Homeschooling Can Become Redundant - How to Make a Fun and Unique Curriculum for Your Child

Happy Children Playing Kids (Photo credit: epSos.de)

by Shawn I Moon

Homeschool parents are constantly questioning whether they are giving their child the best education available.

Over time, as the parents and child fall into a routine, they worry about keeping their child engaged and cultivating a thirst for knowledge in their child.

But there are a number of ways to keep the curriculum fun and unique for your child.

Add Variety!

When starting out many parents rely heavily on lesson plans and textbooks. But just like in public school, lectures and too many hours spend reading a textbook wear on the student's patience and attention span. However, it is incredibly easy to break up the routine and keep your child engaged by using Experiential Learning.

What is Experiential Learning?

Experiential Learning is what was once called "hands on" learning; learning by doing. And if you know to look for it, you can find opportunities everywhere to boost your child's excitement for learning. For example, your child can learn geometry strictly out of a textbook, which is dull and seems to have no relation to the real world. But if you also build a birdhouse with your child, they will have to figure out what dimensions and angles to use. Geometry suddenly becomes real.

It Can Be Done With Any Subject

And experiential learning can be done with virtually any subject. Even History can be taught by visiting touring exhibits, like "The Mummies of the World", the "Dead Sea Scrolls", or "Ramses II" (several years ago). Allowing the child to actually see things from the past will bring history to life for them.

Science is made for experiential learning. Physics can be taught using balls, weights, ramps, and catapults. Chemistry can also be shown using harmless chemical reactions that show change of state (solid, liquid, gas) or the release or adsorption of heat.

Even Languages

Many parents do not realize that there are opportunities where foreign language and culture can be taught through experience. Teaching foreign language is often overlooked, or very intimidating for parents. Using international tutors, online, will allow your child to learn the language from someone who grew up in that culture.

Again, it brings the language to life, and it keeps your child excited about learning! At the same time, international tutors can teach your child about their culture and their home country. Using Skype, you can bring all of this into your own home, no matter where you live.

So take your child out of the house and into the workshop, the backyard, or let them learn from a real person. That is where they can see how the things they are learning exist in the real world. And learning in the real world is much more exciting and memorable for your child.

They will discover a curiosity for learning, and what they learn will stay with them much longer than anything they simply read from a book. Now that you know to look for experiential learning opportunities for your child, you will begin to see them everywhere!

Shawn I. Moon invites you to visit his website www.internationalhomeschooling.net where you can view teacher profiles, including video clip interviews, and find the perfect foreign language teacher for your son or daughter. If you have a question or a special request you can email me directly on the Contact Us page.

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