Creative Homeschooling Ideas
If necessity is the mother of invention, then creativity is its father. Using creative homeschooling ideas to provide children with the time, opportunity, and means to explore and play creatively will help them develop essential problem-solving skills, observational study skills, and the desire to learn.
The Power of Invention
May is National Inventors Month–explore these resources for teaching and learning about famous inventors and inventions to inspire and encourage your own little inventors. Whether you’re exploring “unschooling,” looking for ways to inspire and encourage creativity, or simply trying to reduce your family’s dependence on electronics and structured activities, these creative homeschooling ideas will provide you with some inspiration of your own.
This free inventors and inventions unit study from There’s No Place Like Home is an excellent base for an inventions study for students of all ages.
This inventions timeline can provide a great entry point into a unit study on inventions. How do inventions build on one another? When was the wheel invented and what inventions utilize the benefits of the wheel?
The Freedom to Create
Dominic Wilcox, a U.K. designer and inventor, challenged 450 young students to come up with their own invention ideas. Wilcox took the drawings to manufacturers and had the inventions constructed. This website, featuring 15 of those invention ideas, is an excellent example of the intriguing ideas children can come up with if given the opportunity to develop their observational and creative skills.
One of the most important elements in creativity and invention is the freedom to fail, try again, and experiment. Resist the urge to offer too much instruction and assistance in order to let your kids figure things out by themselves. Even though mishaps are sometimes frustrating–for you and your child–they are an essential part of learning to cope with difficulty and frustration. Be inspired by these seven ways to encourage creativity in your children from HomeschoolYourBoys.com.
Creative Homeschooling Ideas
Check out this creative homeschooling idea for inventive play and create your own invention bin for your homeschool. This is a simple bin to which you add odds and ends such as pieces of string, clothespins, twisty ties, rubber bands, sticks, and similar items. Let kids see what ideas they can come up with and bring their ideas to life with the items in the bin. This is not only a great way to encourage creative play and problem solving, but an excellent rainy-day activity as well.
