Creating Fun At Home

People create and maintain family traditions because they bring meaning to celebrations and foster special bonds. More importantly, traditions create positive experiences and memories for everyone by nurturing a family's connection and giving them a sense of belonging.

Traditions create a connection for children that comes from feeling like they are part of something unique and extraordinary. Family traditions can even contribute to a child's self-esteem and enhance their well-being. After all, children find comfort and security when things are predictable and consistent.

When you are creating your own family traditions, try to keep them simple. Think about playing games, sharing special recipes, going on a hike, seeing a performance, and so on. These simpler traditions are more likely to be repeated and carried on. Likewise, your traditions do not need to cost a lot of money. There are plenty of ways for families to bond without spending money.

"JUST PLAY WITH ME"

Young learners enter this world driven to explore, experiment, learn, and grow. We see this in the toddler who delights in dumping a bin of blocks on the floor or in a curious infant splashing in a puddle.

For early childhood professionals, there is no question that young children learn through play. Research has demonstrated that providing rich and varied play experiences for children boosts their early learning. I believe strongly in the power of play for supporting cognitive development. I wanted to gain insight into what parents and caregivers think about play. In partnership with researchers from North Central College (in Naperville, IL), we worked to complete two studies to help us dive deeper.

Here’s some of what we learned about parents and play:

• Parents value play and believe it is highly important for their children’s cognitive development.

• Parents recognize play as an important way that young children learn about the world around them.

• Some parents don’t always feel confident about their own abilities to play.

• Busy schedules and concerns about safety can present barriers to parents just playing with their children.

We get it—stepping outside of your comfort zone is not easy, switching gears to tune in to our playful side can be challenging, and understanding our role as the adult in play is not always clear.

Here are some things you can think about the next time you are prompted to get down on the floor with your little ones:

• Take time to watch and listen. Before joining your child’s play with your words or actions, take time to observe how your child is playing and experimenting. Not only will you delight in your child's discoveries, you will also find that observing is a great way to get to know your child's interests and gain an understanding about what he is learning. You may be surprised at how competent your child is when you focus on what he is doing.

• Say what you see. Instead of saying "good job," give your child specific feedback about what she did or what happened. Start with the phrase "I like that you..." instead. Acknowledgement can be a gesture, a facial expression, or verbal feedback. Remember your child's discovery of what water can do? Here are some phrases you might say that show you notice your child's discoveries: "You did it!" "Wow, look at that! The water made the wheel turn!"

• Extend play. Offering other materials or modeling a new skill based on your child's interests is a way to initiate interaction and suggest additional possibilities, extending your child's learning while he continues to play. For instance, if your child were to build a ramp with blocks, you could offer him materials of different weights to roll down the ramp. “Does the heavier car go farther than the lighter car? Is one faster than the other? What else could we try?”

• Play and learn alongside your child. Our children are always watching us. When they see you making new discoveries, you are sharing a valuable lesson—that is, learning is a lifelong process.

While there is an art in knowing how best to support a child’s playful learning process, the most important things to remember are to relax, unplug, and have fun!

30 Fun & Cheap Family Bonding Activities at Home

Guest Writer - Happymomhacks

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It’s so important to spend time together as a family but it can be hard with our busy lives. The key is reconnecting with quick and fun family bonding activities at home. Things to do with your kids to get your whole family laughing and making memories together.

The best part is you don’t have to spend tons of money to create family bonding activities just some creativity. Our cheap family activities will help you spend time together whether you’re staying at home or just needing something fun to do together.

Get inspired to spend more family time together with our list of Fun Family Bonding Activities at Home. You’ll be ready to stay at home and make new family memories and traditions.

25+ Ideas for Family Bonding Fun at Home

Use these fun family bonding activities to get closer to your kids. They’ll love spending time with you and you’ll be amazed how much you will learn about your kids.

Family Game Night

The easiest way to bond is to have a family game night. Dust off your board games and enjoy playing together. Make it a full night with a fun themed dinner and desserts.

Minute to Win It Games

If you don’t want to play board games try Minute to Win It Games. Their quick one minute games you can do with items around your house. The games are pretty hilarious to watch too!

A few of our favorite board games :

• Age 4 and up are Zingo, Disney Eye Found It, and Candy Land.

• Age 8 and up are Otrio, Life, Headbanz, Kids Against Maturity, Taboo Kids vs. Parents.

Balloon Games

You’ll be amazed at how many games you can make out of a simple balloon.

Some favorites are Keep It Up where you try to see who can keep the balloon up in the air without it touching the floor the longest.

For more ideas try Balloon Volleyball, Balloon Race, or Balloon Tennis. These could be done in teams or one on one. You’ll love all the energy they burn playing these games indoors.

