Please name some "non-curriculum" learning things you like to do

[HappyGrace]

I don't want to get stuck this year doing too much "curriculum" learning.

 

I'd love to hear ideas for "out of the box" learning you like to do-whether materials, or activities, or whatever.

 

Two ideas we're loving are: God's World News (HUGE discussions happening from this) and CNN Student News (has us running to research/discuss more, check atlas, etc.)

[NanceXToo]

My daughter (almost 11) and I are doing the 52 Books In 52 Weeks Challenge together, reading aloud to each other a book a week that interests us both.

 

Here's some other stuff we did last year and/or will be incorporating into this year:

 

Nature Walks, or Walks that included cleaning up litter together

 

Using the book "Talking Pictures, A Parents' Guide To Discussing Ethics, Values and Everyday Problems With Children" (I think that was the title- it suggests movies with various themes, for various age groups, and then offers discussion questions).

 

Cooking- I got Racheal Ray's Cooking Rocks! Cookbook to start doing different meal prep stuff with her.

 

Board games...we're going to participate for the third year in a row in the Million Minute Family Challenge (if you don't already know about it/haven't seen my posts on it, there's still time to join, look it up! Logging minutes begins on September 1st).

 

Different fun activities with homeschool group- ours isn't an academic co-op, more a social thing, but we do sometimes plan "fun classes" that a parent might volunteer to do either as a one time thing, or ongoing for a few weeks, and we've either hosted or attended things like poetry workshops, wilderness clubs, archery classes, puppetteering (sp?) classes and more.

 

Lots of educational field trips, tours, and asking many, varied people in the community to tell or show our group more about what they do. Sometimes it involved tours, hands on activities, Q&A sessions, discussions, show and tell kind of things, etc. We did banks, firehouses, police, historical societies, dieticians, EMTs, pet groomers, architects and more.

 

Extra curricular activities (we do or have done sports, Judo, gymnastics, book clubs, scouts etc. She's starting guitar lessons next month).

 

Various arts and crafts or "how to draw" type books. Wordtoons is fun (he teaches how to write a word, and then shows step by step how to turn that word into a picture...of the thing named in the word! Like the word "dog" will become a picture of a dog. It's really neat).

[regentrude]

read

audiobooks and lectures on CD

documentaries

watch live theatre

concerts

museums

nature hikes

 

and talk, talk, talk

[shanvan]

Off the top of my head here are some of the things we enjoy....

 

Drawing and painting just whatever subject pleases us or inspires us--not b/c a curriculum tells us to.

 

Visiting local art shows. There are quite a few held in small locations not far from us. I like the fact that it shows kids that art is not only for the elite who make it into large galleries and museums. We've seen some very nice work locally.

 

Local music and theater events. I will never forget the high school production of Brigadoon we saw. It moved me more than any of the large productions I've seen--amazing to think it was all done by teens.

 

Most years we attend a local benefit for a wildlife rehab center. Several retired members of the Philadelphia Orchestra perform with their students. It's cheap and unbelievably intimate. Every year The Swan is performed and I never tire of hearing it, dc love it too.

 

Hikes in the local parks in the middle of the school day.

 

Photography--usually while hiking, but sometimes even in our neighborhood or around the house.

 

Four times a year we drive to a living history farm for barn dances. They are very welcoming to families and usually give some of the history behind the dances--when they were being used, who most likely danced them, which were favorites in their time.

 

Yardwork - yes we actually enjoy doing this and love the results.

 

Gardening- each Dc has their own plants (flowers & vegetables) they like to keep track of outdoors and they enjoy hedge trimming, mulching, etc.

 

Visiting garden centers- we have a good one nearby that has a large greenhouse filled with interesting plants even in the middle of winter. This makes for a nice cheerful afternoon. We usually end up bringing home at least one small plant. Both Dc have small windowsill collections.

 

Dog training (hard if you don't have a dog!)

 

Horseback riding on our friends horses.

 

Hanging out on the patio reading good books.

 

Cooking & baking

 

Apple picking in the fall, strawberries in the spring/summer.

 

Making jams.

 

Visiting our elderly friend for lunch and just talking. He has so much wisdom and experience to share.

