From the end of July 08 this website will no longer be updated but will remain online as an archive.
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Home education is a legal alternative to school education in Australia.
State governments are responsible for regulating home education.
Different states have different requirements, however
homeschooling families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs
to suit the individual needs of their children.
not intended as personal or professional advice.
© Beverley Paine
Since we don't use the phrase "I'm bored!" in our home, we rarely hear our children complaining about being bored. But even without the "b-word" in their vocabulary, there are still those times when my three children seem to be at a total loss for something constructive to do.
While I don't believe it's my role as mum to entertain my children or constantly come up with ideas to occupy them, I do recognise that children learn by example. Often they can't think of something until they've come across the idea elsewhere, so it's up to me to make sure they are exposed to enough activities experiences to broaden their experience. What I found was that the few activities I suggested or generated became springboards for further activities. As the children grew they naturally took more responsibility for dreaming up ideas of their own.
On one of those "I-can't-think-of-anything-to-do" days, my friend Deborah had her children sit down and make a list of everything they could do completely on their own without parental help. After they'd brainstormed for about an hour they had come up with a list of about fifty activities. Surprisingly, they even included a few household chores like dusting and weeding! Deborah showed the list to the rest of the homeschooling group and together we came up with over 200 ideas to beat boredom, and the list just seems to keep growing!
One of the others mums came up with the idea of putting each item on the list onto individual pieces of paper which are then placed into a container, and when the children need inspiration for an activity, they draw two or three papers and then decide which idea they want to do, either as a group or individually. Much better than bombarding the children with a huge list of possibilities, which tend to overwhelm them. By narrowing the choices down to just two or three, it was easier for the children to decide on the one that sounded the best to them.
In no particular order, here's the current (but continually growing!) list of activities:
ride bikes |
sweep kitchen or bathroom floors sweep front walkway sweep or spray back patio sweep or spray driveway wash car vacuum car vacuum or dust window blinds clean bathroom mirrors clean sliding glass doors clean inside of car windows wash bicycles clean garage play in the sandbox build a sandcastle work with clay copy your favourite book illustration design your own game build with blocks or Lego create a design box (copper wire, string, odds-and-ends of things destined for the garbage, pom-poms, thread, yarn, etc.) plan a neighbourhood or family Olympics have a marble tournament paint a picture with lemon juice on white paper and hang it in a sunny window and see what happens in a few days finger paint with pudding make dessert make dinner give your pet a party paint the sidewalk with water start a journal of summer fun start a nature diary have a read-a-thon with a friend or sibling have a neighbourhood bike wash play flashlight tag play Kick the Can check out a science book and try some experiments make up a story arrange photo albums find bugs and start a collection do some stargazing decorate bikes or wagons and have a neighbourhood parade catch butterflies and then let them go play hide-and-seek create a symphony with bottles and pans and rubber bands listen to the birds sing try to imitate bird calls read a story to a younger child find shapes in the clouds string dry noodles into a necklace glue noodles into a design on paper play hopscotch play jacks make up a song make a tee pee out of blankets write in your journal find an ant colony and spill some food and watch what happens play charades make up a story by drawing pictures draw a cartoon strip make a map of your bedroom, house or neighbourhood call a friend cut pictures from old magazines and write a story make a collage using pictures cut from old magazines do a secret service for a neighbour plan a treasure hunt make a treasure map make up a "Bored List" of things to do plan a special activity for your family search your house for items made in other countries and then learn about those countries from the encyclopaedia or online plan an imaginary trip to the moon plan an imaginary trip around the world, where would you want to go write a science-fiction story find a new pen pal make up a play using old clothes as costumes make up a game for practicing math facts have a Spelling Bee make up a game for practicing spelling surprise an elderly neighbour or relative by weeding his/her garden finger paint with shaving cream collect sticks and mud and build a bird's nest write newspaper articles for a pretend newspaper put together a family newsletter write reviews of movies or plays or TV shows or concerts you see during the summer bake a cake bake a batch of cookies decorate a shoe box to hold your summer treasures make a hideout or clubhouse make paper airplanes have paper airplane races learn origami make an obstacle course in your backyard make friendship bracelets for your friends make a wind chime out of things headed for the garbage paint your face braid hair play tag make a sundial memorize a poem recite a memorized poem for your family |
Beverley Paine is a mother of three young adults and a prolific writer of homeschooling articles. More articles and essays can be found in her books, available from the Always Learning Books online bookstore.
Curriculum Easy Maths Handwriting Technology Story Telling
HomeschoolAust Teaching Tips Reviews PreschoolHS TeenageHS
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of her books will be made.
Getting Started Manual
Unschooling Books
Educational Games
Natural Learning
Practical HS Booklet Series
Curriculum
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Homeschool Diaries
Conference DVD
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Beverley Paine.
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