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Homeschooling doesn’t have to be all about worksheets and textbooks. So much learning can be done organically with little to no instruction just by making learning materials and learning opportunities accessible. By creating a learning rich environment, children are given a chance to explore their interests and develop critical skills on their own.
The idea is to provide a home environment that encourages learning, exploration, and curiosity.
Okay, that sounds great. What does that actually look like, though?
Below is a list of things I do to make our home a learning rich environment. These things are essential to our homeschool and contribute immensely to how much my kids learn from independent exploration.
The list in by no means exhaustive, but if you’re new to homeschooling or you’re looking for ways to create an environment for organic learning, then this is a great way to start!
1. Book Box
Like I’ve said before, a homeschooler’s best friend is the public library. It has an incredible amount of resources that are absolutely FREE. It’s a no-brainer to get a library card, if you don’t have one already, and make use of everything it has to offer.
One of my favorite things to do to make our home a place of constant learning is to create a book box every two weeks. Go to the library (or your library’s website to create a list of holds you can pick up later) and browse for children’s books of a variety of subjects.
Choose some subjects that you know your child loves already and some that will expose him to new things. For instance, one book box at our house might have already loved topics like ‘how to draw’ book, several books on animals and their habitats, a chapter book or two, an astronomy reference book, and a cookbook for kids.
To encourage learning about new topics, I will also throw in books about things the kids might not know about yet like some biographies, books about a specific time period, or a science topic. It will look different each time.
Of course, my kids are allowed to check out their own books that they want, but they are always excited to see what gets put into the book box every two weeks.
Creating a book box is a wonderful way to expose kids to many topics. They can expand their interests and learn new things completely independently. In many cases, they will ask for more books on some of the topics for the next library visit.
Will they be interested in every single book I put in the box? No. And that’s okay! Don’t push them to read the books. The book box is to allow them to explore subjects on their own.
2. Games
Board games, cards, chess, checkers, dominoes….you name it. Playing games that require skill or strategy are a great way to incorporate fun into learning. They also teach important life lessons like good sportsmanship, taking turns, and the consequences of cheating.
Some homeschoolers have taken this idea to the next level by doing something called gameschooling, where much of traditional instruction is replaced or supplemented by educational games. While I don’t know if I would classify myself as a gameschooler, I do use games to enrich our homeschool days.
I’ve written about using games to help kids practice reading. Learning is much more effective when it’s engaging and fun, so games play a big role in our home.
You can also find really great educational board games that can teach kids about anything from money to geography to spelling. When my kids were first learning how to count money, the board game Allowance was a really fun way to encourage practice.
If you want a great resource for all things gameschooling, I recommend checking out My Little Poppies for great tips and recommendations.
3. Open-Ended Toys
Open-ended toys are essential to creating a learning-rich environment.
What are open-ended toys? They’re toys that can be played with in multiple ways. They are NOT battery-operated, push-a-button, single-use toys. They don’t come with instructions and there are no rules to follow.
Open-ended toys encourage creativity and imagination. They help promote exploration and strengthen a child’s critical thinking.
For younger kids, this could mean Legos, Playdoh or magnetic tile sets. Dress up clothes, play kitchen toys, and animal or dinosaur figurines are also great open-ended toys.
My older kids have spent countless hours playing with Snap Circuits and Gravitrax– two open-ended STEM toys that I highly recommend.
4. Arts and Crafts
Help kids get in touch with their creativity by stocking various arts and crafts supplies. If you keep the supplies all in one easily accessible area, they will be used more often. It’s great to incorporate art projects into what you are learning at the moment, but just letting kids do their own thing is great for encouraging them to use their imagination.
Some items that I always keep on hand are:
- Construction paper
- Colored pencils
- Crayons
- Markers
- Watercolors
- Acrylic paint
- Different size paintbrushes
- Glue
- Beads
- String
I tend to only buy my crayons, markers, colored pencils, and paints from Crayola. I’ve skimped and bought off brand in the past, and the quality is just never as good. The Crayola website also has great project ideas, free coloring pages, and themed activities, so it’s worth checking out.
We also keep a small bin to collect recycled items that the kids like to repurpose into crafts like paper towel rolls, little containers, and tissue paper from gift bags.
5. Exploring Tools
Binoculars, magnifying glasses, microscopes, telescopes…. anything that helps kids explore the world around them will lead to great learning experiences.
Stock your book box with bird watching books, nature books, or astronomy books and watch your kids take exploring into their own hands.
6. Reference Books
Some people say reference books are dead. Everything can be found online, so what’s the point of having reference books taking up space in your home? I get that, but if you’re trying to create a learning rich environment for your homeschool, you want things that can be accessed by everyone at anytime.
There is something that can be gained by leafing through a reference book that you won’t get from typing in a specific topic online. We have a ton of reference books on specific subjects like space and animals as well as dictionaries and atlases.
Also, whenever you come across a country in a story, you can quickly check in the atlas and learn where it is. If you’re reading a chapter book and run into a word that is new, look it up in the dictionary. Not only does this facilitate learning, it also gets kids in the habit of becoming engaged learners whatever they’re doing. They’ll get used to stopping to learn about something rather than passing things over.
7. You!
That’s right- you as the homeschool parent are the most important part of a learning rich environment! What do I mean by this? You have a HUGE amount of influence in how your kids approach life, including learning.
Are you curious about the world around you? Are you excited about learning new things? Do you read voraciously? Whatever behaviors you model, you’re kids will pick them up.
Story Time
Here’s an example of the immense power of being a role model. I love reading and tend to read a book every two weeks or so. The problem was that I would wake up early and read before the kids would wake up and read again at night once everyone was asleep, so they never saw me reading.
At the time, I didn’t understand why my kids weren’t huge bookworms like me. They would read aloud when I asked them to or if it was something for schoolwork, but I didn’t see them reading for pleasure.
I decided to change my behavior to see if my habits would catch on. During the day, I would set aside a little time for reading. I would tell the kids that they were free to do what they wanted while I read a chapter of my book.
After a few weeks or so of doing this, my older two started to join me and find a comfy spot on the couch to read their books too. They started to get into the habit of making a reading time, and now they devour books quicker than I do!
Whatever it is you want your kids to learn and be interested in, make sure you are showing your own enthusiasm. It’s contagious!
Conclusion
There are so many ways to create a learning rich environment for your homeschool, and these tips are only a few. I’ve found, though, that after incorporating these things into our home, my kids have really benefitted.
I’m always amazed at how much kids can learn when left to their own devices. Give some of these ideas a try and see what a difference it makes in your homeschool!
[…] written before about the power of modeling the behaviors we want our kids to adapt in my post about creating a learning rich environment. Just like encouraging kids to learn, modeling good reading habits plays a major role in whether or […]