HappyCamper Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 We are starting our home school year next Friday (first time!) and I am getting a bit nervous and realize that I need to be in the "marketing" stage. Curriculum is picked out, but need ideas of being at home with Mom to be fun like school. So we have Mental Monday (getting things done), "Tea" is for Tuesdays (Tea and Poetry ala Bravewriter), and "Fun Filled Fridays". DH looked at it and suggested Wacky Wednesdays, where we draw an idea out of a can to do something goofy for half an hour, like learn to juggle or practice cursive writing upside down. But have lots of different possibilities that might come out of the can. The problem is, unlike DD9, I am not a naturally goofy person. I google ideas for April fools day pranks to play on the kids. It would be great if I could come up with activities where she was actually learning something. Ideas anyone? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Remember, this is something you are going to be committed to long-term. You might consider "Wacky Wednesday" something as simple as doing breakfast foods for lunch on Wednesday, letting her wear her clothes backwards, or allow her to read comic books for free reading that day, etc. As far as marketing homeschooling, having legitimate enthusiasm and excitement for everything you do goes a long way, with or without gimmicks. Also, consider what activities might be available for homeschoolers in your area? Also what other, general extracurricular activities can you consider now that you are not chained to a public school schedule? For example, here there is an excellent children's theater that allows many children to audition for plays. A disproportionate number of homeschoolers perform, because it is much easier to commit to late showtimes, school performances, and rehearsals when there is flexibility in the school schedule. My own daughter is going to participate in a professional Nutcracker performance this year (as a small, peripheral part), and is on a homeschool Lego Robotics team. She knows that these are experiences she would not have if we didn't homeschool. We also have, and in the future will continue, to take advantage of homeschool days, tours, discounts, travel, etc. Those things really sell my own kids on homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerPoppy Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 :lurk5: Would love to hear more ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2LnJ Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 We LOVE to do things like this... When you are close to the 100th day of school, you could make chocolate chip cookies with 100 chips in each! (PS kids NEVER get to do that!) Invite some friends over and have fun! On Wacky Wednesday, have a special journal prompt...pick a letter of the alphabet and write alliterative sentences like: Bob bought Betty bunches of big, bright bananas. Or (another journal prompt idea): Write a list of 10 "Things" (Things is a GREAT game we like to play. You can buy the board game, or google "Things...the game" and make up your own categories.) Here are some ideas to get you started: ---list 10 THINGS that you would NOT wear to the grocery store. ---list 10 THINGS that your mom might find under your bed. ---list 10 THINGS that you could do backwards. (then try to do 1 of them) Make a "school t-shirt" that has the name of your homeschool on it and then you can wear them when you go on field trips! Have a contest for 10 minutes to see who can avoid using the word "like" the longest...it's really hard! Just some ideas...I like YOUR ideas...I may have to integrate some of yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 (edited) Ideas below to throw in a jar and pick one each week until you've gone through all the ideas. Here are 12 to get you started (and some of these have additional ideas within them, so this might be enough to get you through your first semester). 1. Do school in pajamas, sitting in bed. 2. Each school subject has to be done in a different room. 3. After each school subject is finished, you each have to go around the house (inside or outside) in a wacky way (ex: walking backwards, hopping on one foot, singing a wacky song, each next footstep directly in front of the last, so front foot heel touches back foot toe; etc.). 4. Do reading (readers or read-alouds) in a wacky place (up in a tree; in a (dry) bathtub with pillows, in a big empty cardboard box, under a cardtable covered by a blanket with a flashlight, everyone piled up together on parents' bed, etc.). 5. Do math facts in a wacky way (bounce the answer on a mini-trampoline, or on a big bouncy ball up and down the hall; jumping up and down the number of steps on a staircase; jump roping the answer; jumping to the answer written in big numbers on the sidewalk with chalk or inside onto the index card on the floor with the right answer). 6. Do the entire order of school subjects backwards (if you normally start with math, then spelling, reading, writing, and then science -- go in reverse order for the day: science, writing, reading, spelling, math). 7. "Double helping" = drop one subject, but do a double helping of something else that day. 8. Use colored pencils, pens or markers all day on the worksheets rather than pencil. 9. Write all the answers to everything on the whiteboard rather than on the worksheet (if you're really "anal" about a blank worksheet page, snap a quick picture of the whiteboard, print it off, and tape it into the workbook -- remember, this would be just once in awhile, not every week). 10. Whatever you are studying for science or history that week, you each have to find a way to work that into every other subject all day (ex: studying mummies in ancient Egypt -- math = make up a story problem involving mummies; writing = 1 paragraph with mummy in it; spelling = dictate sentences to practice words and mummy is in each sentence; etc.). 11. Practice spelling words in a wacky way (trace letters in tray of cornmeal or shaving cream; write the alphabet big on the sidewalk in 4 lines and jump from letter to letter while shouting each letter; use cotton swab as a "brush" and water as "paint", and "paint" the spelling list onto a big sheet of colored construction paper. 12. Make and wear a wacky hat all school day in honor of Wacky Wednesday (ex: use newspaper, brown paper grocery bag, construction paper, etc.). Edited August 21, 2011 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 Looking for ideas too. We have done Technology free Tuesdays/Thursdays, Weird Science Wednesday, Field Trip Fridays, Media Mondays (videos of topics studies that week)..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCamper Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Thank you all!!!:lol: This is just what I was hoping for and I will be putting these ideas into our special can. I am really trying to create a fun learning environment - and I need to plan it out so that it actually happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Grammar--Mad libs Math--M&M math Science-Read Horrible Science books **Thanks for reminding me to keep it fun. I like your theme days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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