Funschooling? I get the fun part, but where does the school part come in? I mean, sure, playing with toys and make-believe was great for preschool, teaching basic counting, colors and shapes. But what about my kid in 6th grade who’s learning algebra and writing essays on the Revolutionary War? You can’t exactly do that kind of thing in play, can you?
Sure you can!
Funschooling is learning through play and projects. It’s fitting learning naturally into the kinds of things kids already love to do. Yes, it is playing counting and word games, and is perfect for basic learning in the early grades. But it is so much more than that, too.
Funschooling is creating a pretend restaurant, developing menus (writing, graphic design), setting prices (math, economics), and serving the food (science, math, etc.).
It is lining up the kitchen chairs like a canoe and pretending to canoe down the Colorado River, while looking at a satellite view map and discussing the geography, ecology, and economics of the river system.
Funschooling is researching the Lewis & Clark expedition to produce a movie about it. It’s researching the expedition itself, the cultures of the native peoples they encountered, the clothing worn by the explorers and the natives, the food they prepared, the terrain and weather, and the names of various participants. And then making an utterly silly movie using toys as the characters.
And funschooling works. When you learned about the Lewis & Clark expedition, did you learn all of those details, or did you just learn a few key dates and locations? Which lesson do you think you’ll remember best? Reading a few passages and passing a test? Or researching all these points, selecting the characters, backdrops, and props, creating dialogue, and filming and editing a movie that you’ve re-watched a dozen times?
Learning doesn’t have to be serious, and it doesn’t have to revolve around worksheets and tests. Your kids want to create a fan club for their dog? Why not? Create a newsletter! Research her breed to create a fact sheet! Write a how-to guide on training and caring for her. Develop an imaginary Welcome Kit for new members, and calculate the membership price they’d need to charge in order to recover costs, including shipping.
It doesn’t really matter what the project is, just that it harnesses your kids’ passions and takes advantage of natural opportunities for learning. That is what matters. The learning. The laughing. A lot of laughing. And the time spent together doing projects you all enjoy.
I started this site, not because I consider myself any great learning guru. But because I’ve seen so many parents, myself included, struggling over curriculum, trying to help instill a love of learning in our kids but unsure how to do that with curricula that center around worksheets, quizzes and 20 problems to a page.
I’ll share ideas and projects we’ve done and show you how to replicate them. I’ll share our triumphs and our struggles, our small wins and our inspirations. Keeping in mind that I’m far from a perfect parent, teacher or human being, join me and my family on this journey so we can help each other put the fun into school, and help our kids learn to love learning again.