Adding play to your homeschool seems like a simple concept. Just do something fun each day. But, when you aren’t a child anymore, it’s not always so easy to come up with “spontaneous fun.” It’s especially not easy to come up with “spontaneous fun that coincides with your lesson plans.” Over the years I’ve realized that to add more fun to our homeschool day, I needed to make a plan to play.
I realized that to add more fun to our #homeschool day, I need to make a plan to play #ihsnet Click To Tweet
Planning to Play might sound stiff and structured. It may even seem like it defeats the purpose of adding play to your day. But, I’m not talking about a strict plan that you must follow on a daily basis. I’m talking about adding some resources to your homeschool which make it easy to step out of the ordinary day and add some fun. Here are some simple ways to throw in a little play each day.
Plan To Play With Games
Have games easily available to grab at a moment’s notice. They don’t have to be time-consuming or challenging. The games just need to be a nice break from the stresses of the day. Our favorite games are the simplest and quickest. When we need a fun break, we can grab one of these from the shelf and have a short game to loosen us all up. Try some of these favorites in our house.
Plan for Purposeful Play
Another great resource to have around are busy bags. These bags, which are full of fun creative play activities, are easy for children to grab and play. For us, every Friday is “Fun Friday” during the school year which means we try to veer from our normal schedule and do all learning through play. We use these bags to play games in math, science, and language arts.
My favorite busy bags are made by a fellow homeschool mom at Purposeful Play Busy Bags. She believes play is an important part of a child’s day and it is the best way for them to learn. She creates units of study that provide your child with hours of purposeful play. She does all the work compiling activities and crafts and materials, so all you have to do is pull out the bag and let the play happen. She’s recently started creating Purposeful Play Binders and Sensory Tubs, too.
Play is an important part of a child's day and it's the best way for them to learn. #ihsnet #homeschool Click To Tweet
Plan to Play Planner
Adding play to your day is simple, but not always the first thing on your mind when you are chasing toddlers or dealing with smart-mouthed tweens. In fact, it becomes overwhelming to even consider adding any kind of enchantment. So, take the overwhelm out of planning and use our Enchantment Planner. It helps you to organize your thoughts and plan a day (or even just a few moments) of fun. And, it’s free! Because, when you’re already overwhelmed throwing money at the problem isn’t always helpful. Just sign up below to get on your way to a calmer, happier, more enchanting homeschool.
Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…
Back to school gift baskets! So excited for back to school, even if it just means a stroll to my sofa with a few good books!
It IS nice to just stroll to the sofa!!
I try to add in math and language arts games throughout our week.
Games are a great way to take some of the stress off and take a little break all while sneaking in some learning ;).
These are such great ideas!! Just found your blog through a link-up and will be subscribing today! I am beginning a journey through homeschooling this fall and looking for all the ideas I can get. Thank you!!
So glad to have you! And Welcome!
Blocks!
Those are great idea. Mine are older, but love Jenga, which is really just blocks for older kids.
We just LOVE Zeus on the Loose, Scrambled States of America and Rory’s Story Cubes. We’ll have to check out a few of these other games. We participated in a 30 day game challenge and ever since I have been trying to be more intentional about playing games and adding fun to our homeschooling days.
I’m always adding new games. It’s becoming a bit of an addiction!
Dance parties. They’re our favourite way to let loose and bring the happy back to our day. 🙂
I love it!!! Unfortunately, my kids look at me like I’m insane. Perhaps I dance better in my mind?
We like to do a lot of building. Tegu, Lego, ThinkPlay Gears. These are just some of the ways we play and learn.
I need to check out ThinkPlay Gears. I’ve never heard of them.
Looks like a lot of fun goodies!
Legos are a great go-to in any day. I also add in coloring and board games
I agree to all of the above. Personally, I like a little bit of coloring myself. 🙂
Play is such an amazing way to teach and connect with those little Blessings!
Try to make everything fun.
We add play with actual games, dance breaks, singing breaks, etc.
We do different things like games,dancing,building,coloring and crafts.
We have a preschooler so life is all fun and games! We love art and duplos and reading.
Aww, I remember those days! Enjoy!
We add in play by role playing with stuffed animals.
Great idea!
Nature hikes! Great for young and old!
Having some very active kids, playing is a huge part of our homeschool. I never heard of Play 4 Life Moms!
Shelly, they are awesome. Love those ladies and what they are doing with their group.
I’m always looking for fun ways to add play to our days!
We have shelves with hands on games and activities to use during down times and we also like to include tabletop games whenever we can!
We do, too…and a closet full. 😉
Learning about a new classical piece of music and then dancing to it 🙂
That’s a fabulous idea!
We LOVE board games in our homeschool!
We play lots of games throughout the day!
I try to give my kids plenty of free time to explore.
I try to add in fun but it can be a challenge because it feels like more prep beforehand and I don’t have a lot of time. We do take breaks to play and do science activities or snap circuits of magnatiles or Lego’s. When I can I do things like practice reading words by putting on post its and making hopscotch or sticking to the wall to shoot with a nerf gun.
I agree, it can feel like a lot of prep work. That’s why I love these products. They take the prep work out of it, so you can enjoy having fun with your kids.
And I love the hopscotch and nerf gun ideas.
Board games!
We are just starting the Brave Writer lifestyle (officially because as I read all about it I realized we had been living it this whole time ) and I would love to win these resources!