Homeschool In Action

Hello there! ☀️ How are you doing today? I hope you’re doing well.

So, when is the last time you used chalk? How about the last time you used it on the ground?

If you’re like I, then you’ve seen a lot of chalk-writing in your school days, along with a lot of chalk dust. 😆 And we only got to use a stick of chalk if a teacher called us to the chalkboard to solve a maths problem, or answer a question or another.

As a parent who is homeschooling I look for ways for the kids to have fun in simple and affordable ways. At the same time, I often assess what an activity can teach the person engaged in it (for example: the kids and/or myself).

I like to incorporate using chalk on the ground, for a few different reasons. Here are some of them:

1) The children know they are allowed to get messy & that there is no expectation of them to try keeping their clothes clean.

2) The use of various colors lets them see the combinations that we see on a color wheel during (table) class times, as well as other combinations they hadn’t thought of.

3) When using water outside they see what happens when the water touches the powdered chalk, and what happens if they touch that new mixture.

4) We use the ground to solve maths problems, fill in sentences for language arts, and create art; all with the chalk!

As you see, qnd likely already know, there are many ways to look at such a simple-seeming thing as chalk, and the kids learn a lot more from the activity, than we might have originally thought. 💗

The main point of this post is this: As homeschooling parents it is so easy to doubt ourselves and whether we are teaching our kids what they need to know and what may inspire them to want to learn more. However, the truth is that there is a lot to learn in playtime, and I think we could all do with some of that. 🥰