How to make a curriculum a little more fun?

[macmacmoo]

I love the idea of projects, hands on, something more than read this than that. But read this than that gets done and things are learned while fun stuff takes too much time to hunt down, to do, and get done.

 

So we are sticking with the not so fun, but would like to hear how to make things a tad more fun.

 

if it helps we are currently plugging away at:

Story of the World: Ancients- down to the bare bones of read the chapter, ask the questions from the activity book, and dictate a summary.

Science based on what is described in WTM

First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease

Math Mammoth

 

My son likes to cut and glue, but not so much on the coloring pages

[purduemeche]

I would suggest using some resources like the Talpestry of Grace book list and finding exciting read alouds that go along with the time period. Little ones can get truly absorbed by classic tales and attractive heroes. This is a staple at our place.

[Loesje22000]

Evan Moore History Pockets

[kateingr]

I love the idea of projects, hands on, something more than read this than that. But read this than that gets done and things are learned while fun stuff takes too much time to hunt down, to do, and get done.

 

So we are sticking with the not so fun, but would like to hear how to make things a tad more fun.

 

if it helps we are currently plugging away at:

Story of the World: Ancients- down to the bare bones of read the chapter, ask the questions from the activity book, and dictate a summary.

Science based on what is described in WTM

First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease

Math Mammoth

 

My son likes to cut and glue, but not so much on the coloring pages

This is something that I often go back and forth on, too. For now, I've decided to go in the Charlotte Mason direction of not forcing busywork or hands-on activities into our academic subjects, because I never actually make it happen, and my kids don't even enjoy it that much.

 

Instead, I focus on making sure that we do one hands-on activity all together in the middle of the morning to break up the book work. I usually pick from CM-style extras, like a handicraft or a nature walk. Science experiments count, too, since my kids love those, or it could be something as simple as playing a math game or putting together a geography puzzle together.

[EmilyGF]

You're probably thinking more elaborate than this, but I let my kids color and use scissors while I read aloud. They've made things (based on their own imaginations) like 3-D cards and Advent Calendars with individual doors and pictures.

 

I did have them make a diorama last year for a book they read. The dioramas are really neat and creative, and I feel like the project was valuable, but it was anything but fun! 

 

Emily

[Miss Tick]

A long time ago (four years, I guess) there was a lapbook on the internet that somebody put together for SOTW 1. That was mostly cutting and gluing, but with a"thing" for each chapter. There was talk of PHP hosting/selling it, so if you can't track it down you might email them and ask. My dc pulled that out to go through it every few months, which was a nice, voluntary review.

 

For science, I have the book "730 Easy Science Experiments" Occasionally I will find something there that correlates with what we are working on.

 

For math, maybe you could have done days where you just play games -board, card, or video?

 

I can't see the age of your ds, so this could be way off the mark.

[Momling]

History portfolio http://www.homeschooljourney.comwas helpful for us. We've used them for five years (though longer bother with their activities - we just get a blank one). If you buy the guide, it uses SOTW and includes pages to write or color or puzzles that kids cut and paste in their portfolio.

[merylvdm]

When I had younger children I tried to supplement the curriculum with some of the following (we weren't into hand on stuff much)

 

* computer games (now one could add apps but they weren't around a few years ago)

* movies 

* board games

* jigsaw puzzles

 

It is amazing how many one can find of all the above to cover all school subjects - and for history you can find things for all time periods. My boys used to joke that they were the only kids they knew who were assigned computer games for homework. Civilization (CD Rom game) is particularly good for history. As we moved through each different civilization  I would encourage them to play the game as that civilization and it gave them a much better appreciation for the time period.

 

I must say, though, we didn't add these things to liven up school - we did Sonlight and the books they used were really engaging. We just wanted to continue the enjoyment of learning in different ways and so I added these extras to cement their knowledge a bit more.

[ScoutTN]

My kids are not too much into crafty projects. These apples haven't fallen far from the tree! ;)

They would rather act out a story with dress up clothes or do a puppet show.

For Ancients, we did enjoy the chx mummy and the Roman baths and making chariots from dishwasher boxes.

