Over the weekend I was busy putting the finishing touches to my new ebook – Creative Homeschooling.

After editing, there were quite a few chapters that didn’t make the cut! I was a bit sad to see some of them go but I didn’t think they fitted very well.

But waste not want not! Here is one of the chapters for your enjoyment.

 

Homeschooling on the Go!

 

Even when we are homeschooling we still have to run errands and do general ‘day to day’ stuff with our children.

But this is a great opportunity to squeeze in more homeschooling. Not in a ‘hot housing’ type of way – but so that we are continuing to inspire our children and creatively homeschool even when doing mundane outings.

A great idea I read in The Preschooler’s Busy Book was to make up a Busy Bag filled with on-the-go activities that I took out with me when we were on the move. When my children were very little I used a small make-up purse that I filled with tiny jigsaw puzzles, crayons, tiny notebooks and small picture books. You could add toy cars, paper dolls, stickers or even special snacks. Keep changing the contents regularly so there is always a nice surprise in there for the children. This is a godsend when you are stuck in traffic, or waiting at the doctors surgery for your appointment longer than you expected. It also works great in restaurants to keep the kids busy and quiet.

A car version of the Busy Bag would be great too if you children don’t get carsick – or read Carschooling by Diane Flynn Keith for great things to do in the car.

Now they are older, we often have a notepad or our current read-a-loud with us for the same reason. My children still love settling down in a coffee shop for a good reading session. (And so, from the comments I get, do the people at the table next to us!). Or sometimes we grab a batch of these free homeschool printables to take along.

We really make use of the time in the car too. We have listened to countless audiobooks on our travels and notched up some great literature. It is amazing how even short trips add up and you can get through an audiobook in no time. This is a great way to tackle some of the more difficult books that would be hard to read aloud. Let the professionals do it instead! For example, we have loved listening to The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, but the writing is so flowery I think they would have been pretty hard going to read.

By seizing the moment and making use of small amounts of time, we have covered a lot of ground that would otherwise have been wasted. And turned shopping trips into something fun!

 

 

So – they were my ideas for creatively using up ‘dead’ time when you are out and about. How about you? How do you homeschool on the go?