Homeschool Hints

Wipe Away Boards

These things are great. We’ve used them for numbers and letters and pictures. You can even laminate what you want and use a wipe away marker for those. Sarah and Tim are currently working on their cursive letters. It also really cuts down on the paper waste. It reminds me of the “slate work” in the one room schoolhouses of times of old.

Timing
No, not “timing is everything” timing, but the actual stop-watch kind. My kids love it if I “time” them, on their math sheets, flash cards, even on their writing wipe-off boards. Neatness still counts, but they love to be timed. Sometimes they race to beat their time from last time and sometimes they race each other’s times. Timing also works great with clean-up and getting dressed.

Choices

Which subject do you want to do first today? Math? Okay, do you want to do your game, your flashcards, your counting or your math sheet? (Once one subject is picked, there’s no picking another until all parts of that subject are done.) They also get to choose their treat. One treat for each subject. (I love it when they pick Hershey’s kisses because only Mamas can read the secret language on the “tags”. This one says, “Be kind to everyone.” This one says, “Daddy is proud of your hard work.”) I also gave my seven year old a page where he can check off each subject once it’s completed.

Challenge Fridays

I set up a challenge course while they wait in another room. The challenge course has stations. One station may be a page in their handwriting book. The next station is five math problems. The next is read a Dr. Seuss book to Marc and Luc. My 7 year old boy loves this and it motivates him to get things done. I am always amazed at how quickly he can accomplish this.