 

For history and science, good books keep it fun for us. These don't feel like "get it done" subjects to us and we wander through them following rabbit trails aplenty. I do look for music, videos, art, theater or other fun things (that

I don't have to do, just take them to it!) to go with whatever we are doing at the time. Some things I don't find anything for so we read a few picture books and move on.

 

I try to keep math fun by having an "Isn't that cool!" attitude and learning with them. We get fun math books too. Often from the living math website.

[FO4UR]

I do not plan crafty stuff like lapbooks or dioramas.  The kids do that kind of thing on their own in their free time.

 

Their work does not look like it came from a homeschool catalog, but it is stuff that they use over and over again and play with.  I simply give them supplies, time, and read them books that sparks lots of ideas. (ex.  They like making habitats for animal figures and scenes for play with knights/soldiers/dolls...)

 

I would not supplement with planned crafts, but with rich literature to inspire creative play.

[mamamindy]

I do not plan crafty stuff like lapbooks or dioramas.  The kids do that kind of thing on their own in their free time.

 

Their work does not look like it came from a homeschool catalog, but it is stuff that they use over and over again and play with.  I simply give them supplies, time, and read them books that sparks lots of ideas. (ex.  They like making habitats for animal figures and scenes for play with knights/soldiers/dolls...)

 

I would not supplement with planned crafts, but with rich literature to inspire creative play.

This.

 

I always feel guilty that I should be planning more activities and crafts that go along with whatever time period or topic we're studying…but when I have, it most often fails.  The play that naturally follows whatever we're reading and enjoying is so wonderful to see.  And I know that since they initiated it, they're definitely having fun and learning at the same time.  Happy homeschool moments!!

 

(One example of what this looks like in our home: (We are studying Medieval Times btw.)  One of my kids favorite things to play is Royal Family (used to be House, but now has a Medieval theme).

 

ETA: I think that just letting your children to play quietly (legos, cut/paste, play-doh) may be all they need to enjoy reading aloud good books.  They really are listening and the play will come. ;)  Have fun!

[eternallytired]

I may be the other end of this spectrum.  My kids LOVE the hands-on projects.  Because of this, I try to make my projects into the primary learning experiences.  I will admit, though, that it takes a ton of time and energy to plan out, and I can definitely understand wanting to do a "light" version of hands-on. 

 

If you want to vary things slightly for history, try changing up the product you request.  One week you might ask for SOTW dictations, the next week you request a drawing or diorama that demonstrates understanding, another week you ask him to act out something he's learning (and you can take a picture if you're notebooking--the caption can help him remember).  I think someone already mentioned the websites recommended by Math Mammoth for a game that reinforces what he's learning.  For science, even an occasional demonstration or experiment to add clarity or concreteness to your learning will spice things up.

[Dmmetler]

My DD10 likes color and cute, and I've found that stickers, highlighters, colored pencils, printing stuff onto colored paper, and letting her doodle and illustrate makes a BIG difference. SOTW outlines were highlighted by a series of political cartoons with snake characters commenting on the events, for example (she's all about snakes...). Word problems often get illustrated and drawn (and changed to reptiles and amphibians). It's not curriculum, but I also let DD decorate our schoolroom each year (which is more storage for stuff than where we do school)-and since her only experience with traditional schools was at the Pre-K/K level, she's still all about cute decorations and themes :) (we already have a stack of stuff with chameleons on it for next year). I haven't bothered to inform her that middle schools generally don't do that :).

[TriciaT]

Have you ever looked at Timberdoodle? They sell a Lot of hands on learning stuff. I am also looking to add more fun things in next year, so I just went through their curriculum bundle for my daughter's age and picked out some things I think she would like. I kinda feel like logic games, science experiments, and construction projects are the easiest categories to fit in fun.

 

You could also just add in some handiwork. You can look through a list together, and Ask your son to pick a skill he would like to learn. Then buy the supplies and make a weekly time to go for it.

 

Or, ask him what kind of project he might want to do. For instance, this year my daughter made a beautiful set of Narnia paper dolls. Just take it one step at a time. Try writing down a list of topics he mentions interest in and remind him of those of he runs out of ideas.😀

[pitterpatter]

Is your child a first grader? Is he studying Life Science alongside Ancients? If so, jump on that opportunity. There are a lot of Life Science supplements for this age set.

