of parent-approved techniques for teaching your children the basics in a fun and engaging way.  Last night, I equipped myself with a few tabs and a pencil, sat down with my cup of tea, and started marking off things that would interest Noah...and I couldn't stop.  The side of this book now looks like it's developed some sort of strange orange paper mane.  It's ridiculous.  It reminds me of my childhood days when my teacher told me to take a highlighter and simply highlight the main points of a story and I went and HIGHLIGHTED EVERYTHING.  Because everything is important, right?

This book has so many fabulous ideas for being able to incorporate just about every subject - math, science, history, writing, reading, character building - into everyday fun indoor and outdoor activities.  With this on the shelf, I'll dare Noah to ever utter the words:  "I'm bored."  No way.  To prove my point, I'll share with you a few of my favorites:

• Adjective Hunt.  Take your child to the park and make a list (in advance) of things you might find there.  He or she reads each word on the list and runs to it.  (Choose things far apart and you've incorporated some physical education!) They then touch, smell, hear, or taste the object to provide an adjective that describes it.  NO COLOR WORDS allowed; that's too easy.  Even if he/she has to make up a word, write it down.  
• To Do Lists.  Make a to-do list each night, using large print and simple language.  When your child(ren) comes down to breakfast, they can begin learning to read with the words in the day's agenda...things like "vacuum," and "go to the store to buy ice cream," or "watch Phineas and Ferb at 9am." By the time they're ready for kindergarten, you can make individual lists and add items like "write the alphabet on the back of this paper."
• Letter Hide and Seek. Make a set of letters out of cardboard or construction paper, hide them about the house, and ask your child(ren) to find them.  Once they find a letter, have them tell you what it is, what sound it makes, and (if they're ready) a few words that begin with that letter.  Ask them to put the letters in alphabetical order after they locate them all.  This also works well for number recognition.

Each week, I'm going to try and incorporate a few of the activities from this book in our lessons and I'll post pictures and videos of our adventures.  Hopefully, we'll have some great ones to share!