As a homeschooling mom, you may feel like you are always looking for new ways to keep your learner engaged. You are not alone! Thankfully, there are a few things that you can do to help combat the feeling of monotony and help your homeschool day run a little more smoothly. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
1. Move Throughout The Day
One of the best ways to keep homeschool learners engaged is to move their bodies throughout the lesson. This doesn’t mean that you have to do a full PE lesson every day, but incorporating some movement into your lesson planning can really help grab your kids’ attention. Depending on the age of your children, this could mean things like standing up every few minutes, doing a quick movement break, or even just walking around the room as you’re teaching. If you are working on math, try incorporating some simple jumping jacks between problems. Not only will this help keep your learner’s attention, but it will also help them to retain the information better.
2. Utilize Hands-On Learning
Hands-on learning is also a great way to keep homeschool learners engaged. When possible, ditch the textbooks and worksheets and opt for hands-on learning instead. This could be anything from building towers out of manipulatives during math time to using acting and props during history lessons. Kids love getting their hands dirty (literally), so try incorporating experiments, field trips, and other hands-on activities into your lessons.
3. Break The Day Into Smaller Blocks
Every child needs a different schedule but in general, try not to plan longer than one hour for any given subject. Longer lesson plans tend to lead to bored, fidgety kids (and frazzled parents!). By breaking the day into smaller blocks of time, you can keep your homeschoolers’ attention focused and avoid burnout. Plus, every child learns differently, so this approach allows you to tailor each lesson to your child’s needs. Just like adults, kids can get overwhelmed and bogged down by long work stretches. By breaking the day up into smaller chunks, you can help your kids stay focused and engaged. It is okay to experiment until you find what works best for your family!
4. Follow Their Interests...And Model The Same Behavior For Yourself
Use your children’s interests as a jumping-off point for learning about other subjects too. For instance, if your child loves animals, use that interest to teach them about science, math, history, and even art! If they’re interested in baseball, help them apply math concepts by keeping score during games or looking at batting statistics. And while you’re at it, model this by following your own interests. Let them see you reading, painting, or writing. Whatever you’re passionate about, model that deep interest for them to follow in themselves.
Conclusion
There is no one right way to homeschool. Homeschooling doesn’t have to be a struggle—for either you or your child! Every family has different needs and interests. However, some things can be helpful for all homeschooling families regarding engagement. By incorporating these tips into your lesson planning, you can help keep your homeschoolers engaged (and loving it!) all day long.