Would You Rather

Kids love playing the Funny Would You Rather Game. It’s a great way to start a conversation with your kids. Ask the kids silly questions like Would You Rather have bad breath or stinky feet or Would You Rather eat worms or beetles?

Go around the table and see what each of you would rather. Then find out why they’d eat a worm instead of a beetle. The answers are the funniest part!

Get a free printable list of Would You Rather Questions for Kids

Laser Maze or Obstacle Course

Work together as a family to create a Hallway Laser Maze or Obstacle Course. The set up alone is a fun family bonding time. When you’re done let kids run through the maze. If they like competition time the kids to see who’s the fastest.

Find more indoor games for kids when you’re stuck at home in Awesome Stay At Home Indoor Activities for Kids.

Family Walk or Hike

Get out and explore your neighborhood or local forest preserve together. Talk about things you see or what’s going on in your kid’s lives. It’s amazing how much more your kids will talk when your walking.

Add some fun to your walk with free printable Nature Scavenger Hunts. We even have a scavenger hunt for teens to get them to come along too.

Virtual Games with Family or Friends

When you’re stuck at home families can still bond with others by playing virtual games.

Use Zoom Games for kids to play with grandparents or friends you can’t see in person. Everyone will love seeing each other and competing in fun games like Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Bingo, Pictionary & More.

Arts & Crafts

Do your kids love to make crafts at home? Pull out your crafts items and create projects together as a family. A great way to spend family time together at a table and off electronics just chatting and being creative.

Pinterest is filled with fun and easy craft ideas for kids to do at home. One of our favorites is Coffee Filter Butterflies made with items you already have a home. Kids can use their creativity to make each butterfly unique.

STEM Projects

Encourage your kids interest in science with fun STEM projects at home. The whole family will love creating cool experiments and seeing what happens.

One of our favorites is creating an Erupting Volcano. It’s super easy and the kids will be in awe every time the “volcano” overflows.

Chalk Games

Use chalk on your driveway or sidewalks to create fun chalk games for kids to play. Make a huge hopscotch, color finding game, draw a big candy land board on your driveway, or simply draw pictures.

Family Hide & Seek

Have an epic game of Hide and Seek in your house or backyard. Search out new places to hide and see if the kids can find you. They will want to play this over and over again.

Build a Fort

Work together to build a cool indoor fort from couch cushions, sheets, and blankets. The kids will love having your help creating their own home fort. When you’re done use it for imaginative play together as a castle or army fort.

The fort could also be your new reading nook. Add pillows and blankets to the fort floor and snuggle up reading books together.

Indoor Camping

Put up your camping tent in the family room and have a sleepover together in your tent. Use your fireplace to roast marshmallows and tell camp stories. Kids will love sleeping in sleeping bags with the whole family surrounding them.

If you don’t have a tent just build your own fort to sleep in together.

Neighborhood Walk

If you don’t have time to head to a forest preserve walk around your own neighborhood together. Kids can ride bikes, scooters, or walk with the family. Just getting outside is a fun way to spend time together.

Make your neighborhood interesting with a free printable Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt. Find all kinds of hidden things on your own block.

Movie Marathon

Enjoy staying in with a fun Movie Night Marathon. Let each kid pick a movie so there is no fighting. You can even spread it out over a couple days or pick once a week movie night. Friday Nights are always a good night to relax and watch a moive after a long week.

Make movie night more exciting by dressing up like the character in the movie or create a snack to go along with the movie theme.

Make Your Own Pizza Night

Let everyone create their own pizza for dinner. Pick up the pre-made dough to make it fast and set out bowls with lots of different toppings. It’s fun to see what each kid creates and you might even get them to try something new.

Our favorite Homemade pizza for adults is Homemade Prosciutto and Pesto Pizza. It is amazing!

Bake Together

Pick out a favorite baking recipe or something new and enjoy an afternoon of baking sweet desserts. Kids love to be in the kitchen with you so embrace it and have fun creating something delicious.

If your not a baker try simple cake cookie recipes or no-bake oreo balls. All you need is some cake mix or Oreos and a couple of indigents to mix together for a batch of yummy desserts.

If you make extras share some with neighbors and spread your family fun. Kids can decorate a card to go with it too!

Read a Book Together

Kids love to hear you read to them. It’s a great way to increase their vocabulary and enjoy time together. Pick out a book the whole family can enjoy and have a reading night while you eat your delicious baked goods.

Sports Day

Grab a few different balls and head outside to play sports together. Enjoy a game of soccer, basketball, whiffle ball, football, or whatever is your kid’s favorite game. Play more than one game to enjoy a whole afternoon outdoors together.

New Playground or Park

Find a new playground or park to explore together. Enjoy swinging on the swings, going down the slides and flying across the monkey bars. Make a day of it by packing a family picnic.

Dominos

Create an epic domino course with your kids. Spread it out across your family room with different levels and turns. Then test it out and see what works and what you need to change.

