Favorite Resource - Enchanted Learning
Like the Dover Activity books, I loved Enchanted Learning for allowing me to be responsive to my children's current interests. You can have access to free printables, but it is well worth the money to actually join the whole site. You gain access to so many printables for all kinds of subjects and interests.
How to use this resource:
This comes under the category of strewing. You simply print out a work sheet or two you think your children would be interested in and place it somewhere they will stumble upon it. You could get more creative with this than I was. You could have a designated cubby for each child so they could get 'mail.' You could keep a folder in your car and put various worksheets in there, if you are on the road a lot. There are probably many ways to strew this!
I especially used this resource to surprise my kids with fun worksheets at the breakfast table. For instance, right now it's March so you know what that means, don't you? Pi day is coming up! March 14th or 3.14 is pi day! You can use this to teach the concept of pi (it can also take you on a rabbit trail to learn the Greek alphabet! Or perhaps to learn to bake an actual pie!). I would do this sort of strewing for any sort of holiday or season. I wasn't too consistent, but that just made the element of surprise all the more exciting!
Anyway, the pi thing is just an example. The Enchanted Learning site is a treasure trove of fun and creative ways to learn. Again, a light touch is better than a heavy hand. So don't force worksheets on your kids. But if they are fun and engaging and sprinkled into your learning lifestyle just a bit, they are a wonderful resource. And they are something kids can stick up on the fridge to show off an accomplishment. Dads and grandparents like to see them to feel assured the kids are doing something educational. And they are good for putting in a portfolio if your homeschooling laws require that.
And if whatever you've surprised the kids with falls flat, never mind. You have a few of options. You can just post it on the wall or fridge still blank and let the kids take it up whenever they want to. You could put it into your Activity Workbook Station. You could just use the blank side for coloring or some other craft or you could stash them away until another opportunity presents itself (like next year's 3/14!). Some strewing will always fall flat. But if you are patience and subtly keep at it, more times than naught, your kids will respond to the strewing in some way.
Over the years I used this resource for reading practice, geography, science, math, poetry, you name it!
How to use this resource:
This comes under the category of strewing. You simply print out a work sheet or two you think your children would be interested in and place it somewhere they will stumble upon it. You could get more creative with this than I was. You could have a designated cubby for each child so they could get 'mail.' You could keep a folder in your car and put various worksheets in there, if you are on the road a lot. There are probably many ways to strew this!
I especially used this resource to surprise my kids with fun worksheets at the breakfast table. For instance, right now it's March so you know what that means, don't you? Pi day is coming up! March 14th or 3.14 is pi day! You can use this to teach the concept of pi (it can also take you on a rabbit trail to learn the Greek alphabet! Or perhaps to learn to bake an actual pie!). I would do this sort of strewing for any sort of holiday or season. I wasn't too consistent, but that just made the element of surprise all the more exciting!
And if whatever you've surprised the kids with falls flat, never mind. You have a few of options. You can just post it on the wall or fridge still blank and let the kids take it up whenever they want to. You could put it into your Activity Workbook Station. You could just use the blank side for coloring or some other craft or you could stash them away until another opportunity presents itself (like next year's 3/14!). Some strewing will always fall flat. But if you are patience and subtly keep at it, more times than naught, your kids will respond to the strewing in some way.
Over the years I used this resource for reading practice, geography, science, math, poetry, you name it!
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