Bring On the Games - June, 2013

Congratulations! You've made it through (or almost through) the school year. Now, after a much-needed period of relaxing, you'll be ready to make your plans for the coming year.

I want to encourage you to plan time for learning through games and activities in your curriculum schedule.

When I homeschooled our oldest two daughters, I used a traditional curriculum. If someone would have told me that I should also incorporate games and other activities as a method of teaching, I would have responded with a question and a comment.

The question would have been: "Why would I want to do that? My children do their work pages, I give them their tests, I record their grades. I fill out all my reports. We're good."

My comment would have been: "I wouldn't know what to do and besides, we wouldn't get our textbooks completed."

Now you can see how much I have changed over the past 17 years! So, let me respond to my old self.

Why use games and activities? I don't have any stunning statistics from research or dazzling documentation from professionals, but I can tell you that when we learn through games and activities, Kim learns faster, has more fun, and we relate better to each other. I smile more, have less frustration, and we are more creative. Kim voices her ideas, asks more questions, and we don't look at the clock as much!

How would I use games and activities? There are really simple things you can do to turn a traditional lesson into a "game". You just need to think outside the "curriculum box". Consider the question, "How can I make this into an active lesson?" Here are a few ideas: take the math worksheet outside and do the problems with sidewalk chalk on the driveway; instead of measuring lines on a sheet of paper, go outside and measure leaves; instead of marking the verbs on a worksheet, use an old reading textbook and circle the verbs in a story.  

As you begin thinking about and planning your upcoming school year, I want to encourage you to schedule in a game or activity for one subject once a week.