Making it Fun

Do you want your kids to get excited about learning? Then YOU need to get excited about learning. Read about what interests you, write about what inspires you, and create when you feel creative. Enthusiasm and passion generally don't fit neatly into rigid schedules, so remember when making yours to be flexible enough to allow for spontaneity.

This will look different in every house and classroom. In mine, it looks like this.

My kids have certain jobs/chores that we do every day, almost without fail. These are generally things that are necessary for our kitchen to remain functional and for us to be healthy, for things to be picked up enough so that people are not in danger of breaking bones when they walk through rooms, physical activity, Bible study and prayer, piano practice, and outside chores like collecting eggs, feeding the chickens, and taking out compost and recycling. That's it. Those are our daily requirements.

My children initiate most of their academic activities, with me on standby as their guide, facilitator, and encourager. They're able to do this because learning has been a way of life, all day every day, since they came into the world.

When I feel inspired to write, I write. Sometimes, like this morning, my kitchen stays a mess a little longer than usual. Yet, I'll definitely be ready to serve them a healthy lunch to ensure that we'll all have enough brain power and energy to enjoy the rest of our day.

Conversation is constant. Listening to my children enables me to understand what's going on in their hearts and minds, enabling me to make activity suggestions and to encourage their learning adventures. It's fun!

Every day is different, and the kids are doing really well. They're learning well, and from my own observations, they are at or above grade level in every area. There's not a part of the day that I dread. I love it all, and they do too.

I write this not to suggest that my way should be yours or anybody else's. I write to remind anyone who has forgotten that learning doesn't have to be super structured for our children to have their needs meet. Our children are blessed with so many more opportunities to engage in real life and to perform real life applications than children in the public school system. And so do you!

I pray that you this time will be a blessing for you and your children, and that you will remember to smell the flowers along the way. : )