Watch Old Family Videos

Break out all those old family videos of past relatives or your kids when they’re little. They’ll love hearing stories about your family and learning about their family history. Plus watching themselves on the tv when they were little is pretty cool too.

Relay Race

Create a relay race in your backyard. Set up obstacles to run around and jump over as a fun race course. Use paper towel rolls as your relay batons.

Pair up with a family member onto teams. You will see which team is the fastest. The first players set off to run the course with their batons. When they get back to the start they hand off the baton to their teammate who takes it and races to the end.

A simple game all ages can play just make it harder or easier depending on your children’s ages.

Dance Party

Have a family dance party. Crank up the music and get out all that energy with funny dance moves to get the whole family laughing.

Puzzles

Pull out a puzzle for the whole family to work on at the kitchen table. Enjoy chatting together while you find the many pieces of your puzzle.

Seek & Find

Print out some Seek and Find worksheets where you search to find items hidden in the pictures. When you need a calm and low-key family activity this is it. Find lots of free printables on Pinterest.

Sundae Bar

Make a fun sundae bar for the kids. Put out all kinds of yummy toppings like sprinkles, cut up candy bars, hot fudge, cookie dough, caramel sauce, and your family’s favorite toppings. This would be great paired with a movie or game night.

Karaoke Night

Pick out favorite songs and let each family member belt it out. You can put YouTube on your tv or computer to get songs or buy a Karaoke Microphone that will do it all for you.

Sac Race

All you need for a fun Sac Race is pillowcases. You can do this indoor or in your backyard. Kids and adults climb into a pillowcase and hop to the finish line. Create a finish line with painter’s tape or two chairs at each end.

Head Outdoors Each Season

Summer Month

Plan a fake beach day at your house with fun water games to keep them busy all day long.

Fall Months

Rake leaves and jump in the huge piles you create. Then collect leave and make leaf rubbing crafts.

Winter Months

Enjoy the snow outside by building snowmen and having snowball fights. Then head to your local skating rink to try out ice skating.

Spring Months

Fly a kit in your local park or yard if you have enough space. On warm rainy days throw on your rain boots and jump in the puddles.

Each season there are tons of fun outdoor activities for families to do together.

Are you ready to spend more time with your family? I hope these family bonding activities will help your family enjoy more time together. The key is to find fun family activities at home that can fit into your busy life and be enjoyable for everyone.

Need More Fun Activities for Kids? Happy Mama Hacks has tons of fun ways to keep your kids busy and off electronics at home. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Rainy Day Activities & Games for Kids

• 20 Stay at Home Indoor Activities for Kids

• 20 Easy Minute to Win It Games for Kids

• 60 Fun & & Free Things to Do with Kids

• Free Printable I’m Bored Jar to Keep Kids Busy

30+ Calming Kids Activities That Will Promote Peace in Your Household

Does your child have after-school meltdowns? Find simple, powerful activities and strategies to calm your child. Back to school has come…
READ MORE

More Fun Activities for Kids

At Happy Mom Hacks we have tons of fun Kids Activities for both indoor and outdoor to fend off hearing kids say the dreaded I’m Bored. Here are a few of our favorites:

• 20 Minute to Win It Games for Kids – Hilarious games the kids will love playing.

• 15 Games to Play on Zoom for Kids – Stay connected with friends & family with fun games to play on Zoom

• Fun & Entertaining Rainy Day Activities for Kids – Indoor games to keep them busy on rain or hot days.

• Scavenger Hunt for Kids – Free Printable scavenger hunts for your local neighborhood, nature preserve, and teen hunts.

• 60 Free Things to Do with Kids – Entertaining ways to entertain your kids without spending any money.

The Purposeful Parenting Quotes for inspiration

Discovering Joy Outdoors

Cheap DIY Outdoor Fun for Kids from Dollar Tree

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Keep the kids entertained at home with easy DIY outdoor games for kids. Kids will love playing these fun backyard games and you’ll love saving money with Dollar Tree items.

Try these 15 simple to make yard games and outdoor activities for kids to keep them busy all summer long. Each of these simple DIY outdoor activities can be made with items you have at home or picked up at Dollar Tree.

Cheap yard games and water activities to get your kids outside. Stop hearing kids say I’m Bored and be ready for some family fun!

Did you know you can order Dollar Tree items online and get free shipping to your local store? Love this!

Obstacle Course

An obstacle course can be created with anything you have in your garage or backyard. I’ll give you some ideas but use what you have to make a fun course for kids to run through. Then mix it up by adding different items the next time.

What You Need – small cones, hula hoops, balls, buckets

How to Play – Create a DIY Course for kids to run through. Here is a sample idea – Set out cones, chairs to weave around, hula hoops to jump through, balls to throw in a bucket, a board to walk over like a balance beam or a ball to bounce on to the finish line.

