January 24, 2024 – Indoor Learning When the Weather is Bad

Heather Vogler

They Can’t Go Outside? But They Have So Much Energy!

Kids need free playtime. They need the freedom to let loose and be creative. When dreary days force our children indoors, they can explore endless opportunities—if we allow it. I will admit, when my kids were younger, and they began to tear their blankets off their beds to create forts or began stringing yarn throughout the house to create ziplines for their stuffed animals, I just couldn’t. The mess stressed me out. Plus, I wanted a structured homeschool. The desks lined up in front of the American flag made me comfortable. After several more kids came along and instinctively did the exact same things at the same age, I realized how important this type of pretend play was. As a former preschool teacher, I understand the importance of pretend play in childhood development, but this form of education was carefully crafted into educational “centers” in a classroom setting. What does this look like at home?

Finally, I decided to turn several hard “no’s” into “not today.” If a child wanted to pull out all of the dining room chairs and create a train, I would turn that into a “rainy day” activity. Of course, I wouldn’t allow the home to become a free-for-all, but I would allow their creativity to thrive, with minimal intervention. Rather than allowing the kids to tear into all of my craft supplies, they would be allowed one skein of yarn to play with responsibly and clean up when done. In one day, a single skein of yellow yarn was a zipline, panda cage, and fence around their pretend property creatively set up in the living room. Education comes in all forms. While teaching the bookwork and facts on traditional school days, my kids can get their energy out in a healthy way on non-traditional school days using what they have learned in their play.

About the author

Heather, her husband, and five kids homeschool and homestead in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. In addition to writing on her blog, Thrift Schooling (ThriftSchooling.com), Heather has been published in several magazines including Focus on the Family, War Cry, and Brio. Heather holds a BA in Christian ministries and currently works in the marketing department of The Old Schoolhouse®.

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Todd Wilson

Familyman Ministries

Whether the Weather

Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather,
Whether we do school or not.

But here’s my take on bad weather and school: If the weather is too bad outside . . . maybe it means you shouldn’t do school that day.

Now I’m not talking about when it rains or is cloudy, or a little hot . . . I’m talking snowstorm, rainstorm, dust storm, or perpetual gloom. Those seem like the perfect days to do something unschoolish . . . like abandoning the books, making cookies, watching a movie together, or just blowing off the day and enjoying family togetherness.

I know when I say this some moms bristle and think, “We can’t just take off anytime a few flakes fall or rain drops, Todd. You know what that would lead to?”

“Great memories, Mom.” And those memories become the bedrock that all of learning, life, and school is built on. You want them to like being in your home, love being with you, and love the things you love (like God, family, and homeschooling). So let those weather times become little pauses in the daily routine that force you into doing fun (read important) stuff with your children.

Just give it a try the next time it really, snows, rains, or dusts. It works.

Soo . . . .
Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot,
Cherish the weather, whatever the weather,
and make memories that just can’t be bought.

Be real,
Todd

About the author

Todd Wilson is a husband, dad, grandpa, writer, homeschool conference speaker, and former pastor. Todd’s humor and down to earth realness have made him a favorite speaker all across the country and a guest on Focus on the Family. As founder of The Familyman and The Smiling Homeschooler, his passion and mission are to remind moms and dads of what’s most important through weekly emails, podcasts, seminars, and books that encourage parents. Todd, and his wife Debbie, homeschool four of their eight children (the other four are homeschool graduates) in northern Indiana and travel America in the Familyman Mobile. You can read more at www.familymanweb.com.

Danika Cooley

A Bookshelf Full of Adventure

I grew up near Seattle, where the rain sometimes dropped in a solid, sight-obscuring waterfall. Later we raised a couple of our kids right outside Portland, where it rained for days until ducks would float past the front yard in our street-turned-river. We raised our last two kids on the Oregon Coast. I just saw a seagull blow past the window.

When the sky is only dry two months a year, indoor learning becomes an essential skill.

