As parents, we often find ourselves spending too much time looking for the right activities for our children when homeschooling. Too much time. Especially at first!
This is why we decided to create a free home based learning kit for busy homeschooling parents.
Why?
Because we tailor all materials to meet the child’ needs. There is a vast quantity of educational resources available nowadays, but only those specifically designed or chosen for your child’s preferences and needs work best.
What do schools for the future look like ?
We have no idea what the job market will look like 20 years from now, but we do know one thing for certain: we cannot use the same approach we used in the past. We cannot have the same approach to education as we did in the past so schools for the future need to be reimagined and repurposed.
When schools first appeared, they were founded upon religious principles. Later, schools, as we know them today, were intended to prepare masses of people to work in the industrialized sector. Therefore, it was only normal to create a curriculum that guided future workers towards performing those tasks.
We are talking about a different set of skills, completely different educational resources, a radically different understanding of a child’s needs, and social-emotional development, to name just a few differences.
Now imagine: your child will be applying for his first job 15-20 years from now. Imagine the job market in 2040! And now think really hard: what exactly are you doing now to help him be prepared for such a future? Schools for the future need to prepare students for such job markets.
You can easily find ways to feed the individual needs of your child, be it through online teaching, home based learning, unschooling and various alternative schools.
There are many alternative approaches to education and Fiona Carnie’s book “Alternative Approaches to Education: a Guide for Parents and Teachers’ offers a great overview of such approaches.
We don’t know if the schools for the future will still be seen as alternative approaches to education, but one thing is for certain: home based learning is growing in popularity. In the UK alone there were over 70 alternative schools in 2003 and more than 60k students registered as home based learning students according to the Home Education in England guide.
Approach Home Based Learning Differently
Homeschooling parents, asking your child”What do you want to be when you grow up?” might become irrelevant. Instead, ask yourself this “What is it that defines my child so that I can enhance it?”
There is no more need to educate masses when you live in a world of technology, with any possible information at your fingertips.
Personalized home based learning approaches work best as learning can be made meaningful.
Asking your child”What do you want to be when you grow up?” might become irrelevant.
Instead, homeschooling parents, ask yourself this “What is it that defines my child so that I can enhance it?”. Ultimately, you might come to one single conclusion: I need to really know my child if I want to prepare him for the future.
How the idea of a free home based learning kit appeared
We decided to design a free home based learning kit as an answer to homeschooling parents’ need to find the right materials. We look at parents as teachers so this is our answer to you, busy homeschooling parents. An efficient and tested answer to hands on home based learning activities that worked for our kids throughout our years of teaching.
Moreover, by offering a wide range of activities, homeschooling parents can observe which kind of activities the child prefers and make note of these. In this way, they can observe what type of activities the child is interested in and what materials to look for in the future.
What You Will Find Inside the Free Home Based Learning Kit
The Free Home Based Learning Kit contains:
1. A free home based learning e-book- A Week of Planned Activities for Kids
2. A comprehensive account of alternative homeschooling approaches – How To Start Homeschooling
3. A guide with tips and tricks for homeschooling parents – Guide For Homeschooling Parents
4. A visual schedule with 250 mini cards to help you set up a homeschooling routine – Visual Schedule For Toddlers
1. Because we know children are unique, we created a A Week of Planned Activities for Kids, a free e-book with a selection of 28 home based learning activities to choose from, all divided into 4 categories:
- little prep activities
- no prep activities
- smart games
- learning activities
Once you’ve tested them, make note of those your child enjoyed and list them on the Weekly Schedule Worksheet included.
You can add them in pencil so that week after week you reorganize them to avoid repetition that can lead to boredom and create a good homeschooling routine.
There are also worksheets for some of the activities, such as sorting or alphabet games. Moreover, children can play a simple PPT game to help them learn numbers and count.
We believe that screen time can also be educational as this game is engaging and fun, it only lasts 5 minutes and helps the child learn numbers easily.
2. In How To Start Homeschooling you will learn about home based learning and education, flexible schooling and other ways of approaching homeschooling, with various examples of successful alternative education. You can also read about what to do before you decide to start homeschooling so this article is perfect for homeschooling parents who are just starting.
3. A Guide For Homeschooling Parents contains 10 tips, lessons and words of advice for homeschooling parents coming from experienced teachers. There are also 5 simple and efficient rules to help you manage home based learning successfully.
4. With the visual schedule for toddlers parents can set up a homeschooling routine choosing from 250 mini cards and flashcards containing 3 different categories: independent play, quiet activities and movement games/activities. There are tips on how to set up a good homeschooling routine using visual schedules and two free templates.
Homeschooling Parents, Take The Parenting Survey Below
We are working on designing a whole month of fun home based learning activities for kids, but we need your help. To make it truly meaningful and helpful, the next e-book will be designed by you, the parents.
We want to know your biggest struggles, your needs when it comes to homeschooling and parenting, the difficulties you encounter when you prepare an activity or a game so that we can design the e-book especially for you.
Imagine finding in one place all of the answers to the homeschooling problems that arise most often when teaching and engaging with your child. In one single book, especially made for you and your questions.
But that is why we need your help. Homeschooling parents, take the survey below, let us know what you struggle with and what you need!
Take the survey below so we can help you when you start home based learning!
We share all of our ideas on our Facebook group Learning Activities for Kids.
Hi. I am Monica, an experienced ESL teacher and early years student, mother to a preschooler and passionate reader.