Make it a race for older kids by timing them to see who gets through the course the fastest.

Chalk Games

What You Need – A Box of Chalk

How to Play – Draw chalk games on your driveway or sidewalk for kids to enjoy. Make hopscotch, obstacle course, scavenger hunt, or color hunt. Let the kids help draw out the chalk games.

Find out how to play all these games in our Chalk Game for Kids.

Frisbee Golf

What You Need – Frisbee, 3-6 Buckets

How to Play – Space out the buckets around your yard. Then let the kids throw the frisbee and aim for the buckets. Your goal is to get the frisbee to land in the bucket.

Water Gun Battle

What You Need – Water Guns, Water, and Large Bucket or Bin

How to Play – Set out a large bucket or bin filled with water for the kids to refill their water guns. This will keep you from having to constantly refill the water guns. Then let them run around shooting the water guns and keeping cool.

Don’t have enough kids for a battle? Let the kids shoot DIY Targets with their water guns. Get some ideas on how to make simple Nerf targets and games with items you have at home.

Make a day of it by doing both a water battle and water target games.

Water Balloon Battle

What You Need – Water Balloons, Water, Buckets

How to Play – Split the kids into two teams and give them each a side of the yard. Make a line down the middle with items you have in your yard. We used buckets. Kids need to stay on their side of the yard while playing. This way you don’t get hit close up with a water balloon.

To start the game give each team a bucket filled with water balloons and let them start throwing the balloons at the other team. Make a rule the balloons need to hit below the head.

Tip: Use Quick Fill Water Balloons that hook to a hose for faster filling.

Water Balloon Toss

What You Need – Water Balloons

How to Play – Pair up the kids and have them stand across from each other. Start out standing close together. Kids then throw the water balloon to their partner to catch. If the child catches it they take a big step back and throw again. Each time they catch the balloon the kids step back until someone misses.

See which team can toss the balloon the most times before they miss.

Water Balloon Baseball

What You Need – Water Balloons, Plastic baseball bat

How to Play – Let the players hit a water balloon with their plastic bat just like they are playing a game of baseball. The game is a great way to keep cool in the summer and to play baseball in a smaller yard.

To make it a game each child gets three pitches. If they miss they are out but if a child hits the balloon they get to advance to first base. Each time a player hits the balloon players on base get to move one base forward until they make it home.

Balloon Tennis

What You Need – DIY Kit Balloons, Paper Plates, Wooden Spoon – Or Buy tennis set at Dollar Tree

How to Play – Blow up a balloon to use as a tennis ball. Then make tennis rackets by taping a wooden spoon to the back of a paper plate. Kids can then play tennis indoors or outdoors hitting the balloon back and forth.

Tip: Let the kids color their plates/rackets as a craft before they start playing.

Find More Fun Balloon Game Ideas – 15 Awesome Balloon Games for Kids

Dinosaur Hunt

What You Need – Bag of mini-figure dinosaur

How to Play – Hide the dinosaur figures in the backyard for the kids to find. Give them a couple of clues and send them out on a backyard dinosaur hunt.

Tip: This would be a fun indoor game on rainy days too.

Shaving Cream Art

What You Need – 1 can of shaving cream, 1 plastic Table Cloth

How to Play – Layout a throwaway plastic table cloth. Then spray shaving cream on the cloth for the kids to mix and play with their hands. They’ll love the feel of the shaving cream and mix it up.

Add a drop of food color to make shaving cream different colors.

Tip: Make sure younger kids don’t eat the shaving cream.

Sports Day

What You Need – Several different types of balls, basketball, football, baseball, bouncy balls, and a hula hoop

How to Play – On your driveway prop up a hula hoop so you can throw a ball through it. Then let the kids try all the different balls and see which ones are easier to get through the hoop.

Make it a contest and see how many each child can throw through the hoop.

For younger kids lay the hula hoop flat and let them toss the ball to land inside or bounce into the hula hoop.

Jump Rope

What You Need – Jump Rope

How to Play – This is an oldie but a goodie. Make jumping rope a game by seeing how many time the kids can jump before hitting the rope.

Sponge Game

What You Need – Sponges and hula hoop or buckets

How to Play – Kids are going to use wet sponges to throw at a target. Make the targets by spacing out a line of buckets or row of hula hoops. You can also use chalk to draw your targets.

Put the sponges in a bucket of water to get wet. They will be easier to throw far if they are wet. Then kids line up to try and hit the target with their sponge.

Search for Bugs

What You Need – A bug collector, magnifying glass, shovel

How to Play – In your bug collector add some dirt and grass to the container. Then let the kids start digging in the dirt to find some worms or bugs. Catch them and place the bugs in the bug collector. Kids can watch the bugs and study them with the magnifying glass.