Homeschooled though they may be, our children sometimes need a little independent learning in the off-hours of their day, when schooling is done and even the bravest explorer refuses to head outdoors. We can stealthily stock the house with secret learning tools so they’ll never even realize they’re thinking while they take a break from being educated!

Here are some great things to fill your bookshelf with:

• Puzzle books | Puzzles teach critical thinking, vocabulary skills, memorization, and more! Puzzle books are especially wonderful when they teach the Bible, like my new puzzle-based Bible study, Bible Investigators: Creation from The Good Book Company.
• Audio books | My kids loved listening to Scripture read by children, Adventures in Odyssey, and classic novels. Your children can listen to outstanding adventures and biblical stories while building with LEGOs or K’NEX.
• Puzzles | You’ll want to stock Bible story-based puzzles for your littles.
• Games | Be sure to build your supply of Bible-based games, and games that teach sneaky math, geography, and critical thinking skills.
• Sticker Books | Do you know what kids love? Sticker books! Did you know you can find big books of Bible stickers even older kids love?

Facing a season of blizzards or typhoons? Never fear. Your children have so many great options for fun, independent learning after the “school bell” rings!

About the author

Danika Cooley is an award-winning children’s author who blogs about Bible books, crafts, activities, and snacks at Thinking Kids . Her books include Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, Bible Investigators: Creation, and the Who What Why series, a line of Christian history for 7–11-year-olds. Grab your free three-week sample of her popular Bible Road Trip™ curriculum here.

Pillar of Future

Adam and Dianne Riveiro

Homeschool Snow Days

Snow day! What’s a snow day? I grew up in Florida where we had “hurricane days,” but a snow day was always a foreign concept to me. And of course, you know that old, tired saying that homeschool families don’t get to have snow days.

But what if we did?

Sure, it may seem odd for a homeschool family to do something different when the weather turns foul during the winter. After all, your commute is only from the bedroom to the kitchen table! Yet, when the snow is falling and the nasty winter weather is bearing down, kids’ minds start to wander. Be honest, yours does too! So, on those dreary days during the dead of winter, find a few outside-the-box ways to learn while still having fun.

• Take a virtual field trip. I know we’re all leery of any kind of “virtual learning” because of the pandemic, but there are some really phenomenal free guided tours on YouTube showing places around the corner or around the world.
• Make it a reading day. Give everyone the opportunity to curl up with a book, but have everyone read their favorite chapter out loud to the group.
• Make the kitchen a classroom. Have some fun while you’re making cookies. Or show the kids how to make your favorite recipe from Grandma.
• Make a board game. Get a few sheets of poster board, markers, and some construction paper. Have your kids make a game from scratch and then play it together as a family. It’s a great way to teach probabilities!
• Make something with snow. You’ve got an abundant supply outside . . . all for free. Now do something with it! Make snow ice cream, photograph snowflakes, or mix colors in the snow.

And whatever happens, don’t be a Grinch! As long as it’s safe, give them some time outside for snowmen, snow angels, snowball fights, and huge igloos dug into the side of snowbanks. Days like this are all about making memories. Don’t waste them. Embrace them!

-Adam

About the author

Pastor Adam and Dianne Riveiro live in Easton, Massachusetts, where Adam leads Liberty Baptist Church. They’re the authors of several books, including Hope from Our Heart to Yours: A 30-Day Devotional Journey for Special Needs Families, available from their family’s publishing label at www.readyscribepublications.com. They have four children: Bethany, Kaylee, AJ, and Peyton. They’re passionate about helping their fellow special needs families find joy and contentment in Christ.

Stuck inside and want a way to add some excitement to math or reading? With Everyday Games, students can enjoy over one hundred math and language arts games that teach various math and reading skills. One of the best ways to encourage a student to learn is by helping them have fun, and Everyday Games does just that! Beat the bad weather blues and have fun learning!