 

Visiting a tea room just for tea or lunch

 

Attending unusual events locally. Last year we went to the African Violet Convention. It was very interesting and brightened up a rainy spring day. We met a local vendor who offered to give us a tour of her greenhouse and show us how she propagates. So that's on our to do list this year. Hope she remembers us.

 

Taking a long drive to some location never before visited yet still local enough for a day trip. Last year we took our friend to a foundry to find out about having one of his sculptures cast in bronze. We were the only people there and he gave us a tour and explained the entire process.

 

We very much enjoy our walks at the local wildlife rehab center. There are always animals to look at and many educational displays inside.

 

I also look for opportunities to help friends. Last year we helped an elderly lady from church find a new kitten. We took her to the animal shelter, helped her fill out the papers and then went to lunch. After the adoption was approved, later in the week we brought her the kitten and visited her at home.

 

Spending a long afternoon at the library just browsing.

 

Very sparingly---Educational Television - cooking shows (watched Baking with Julia this weekend and now have a chocolate cake we'd like to try) , Dog Whisperer, history shows, etc.

 

Wow! I'm realizing what a full life we have after typing this. We have no right to complain as we sometimes do!

 

Shannon

 

 

[AuntPol]

We have almost quit using "curriculum"

 

Reading: I tailored books that fit each child's interests and we read and discuss those. For my daughter, we do a discussion twice a that includes breakfast/tea/lunch out (or bake something for a home tea) and some sort of shopping/beauty treatment or a mother/daughter movie night where we watch the movie version.

 

My son is currently reading "The Hobbit" and playing a video game that correlates with each chapter.

 

Writing: Legends of Druidawn on Fridays!!!!!

DD also journals

 

Science: My daughter is doing Kitchen Chemistry using a variety of library books and some "curriculum". She loves it. The best is once a week she watches a Good Eats on YouTube and then cooks the recipe.

 

We do a daily nature walk/hike (Doubles as dog walking time and I take turns so each kid gets some alone time with mom).

 

History and Geography: We watch a movie or documentary most days and discuss it. We use Teach w/movies but don't limit ourselves. Sometimes we do it during school day and other times as family.

 

Other:

We play games a few times a week

We do Cross Fit for Kids at home

They do Scout badge work daily

We work on crafts while we watch our movie.

We listen to talk radio a lot and discuss.

Lots of field trips

Co-op for classes (more social than fun)

Extracurriculars: Scouts, Dance, Soccer, 4-H, for DD; Scouts, Football, Baseball, BJJ, and Chess Club for DS.

Swordfighting class as a family.

[HappyGrace]

Thanks-these sound great and it's getting my creative juices flowing! :)

[Jamauk]

I don't know how old your kids are ~ but one thing my husband is planning to do with our kids this year is plan a trip into the city (we're about an hour outside of Seattle) using all public transportation and have the kids plan the whole day ~ what time do we need to leave? Which bus do we need to catch in order to get the ferry in time? Which ferry do we need to take? We want to go to the Space Needle & Pike Place Market ~ which busses do we need to catch? What time? What's our plan for lunch? And what ferry do we need to catch on the way home? Etc.....

[Alessandra]

some of the things above (GREAT IDEAS!), plus:

 

Boy Scout merit badges. Dd loves these too. Badge "curriculum" is very well thought out, with a minimum of schoolworky stuff and a lot of hand-on and active sorts of ideas. You can buy a book for each badge for under $5.

[swellmomma]

You guys have awesome ideas!

 

One book we are using that the kids really enjoy is "They broke the law, you be the judge" It has case files for juveniles involved in the court system. It outlines their background, the crime they commited and what the law says about that. They are then given a list of options of sentencing to chose from. They have to be able to tell me why they chose that sentence and then it says what the judge decided, has a letter from the kid and an update to how they are doing now.

 

It is not a curriculum, just 1 book, but we are learning a lot about the law and what could be done to prevent crimes from happening in the first place. Because all the stories are about kids, my kids can fully relate to them.

 

Other things I want to incorporate this year, nature walks/journalling (we already do some but I want to make it more regular), handwork like knitting, woodwork, sewing etc.

 

Lots of fieldtrips, homemaking skills (canning, baking, cooking), photography, and their extra currics