Frozen Dinosaurs

What You Need – Mini-Figure Dinosaurs, Balloons and Water

How to Play – Stretch out a balloon and add a mini-figure dinosaur to it. Once the dinosaur is inside fill the balloon up with water and put it in the freezer to freeze. Once frozen peel off the balloon and let the kids try to free the dinosaur.

To free the dinosaur give the kids a large bucket with water and place the frozen dinosaur in it. Then let them have eye droppers, ladles, and meat basters to pour water on the dinosaur to help it melt.

Learn more about making this fun STEM Dinosaurs Frozen in Ice.

Visit Family

Spend the day visiting family and friends in the area. What kid doesn’t love a trip to Grandma’s house?

Board Game Marathon

Pull out all the board games or card games and start playing. Let each child pick a game they want to play and enjoy a fun day inside.

Treasure Hunt

Create a treasure hunt for the kids to go on all around the house. Write up a few clues for them to follow to find a small prize at the end. Not sure how to do that just print a few treasure hunts already created on Pinterest.

If you have older kids have them create the treasure hunt for their siblings or friends.

Freeze Dance

Break out the music and let the kids dance. When the music stops they freeze and anyone that moves is out.

Summer Camp at Home

Don’t stress about keeping the kids busy this summer! Plan a fun Summer Camp at Home. It’s easier than you think with our complete Summer Camp Planner. 30+ printable pages with 8 weeks of pre-planned themes, activities, schedules & more. Check it out and be ready for an unforgettable summer.

Process Art or Crafts with Kids

Paint / Finger paint

Break out the paint and let the kids create a masterpiece. I fun way to paint is to cut an apple in half and make paint stamps.

Butterflies

Let the kids use their imagination creating easy coffee filter butterflies with items you have at home.

Leaf Collage

Collect leaves in the yard and glue to a large piece of paper to make a leaf collage.

Bubble Art

Painting with Bubbles is a fun art activity at home with items you already have. All you need is bubbles, food dye and paper to make this fun kids craft.

Draw

Have the kids draw something they see outside, their family, a place they like to visit or their favorite character.

Shadow Art

The kids will love using shadow art to create drawings with sidewalk chalk and on paper of their favorite toys. Step outside and use the sun to draw amazing pictures.

Outdoor Activities for Kids

Keep the kids active by heading outside for fun games and activities.

Nature Walks

Head out on a nature walk. It could be in your local nature preserve or just on a walk around your neighborhood. See how many birds and different animals you can find.

Scavenger Hunt

Send the kids on a scavenger hunt through your local neighborhood or on a nature walk. Use these Free Printable Scavenger Hunts for your family walk. Spice up your regular walks to something new and exciting for the kids.

Snow Painting

A fun outdoor activity in the Winter is Snow Painting. With only two ingredients water and food dye you can make your own snow paint. Kids will love spraying the paint on their snowman and snow forts. Or create their own masterpiece using the snow as their canvas.

Find out How to Make Snow Paint

DIY Outdoor Yard Games

Make your backyard fun again with some easy DIY Outdoor Games for Kids. Create obstacle courses, frisbee golf, balloon tennis, sports games, and more. Bonus it’s all with items from Dollar Tree so you’ll save money while having fun.

Photo Walk

Take pictures on your walk of your child’s favorite things. Then print out the pictures and let your child make a collage or small photo book.

Geocaching

Geocaching is a huge treasure hunt in your own town. Use the Geocaching App or GPS to locate the geocache near you. The app will show you a map of all the geocache in your area.

Head to the Beach

Spend a day at the beach hunting for shells and building sandcastles. Enjoy your day at the beach with these cool beach hacks for kids. Many lakes have beaches if you don't live near the ocean

Water Toys for the Backyard

Keep the kids cool this summer with fun water toys to keep them entertained in your backyard. Use water tables, sprinklers, slip n slides, and more to keep kids happy on hot summer days.

Wet Sponge Battle

Fill up the water bowls and have a wet sponge battle. Place water bowls or bins around your yard to keep sponges wet. Great way to stay cool on a hot summer day.

Collect Bugs

Kids love digging for bugs under rocks and stones and around your backyard. You can get a bug holder and magnifying glass to study the bugs you catch.

Nerf Gun Battle

Let the kids run around outside and do a nerf gun battle. Kids can play capture the flag and other nerf games or just build a base and run around.

Bike Ride

Take a family bike ride around the block or head to a local bike trail in the area.

Star Gazing

Head out at night to look up at the stars with the kids.

Find a New Playground

Kids will love finding a new playground to explore in your area.

Feed the Ducks

Head to a local lake or pond and feed the ducks or any other animal. Research what is best to feed the local animals in your family.

Go on a Picnic

Pack up lunch and head out on a picnic. Bring a frisbee or a ball to play with and enjoy a nice day out.

Run Through a Sprinkler

Break out the sprinkler and let the kids run through it to cool off.

