Tip Tuesday #1

You have probably heard this before.

"Make learning fun!"


"Yes, yes!" I hear you say. "But how?"

You may have a child who drools(in a good way, not the mind numbed open mouthed sort of way) at the idea of doing endless worksheets and drills(yes they do exist). Most children though, mine included do not like "doing school". Am I a bad teacher? Maybe, but more likely "school" the traditional way, was not designed in the same way a child's learning pattern is designed. A child is hard-wired to seek out fun.
A child who is having fun while learning is going to enjoy learning because learning is fun.

Make learning fun by making learning a game!

"Oh no." I hear you say. "There are so many educational games out there and they are so expensive!'

Yes there are alot of educational games out there and yes they are expensive which is why I don't have very many of them. A lot of them are also very complex and too subject specific. What I do instead is turn the games we already have or know how to play into educational games.


Tic Tac Toe Spelling

This game works best when you home school more than one child, but a single child could certainly play against the house(you)as well. A larger group can play with teams.
All you have to do is make the tic tac toe grid and decide who will be X and who will be O. In order to get your X or O, the spelling word must be spelled correctly.(Think Hollywood Squares.)
In this way you can drill them on their own personal spelling lists and have fun at the same time learning about strategy. For a serious challenge, spell the word for them and ask them what the word is. In this way they have to visualize the words. A super challenge would be to spell it backwards. If they can spell it backwards or identify when it's spelled backwards, you know they have it and probably always will. My kids constantly ask to play this game.
Of course this concept is not limited to spelling, use it for math facts, science terms, history dates, bible story comprehension questions, or whatever else you can think of!

Now use the same idea for any other game you own. In order to get their turn they must answer the questions correctly.

For more kinetic learners who need to be moving to learn, play spelling free throw.
If you don't have a basketball hoop outside, use a wastebasket and a crumpled up ball of paper. The variations are limitless.


In a future post I will share with you some cute flannel board games that you can make yourself and use for these kind of games.
So go ahead, make learning fun!