Play-doh and Acorns

(In 2017 when I only had 3 :) )

With three children, my days can get crazy, and most of the time non-stop. I try to divide my time between them the best I can, especially when it comes to homeschooling, but it doesn't always work. Right now, my 1st grader and I have our schooling time while the other two nap in the middle of the day. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I have found lately that he hasn't really been in the mood for it after a long day, so we switch things up a bit and work during the morning if we can. At those times though, I find ways to include my other children and still have that one on one time with my oldest. I've said before, flexibility is a key to homeschooling. 

The other week, while we were stuck in the house after being snowed in, we were getting a bit stir crazy, so we broke out the play-doh and had some fun. We made all kinds of creatures, used all kinds of materials, and worked on some math. While the two littles made worms and pizzas, I worked with my 1st grader on 3D shapes. I showed him how to mold the play-doh to make these shapes, he copied, and we discussed what they were called and their characteristics. We set them out to dry and put them on display in our school room and he was able to show his dad when he got home that night. 

After we made 3D shapes, the other kids were done with their projects, so I decided that we would learn a bit about force. We took tiny balls of play-doh, put them in the end of straws of varying sizes, and blew them across the floor in the kitchen trying to make them to a plate. My toddler daughter enjoyed picking up all the balls that were spit out and trying to throw hers around, while my preschooler enjoyed trying to see if he could blow the play-doh through the straws and make it to the plate before his brother. My 1st grader and I talked about the force it would take to blow through differing lengths of straws, as well as if it made a difference whether you blew a constant stream of air or quick blows. He experimented and came up with his own conclusions. Fun for everyone...spitting things across the floor. Math and science, done.

Another time before this, we had beautiful weather and just had to be outside. There was no focusing on school work in the house. The concrete pad in front of our garage was covered with acorns from the tree above it, and was the perfect spot for school. My toddler and I took spoons and bowls and pretended to cook the acorns, take them apart, put them in the bowls and take them out, scoop and balance them, and count them up to 10. My preschooler and I also counted them, tossed and tried to catch them, cracked them open to study them, and talked about how they grow. My 1st grader and I were able to go into more depth of how plants are formed, why they were falling, purposes for them, study the layers and parts, use them to add and subtract, and make up a story about an acorn. Math, science, reading, and life skills, done.

Sometimes, you just have to improvise and not feel bad about it. Learning is more fun with other people anyway! Anything can be used to school your children, and it just might be more interesting :) There are definitely times when we need a pencil and paper and quiet time to just get it done, but I'm thankful for the times we can all use our imagination and be together while we learn at different levels. 

*Jan 2017