Fly a Kite

Head to an open park and enjoy flying a kite on a windy day.

Camp in Your Backyard

Save money by camping in your own backyard. Grill some smores and pitch a tent to sleep in.

Have a Snowball Fight or Build a Snowman

In the wintertime head out to build a snowman or make snowballs for a snowball fight. Let the kids build a snow fort to hide behind and store their snowballs.

Go Sledding

Head to your local public sledding hill and swoosh down the snow.

It’s amazing how many fun free things to do with Kids there are without screen time. I hope after reading this list your inspired by some new activities for kids.

Want More Dollar Tree Ideas?

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Playful Homeschooling

Jun 18, 2018

Whether you chose to homeschool or it was thrust upon you because your public school is shut down, the first thing you need to learn is...WHAT TYPE OF LEARNER IS YOUR CHILD?

Every student learns differently. While some student’s strengths are reading or writing, other students learn more effectively through hands-on activities. so take the time to figure out what type of educational experiences they need to learn. Even certified teachers have to be taught to do this for each student that they have.

Understanding how your child learns best is a large part of helping your child perform to his or her fullest potential. And that starts with finding out what type of learner your child is.

DETERMINING YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING STYLE

There are 4 main learning styles: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic. Many students use a combination of each, but usually have one style that works best for them.

Using the right study method makes all the difference when it comes to your child understanding (and remembering) the material. By knowing your child’s learning style, you can choose effective study methods that complement strengths rather than work against them.

The VARK Model

While there are multiple models related to learning styles, the VARK model is among the most widely used since it sufficiently addresses learner diversity and needs.

The VARK model stands for:

• Visual

• Auditory

• Reading/Writing

• Kinesthetic

The Four Learning Styles

The following information goes into detail about the VARK learning styles, how to recognize these styles in learners and how to integrate the style into classwork. It is good to remember that not all learners fit exactly into one category. There is often overlap in learner preference when it comes to style, especially across subject matter and activity.

1. Visual Learning

Recognizing visual learners: The visual learners in your classroom like to see and observe the things that they are learning about. Visual learners like to use pictures, diagrams and written directions to access information. This learning style has also been known as “spatial.” The students who are visual or spatial learners might draw, make lists or take notes in order to interact with and process information.

Supporting visual learners: Some of the more traditional styles of teaching support visual learners, such as whiteboards or projecting information onto a screen. Assignments could ask learners to make pictures or diagrams. In addition, providing class notes or handouts that students can follow along with are a great way to integrate visual learning into your curriculum. Visual learners may have a tough time with lectures and could need more time to process information that they hear auditorily.

2. Auditory Learning

Recognizing auditory learners: The auditory learners in your class learn best by listening and relating information to sound. These are students who prefer listening to a lecture or a recording rather than taking written notes. They may also be students who think out loud and speak through a concept in order to dive into it. Your auditory learners are most likely your most vocal students in class. They may also be the ones who read out loud to themselves. Auditory learners often repeat what a teacher has said to process what the directions are.

Supporting auditory learners: Including a lot of time for discussion can support the auditory learners in your classroom. They want to hear what others have to say and share their own ideas in order to learn and process information. When you are giving a lecture, ask auditory learners to repeat what they have learned back to you. Call and response or question-and-answer processes can also benefit auditory learners. In addition, auditory learners appreciate watching videos about a topic and listening to audiobooks or recordings.

3.Reading/Writing Learning

Recognizing reading/writing learners: This learning style is often confused with visual learning because reading/writing learners like to learn using the written word. This may seem like visual learning, but reading/writing preference learners can be discerned as those who express themselves through writing. They also enjoy reading articles and writing in diaries or journals. Your reading/writing learners may be experts with search engines and even old-school encyclopedias. They hunger for knowledge that they gather through reading.

Supporting reading/writing learners: Most of the traditional educational system caters toward this type of learner. The reading/writing learner learns by researching, reading books and writing. They will usually be content to write an essay or create a written project. While these students may not be as vocal as auditory learners, they can express themselves well with the written word. Try to give the reading/writing learner time to write their answers and work through their thoughts on paper.

4. Kinesthetic Learning

Recognizing kinesthetic learners: Kinesthetic or tactile learners learn by experiencing and doing. They like to use their hands and bodies as learning instruments, often acting out events and using their hands when they talk. A kinesthetic learner may seem wiggly in the classroom. Students who are particularly good athletes or dancers may be kinesthetic learners because they are adept at following the directions of a game or a dance using their body.

Supporting kinesthetic learners: Since kinesthetic learners learn through movement, teachers may ask them to act out scenes from a book or use movement in other ways during the learning process. For example, a kinesthetic learner can benefit by walking in place or pacing in a small area while trying to memorize facts. Additionally, when learning can be associated with movement of some kind, such as teaching vocabulary using the total physical response method, kinesthetic learners may retain that information more readily. The kinesthetic learner who connects with something physically can use that information to understand more abstract and theoretical concepts.