 

My suggestion is to look up Evan-Moor, Scholastic and The Mailbox supplements. There are a couple of very good History Pockets for Ancients. Make sure you get the lower-level versions. You do not have to do the whole work up for these. You don't have to make the construction paper booklet and color all of the pics, etc. Just choose what looks fun and interesting and slip them into a normal binder that has pocket dividers, etc.

 

While the following project does involved coloring, DD loved it.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Body-Science-Books-Patty-Carratello/dp/1557342113/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1452428553&sr=8-12&keywords=human+body+coloring+book

 

Here are the supplements we used for Life Science and Ancients. There are many others, of course.

 

http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20Science

 

http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20History

 

Choose small projects so the two of you don't get burnt out and/or frustrated. Don't overdo it. When projects are no longer fun, cut back and/or do something different. Make holidays fun. Find some freebies on Teachers Pay Teachers to do during the holiday weeks.

 

Here are some ideas for St. Pat's and Easter. I overdid it. LOL! Learned my lesson. ;) We do a lot less now. It really takes only one or two things to make DD happy.

 

http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Holiday%20Lesson%20Plans

 

Add logic (once or twice a week is plenty), if it's not already on your schedule. This has been a favorite of DD's for years and it takes just a few minutes. Scribe anything that looks tedious.

 

We also decorate our school room and DD gets to pick a sticker(s) when she does well on a quiz/test. She likes that.

 

ETA: I also buy toys for DD that go along with what we're studying. Playmobil is a good brand for history. Safari Ltd. tubes are great for both science and history.

 

ETA 2: Ugh! Well, that was a waste of twenty minutes. I did not realize this was an old post and I have no idea why my computer dragged it up. I knew something seemed funny this morning.

Edited January 10, 2016 by pitterpatter

[HomeAgain]

My everyday question is "how can we do this hands on?"  It can be as simple as using magnetic letters instead of writing words, cards to put in order of the story, or something a little more elaborate, like using printable Montessori grammar tools to bring things to life, or playing Kaboom, or memory. With SOTW I like to present an activity first, and then read as the child works on the activity.

 

My weekly question is "how can we theme this?" Can we find a way to wrap in art, music, science, and history into one package?  What's going on in history for scientific achievements?  Can we tie that into the science curriculum?  Or, let's do a year theme and find out how kids lived in each civilization - what did they play, do, learn?  What would their lives have been like?

 

I don't do any project for the sake of a project.  We call them Blue Jello Work - where you spend all this time making an edible map or plant cell or whatnot, and waste hours of actual learning time. I like to print-and-go, or spend about 5 minutes of prep for something that will be used once.  My kids don't like the coloring pages, either, so it narrows it to games I can print out or copy, imaginative work, and what I find when I type in "Ancient Greece activities" in google. :P

 

 

[Holly]

We add in some Youtube videos to our subjects.  My DC really like it.  We often watch science videos, listen to music (mostly AO Folksongs), or watch scenes of the Shakespeare poems/passages we are reading (form Poetry For Young People's Shakespeare book).  I also schedule in Drive Through History DVDs.  When we used Apologia's Swimming Creatures, we often ended our day with a short video of the creatures we'd just read about.  They loved seeing them move around (instead of just looking at pictures on a page).  

 

We are using a public domain book called Paper Sloyd.  My DC have created little paper projects like hanging pockets, picture frames, bookmarks, baskets, etc.  They measure out the projects on some scrapbook paper, then cut out and assemble.  It's intended for grades 1-3, but even my 8th grader loves paper sloyd!  I invested in a small assortment of kid-friendly scrapbook paper, baker's twine, and some wooden rulers so it's been a very inexpensive craft to begin.

 

I try to leave some of our budget for fun extras: Geopuzzles, science kits, CDs/DVDs, board games, outdoor toys, educational toys, etc.  January is always a tough time, so I try to place a Rainbow Resource order mid-year and include something fun.  Another thing we do is have  board games scheduled into our week.  We have an assortment of educational, logic, and just-for-fun games to pick from.