Three Ways to Break Out of Your Homeschool Rut

Once when our homeschool had fallen into a rut, I took a look at our daily lives as well as the hobbies we enjoyed and began to think outside of the box. This new way of thinking helped me realize that there are plenty of ways to transform our boring homeschool routine into a time of fun and exciting learning.

Don’t let your homeschool become boring and stale like I did. If you feel your homeschool routine is starting to tarnish, these three tips can make learning fun and exciting again.

Play an Educational Board Game

Taking a break from your regular schedule to play a board game will be a big hit with your kids. There are plenty of board games out there that are both educational and fun. 

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Your kids can study geography while playing Where in the World, or study their spelling words while playing Scrabble or Bananagrams. Is your child struggling with graphing and those worksheets you keep working on aren’t cutting it? We love to play Battleship to help with that. Even non-core subjects can be conquered with the use of a board game. Just pull down that dusty Pictionary game from the closet and your child can practice some simple sketching skills.

Civitas: The Government Card Game

Work on an Art Project

Art projects give your children a chance to explore their creativity. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment as they finish a project, which is great for their overall mental health.

Some have a hard time dealing with the mess that comes along with art projects. Believe me, I’m one of those moms myself. Sometimes we just have to embrace the glittery messes and let the kids go crazy with their creativity.

1. I’ve learned that it’s better for my own sanity to save the bigger and messier art projects for the days we don’t have too much planned. Sometimes I’ll even schedule days that are reserved for art and art alone.
2. Since messy art projects can trigger my anxiety, scheduled art days are very helpful. When I can mentally prepare for these messy days, I can actually enjoy them.

When covering a specific topic in your homeschool, try to incorporate art projects that relate to what they are currently learning. The creativity involved in the learning process will help the lessons really stick.

Are you studying about volcanoes and how they erupt? Build your very own volcano and make it erupt. As they watch their own mini eruption, have your kids explain why real volcanoes erupt and how the lava eventually turns back into rock. How did the shape of the volcano change with each eruption?

Maybe you are learning about Christopher Columbus and his three ships? Build a replica of one of his ships by using popsicle sticks to create the base of the ship and construction paper for the sails.

Most kids will have a lot more fun learning while they explore their creativity, and the extra time working on their project helps solidify what they have already learned.

Go on a Nature Hike

Sometimes breaking up the normal daily grind by getting outside and breathing some fresh air and can help bring a lot of fun into your homeschool. By simply going on a nature hike you can take advantage of the opportunity to explore the outdoors while spending quality time together as a family.

Create an explorer backpack kit with all of the essential items your child may need for their nature hike. Some of these items may include binoculars to get a close look at a bird’s nest high up in a tree or a magnifying glass to get a close-up view of a new bug they have never seen before.

Of course, you will not want to forget your nature journal. A simple composition or sketchbook will do the job. You can encourage your children to draw pictures of the plants they see and label its different parts, or press some fallen leaves they’ve found between some of the pages. You can even take pictures of creatures you’ve discovered and insert those pictures to your journal later.

No explorer backpack kit is complete without some field guides. Having a field guide such as this guide to insects or this guide to birds will help your child identify some of the new creatures they discover along the way.

When you get home from your hike you can hop online to research some of the wildlife you found on your trip.

This is also a great way to get a little physical exercise in while you’re out on your hike. Education and exercise while having fun outdoors? It’s a win-win situation.

While there are countless ways to make learning fun in your homeschool, hopefully, these three tips will help get you started. Break out those board games, get outside in the fresh air and go crazy with the paint. Your kids (and your sanity) will thank you for it. How do you like to bring a little fun into your homeschool? We would love to hear your ideas.