You probably recognize yourself in one of these descriptions. As an educator, you should recognize your own learning preferences and be mindful to incorporate activities and opportunities for all types of learners to feel comfortable and engaged.

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It has been my observation that children learn more when they are having fun. Almost in any play situation, they seem to be able to concentrate more and behave better. Some people would deny this and be positive that more learning is taking place when children are focused upon the teacher and not "playing" at all.

Several years ago, I came across some research that confirmed my observations The research told about studies that were conducted on memory. It sought to find out what types of things we remember and what things we don't. It was found that, on the whole, we tend to remember what we learned in pleasant situations and we tend to forget that which was learned during unpleasant or stressful situations.

We know so little about the mind but it does seem that it operates to protect us from bad experiences and in some extreme cases totally blocking the experience from our conscious minds.

The point here is to learn from this research and understand that information is retained or imprinted on the brain at a much higher rate when the person is relaxed and enjoying the experience. It is important that we find ways to make learning fun for children.

For Example: When you want to help your child learn colors, you could drill him and insist he finish a page in a workbook, or you could play color "Go Fish:. I vote for games and meaningful adventures.

Creative parents and teachers plan and set up playful learning situations. They can provide preschool children with dress-up clothes for dramatic play, plastic food for grocery store or dinner play, art materials for making cards and pictures. They never direct the play, they merely facilitate the play by making sure their children have safe and adequate resources.

Sometimes we are so worried that our child will not be ready for kindergarten, we over do a bit on the forced learning. Relax, play with your child. Look for games and activities that expose your child to numbers, colors, shapes, words and what ever you are teaching. Read stories and expose your child to a variety of experiences not just bookwork. Remember to have fun, and be assured that your child will be learning.

My favorite parts of a play based approach was the recognition that curriculum revisits the same topics several times through out their school years. It is just presented with more details as they get older. It also recognizes that kids with Dyslexia or difficulty reading can learn and excel without a textbook.

The predominant emotions of play are interest and joy.
Crucially, joy is also linked with learning in a number of ways. In developmental research, joy is often linked with interest or motivation. For example, everyone can

intuitively remember just how hard it can be to learn or be productive when we are sad about something happening in our lives, or when that inner critic swallows all our mental energy. This is not just an impression. Research repeatedly shows that negative life experiences have implications on learning and
development, just as perseverance and positive outlook improve our ability to handle stress and challenges in life (Donaldson, Dollwet, & Rao, 2015).

We can also easily remember the excitement felt and the ease of learning about something that caught our attention in a surprising way. Recent work suggests that even infants show more learning after a surprising event than after one that is expected (Stahl & Feigenson, 2015; 2017).

From neuroscience, we find that emotions are integral to neural networks responsible for learning (Immordino-Yang & Damasio, 2007). Joy, for example, is associated with increased dopamine levels in the brain’s reward system linked to enhanced memory, attention,
mental shifting, creativity, and motivation (e.g.,Cools, 2011; Dang, Donde, Madison, O’Neil, Jagust,2012). Indeed, thinking of emotions as secondary to thinking in learning goes against recent research in the developmental and neuroscientific disciplines (Immordino-Yang & Damasio, 2007).

So it is to your childs benifit if you plan, joyful moments and free play as part of your homeschooling day.

Peter Gray, play researcher

Giant List of Free Unit Studies

Unit studies are one of my favorite methods of education but can be a little time-consuming to search for and put together all of the educational components. Sometimes it might even seem like it could get a bit stressful on the homeschool budget pulling so many different resources together. However, the internet is FILLED with free unit studies just waiting to be used!

Download Free Core Knowledge Curriculum

"Core Knowledge is not affiliated with the common core curriculum of brick and mortar public education."    

Looking for free resources to expand your students’ knowledge and strengthen their reading skills?

Core Knowledge has what you need.
Start downloading now!

Core Knowledge 
Approach

However, you don’t need to spend your time scouring the internet looking for science materials if you don't enjoy doing that. We’ve found many sources of free science unit studies, lesson plans, and experiments. These free resources are perfect for piecing together your own curriculum based on your children’s interests and learning style. They can also be used to supplement any other curriculum.

FINDING FREE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

Choose a subject below to begin exploring free homeschool curriculum options.

            Math

Science

Technology

Health & P.E.

Language Arts

History & Social Studies

Foreign Languages

Art & Music

Bible

Life Skills

Misc. Electives

All-in-One Programs

If homeschooling was just thrown at you because of the pandemic, local public schools only offer half baked distant learning plans. It is not your only option.

