3 Ways to Shake Up Your School Day

We all get into ruts don't you think?  It happens when your groove gets a little too deep and instead of rocking this homeschool thing... you end up enduring it.

 Here are 3 things I've done recently to shake up our school days:

1. Change Locations

Grab a sketch pad or even your math books and get out of the house.  On Monday we headed out to The Art We Are... a local coffee shop with the most interesting arts and crafts for sale.  I took the time to do some writing exercises with a friend and my big kids did some sketching, browsed the shop and snacked on a vegan gluten free brownie.  *note: I would not recommend preschool at the local artsy cafe... just sayin'

2. Dreambox

The Scott kids are seriously gaga over Dreambox.  It's a math adventure game that is a great way to break up the monotony of workbooks.  *note: I have no affiliation with Dreambox  just sharing what works for us.

3. Play

The same writing friend that I met up with on Monday introduced me to Story Cubes.  I had so much fun playing it I left the coffee shop and headed to the toy store to buy it.  My kids don't exactly love to write, but I am hoping that having fun telling a story will be a step in the direction of writing one.  Plus I am going to enjoy the possibility that this game is forging new creative pathways in their heads (how's that for sounding like I know what I'm talking about?).

How about you?  Leave me a comment with your favorite way to shake up a school day and chase away boredom.

Some Ideas for Review

One of my real life friends asked me about what sort of review I do. Right now we work on a weekly letter of the alphabet so how do I know it's sticking?

Here is a list of the ways I review and assess what letters Hudson really knows and what we need to work on.

1. Starfall
The alphabet games on Starfall really reinforce each of the letters and the sounds.

2. Everday letter hunts.
I ask Hudson to point out random letters in signs, on book pages, on the side of vehicles... pretty much anywhere there is writing we play this game.

3. I write letters and short words on out cookie sheet chalkboard. Then Hudson uses magnet letters and matches them up with what I have written.

4. We play "What does __________ start with?"
example:
Hudson: Mom what does garlic start with?
Mom:  What's the first sound?
Hudson: (Sometimes with help) Guh.
Mom: So garlic starts with...
Hudson: G!

So those are just some of the ways we alphabet review in our house.  What are your ideas?