Looking for fun day plans for home-schooled kids.
October 28, 2012 10:39 PM Subscribe
Looking for fun day plans for home-schooled kids.
We have two boys aged 4 and 2 and we are homeschoolers. We spend lots of the time reading, running around in nature and cooking together. We also make an effort to go into the nearby city and do many cultural activities (museums, concerts, etc.).
We are looking for other fun plans, projects, activities that we could do during the day. There are lots of websites with crafts and suggestions but some are a bit lame to tell you the truth. Basically just look for fun plans to do with kids that you may have done and enjoyed. Can be simple or elaborate...we have time! An "educational" bent in the classic sense is great but not critical.
We have two boys aged 4 and 2 and we are homeschoolers. We spend lots of the time reading, running around in nature and cooking together. We also make an effort to go into the nearby city and do many cultural activities (museums, concerts, etc.).
We are looking for other fun plans, projects, activities that we could do during the day. There are lots of websites with crafts and suggestions but some are a bit lame to tell you the truth. Basically just look for fun plans to do with kids that you may have done and enjoyed. Can be simple or elaborate...we have time! An "educational" bent in the classic sense is great but not critical.
How about a birthday party? Make it educational by making it for a specific person in history. What kid doesn't like a birthday party? You can do birthday hats and decorations. Sing the song but maybe come up with "presents" that seem like something the famous person would have been gifted. Make some food that is relevant to that point in history, play music that you imagine they would enjoy. It could get quite elaborate. Plus, cupcakes!
Do you guys take public transportation? Have a public transport day! Move around the city by all means available and maybe visit the planning office or bus center -- they might even have some kids activity suggestions.
Theme weeks: fish! Architecture! Frogs! Native Americans! Volcanoes! Wilderness survival skills!
Could you do a weeklong activity where you learn about plays, make costumes and the put on a production?
Edited to add: I should be in bed already -- I was thinking they were a bit older than 4 & 2. So, simplify these as necessary -- they are the perfect age for "birthday" parties, though it might be more fun to have birthday parties around an animal theme or with a cooking theme.
posted by amanda at 10:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]
Do you guys take public transportation? Have a public transport day! Move around the city by all means available and maybe visit the planning office or bus center -- they might even have some kids activity suggestions.
Theme weeks: fish! Architecture! Frogs! Native Americans! Volcanoes! Wilderness survival skills!
Could you do a weeklong activity where you learn about plays, make costumes and the put on a production?
Edited to add: I should be in bed already -- I was thinking they were a bit older than 4 & 2. So, simplify these as necessary -- they are the perfect age for "birthday" parties, though it might be more fun to have birthday parties around an animal theme or with a cooking theme.
posted by amanda at 10:56 PM on October 28, 2012 [1 favorite]
We used to make paper airplanes. Then after a lot of throwing and chasing we would attempt some basic origami.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:00 PM on October 28, 2012
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:00 PM on October 28, 2012
Just do stuff that 4 and 2 year boys will enjoy. Your kids are not even school age yet - you don't need lesson plans and curriculum. You need to let them to have fun in whatever way they seem to enjoy. Going to the playground at the park is just as good as a museum. A 4 year old is not soaking up much at the museum. The 2 year won't even remember being there.
posted by COD at 5:55 AM on October 29, 2012
posted by COD at 5:55 AM on October 29, 2012
Response by poster: actually they quite like the museum to tell you the truth. im not looking for structure - if that was the case they'd be in school! we are just looking for some fun day plans with kids this age.
@Amanda - great suggestions!
posted by BigBrownBear at 6:44 AM on October 29, 2012
@Amanda - great suggestions!
posted by BigBrownBear at 6:44 AM on October 29, 2012
You should check with your local parks departments about programs for homeschoolers--for example, our parks district has a working farm, with special days for homeschool groups to come and do different projects throughout the year. Most likely these will be geared toward children of elementary age and older, however, but there should also be programs for preschool aged children without any particular homeschool connotation.
When my kids were that age, we'd sign up for occasional sports, dance, and art classes through parks and rec. Just a few weeks at a time, pretty cheap, and it was fun to either join a friend for a session or make new friends.
Going around to different library story times can be fun too. They can vary so wildly even within the same library system, even at the same branch, it's fun to figure out when and where the best one takes place.
Swimming lessons.
posted by padraigin at 6:57 AM on October 29, 2012
When my kids were that age, we'd sign up for occasional sports, dance, and art classes through parks and rec. Just a few weeks at a time, pretty cheap, and it was fun to either join a friend for a session or make new friends.
Going around to different library story times can be fun too. They can vary so wildly even within the same library system, even at the same branch, it's fun to figure out when and where the best one takes place.
Swimming lessons.
posted by padraigin at 6:57 AM on October 29, 2012
Just a thought: what would have seemed amazingly awesome to me at age four would be if last week's skill-building activities turned out to be the building blocks for this week's seemingly unrelated (by an age-adjusted first impression) projects, in a sort of "hey, I can do this!" mode.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:43 AM on October 29, 2012
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:43 AM on October 29, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by vecchio at 10:51 PM on October 28, 2012