If you work and don't have much free time, try online learning programs that instruct, correct and pace your child's learning for you like K12 or Khan Academy.
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Your Guide to Homeschooling a Special Needs Child

Homeschooling a special needs child is 100% possible. I want to start by getting that out of the way. Your kid with special needs needs all the loving attention, support, and encouragement they can get. Why not get it at home? Today, I’m going to share all the reasons why homeschooling can be sanity-saving for…

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The Basic Types of Special Needs: A Guide to Special Education

I remember the first time we covered different types of special needs in my teacher certification courses. There were so many! Why did they all overlap?! How could I keep them all straight? Maybe you’re similarly overwhelmed. You might be concerned about your child, and wondering whether or not they have a special need. Maybe…

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Working with special needs children

If you wanted to regularly be working with special needs children, you could be a pediatrician, therapist, or even a specialized lawyer. But in our societies, it’s teachers who spend the most time helping these special kiddos. In schools, special education teachers are often the most patient, warm, creative, and predictable people in the building.…

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Understanding the 3 Different Types of Learning Disabilities

There are many different types of learning disabilities out there. There are also a lot of other disorders that aren’t learning disorders but do make learning difficult. How can you tell the difference? A learning disorder is when someone has a hard time learning over a longer-than-normal period of time. To be a true learning…

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More articles for Homeschooling special needs children

Curriculum Choices

Home School versus Virtual School at Home 

What’s the difference between online school and homeschooling — a parents beginners guide to homeschooling and understanding online school (distance education) and homeschool. We’ll also answer is homeschool better than virtual school and the difference between learning at home and learning at school.

Homeschooling vs Online School: What’s the Difference?

• Cost

• Who instructs the classes / schooling program

• Schedules / flexibility

• Who is in charge of regulation and monitoring

• Role of the parents

• How curriculum choices are made

• Tailoring courses to kids’ needs

• Social opportunities

• Who provides assessments, grading, and testing

What is online learning?

Online learning, also called e- learning or distance learning, is education that takes place outside of a traditional classroom. An online learning program is performed through an online platform, where it connects a students to a teacher during a live class, or a student logs on to software to complete course work with videos, games, or other learning tools

Websites for Online Learning

The Internet has transformed educational possibilities. Homeschoolers now have access to many online tools to aid their learning experience. Below are a few of the most popular websites.

Khan Academy (khanacademy.org)

Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Sal Khan. Its goal is creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators

Starfall (starfall.com)

On this homeschooling website, started as a free interactive way to teach young children to read using phonics, kids can play games, watch short videos on letters and sounds, and flip through ″books" of stories.

DuoLingo (duolingo.com)

This free app can help kids learn a variety of languages, including Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and more.

Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org)

You'll find 60,000 free eBooks on Project Gutenberg, including many classics. It's perfect for saving money on reading material when homeschooling!

Clickschooling (clickschooling.com)

Free, web-based homeschooling curriculum ideas can be emailed directly to you six days a week.

Time4Learning (time4learning.com)

If your kids enjoy computer games, this is a good homeschooling resource. For a fee ($19.95/month for the first child in preschool-8th grade: $30/month for the first child in grades 9-12), children can access learning games to improve reading, math, science, and social studies skills.

Reading Eggs (readingeggs.com)

Looking for a way to teach your young children to read? On this homeschooling website, kids progress through a series of fun lessons on their road to reading and accumulate online rewards along the way.

Academic Earth (academicearth.org)

This site provides advanced-level lectures in dozens of subjects at no cost.

What is the difference between homeschool and K-12?

Parents who homeschool must research and find their own curriculum. and make up their own schedule and lesson plans. Many states require parents to maintain portfolios of work completed at home.

Home schooling or distant learning parents are in charge of planning, grading, instructing and the completion of all materials to their kids.

K12 is proud of their curriculum and have more than two decades of experience creating it. Curriculum specialists and lesson developers plan each course to make sure the content is tailored to the age and skills of the student and covers the relevant learning standard for your child.

K12's experienced and certified teachers will work directly with students and parents to ensure each student's unique learning needs are met through a tried and proven curriculum.

K12 is based on the science of how students learn and fueled by innovative technology to make learning interactive and engaging, our curriculum is created by an experienced team.

K12 applies more than 20 years of experience in their curriculum development, specialized teacher training for online learning, and technology to meet your child’s specific needs.

• K12 is a accredited corporation, meeting the highest standards of online educational management .

• Graduates earn diplomas recognized by colleges and universities worldwide.

• Students receive instruction in online sessions led by certified teachers with rigorous, interactive online curriculum training

Tuition-Free Public School

This tuition-free option meets your K–12 student where they are and helps them get where they want to be.

• Students will have flexibility to complete the courses at times that fits their schedule.

• Engaging K12 curriculum focused on their needs

• A robust support team of teachers, academic coaches, counselors, and advisors

• Specialized instruction opportunity.