Spring is upon us! The days are getting warmer and longer, flowers are blooming, and our kids want to spend more time outside. Around this time do you start fighting with your kids more and more after school about homework? I feel like every year at this time my daughter starts to get the the homework blues, and who can blame her? I wouldn’t want to sit inside working on homework when I could be outside playing! I don’t want to even sit inside all day at my job when I know it’s such a beautiful day out there! So, how do we get our kids over this and still get the dreadful homework done? We take the homework outside with us!
Here are 5 tips on how to get your kids over the homework blues this spring!
- Send them outside to read. I know that my daughter should spend 20 minustes each night reading. I’ve been sending her outside to find her favorite sport to read. This could be in a tree, on a swing, or reading to our goats or chickens. As long as she’s reading, I’m happy and she’s happy being outside. You could even send your kiddo outside with their favorite stuffed animal to read to.
2. Make hopschotch on the cement. Inside each square, you could write sight words, letters, math problems, or whatever your child is working on at school. Everytime they hop on a spot they must either read the word, say the letter and sound, or give the answer to the math problem.
3. Sidewalk Chalk Homework. Either on the back fence or on the concrete use sidewalk chalk to write answers to whatever your child is working on. You can call out the question and your child will use a spray bottle filled with water to spray the correct answer. This is a great versatile activity. You could do math problems (addition, subtraction, multiplication, divisionion), sight words, letter sounds and name correspondence, nouns, verbs and adjectives. The possiblilities are endless.
4. Active Outdoor Math. Is your kid working on counting or skip counting? Grab a jump rope or a ball. Every time they jump or bounce the ball, they count or skip count. So easy, but they are working on a math skill.
5. Outdoor Work Space. Worksheets…I just cringe when my girl brings them home. I despise them as a mother and I despise them as a teacher, but sometimes they have to be done. So, how can you get your kids to get outside when they are briging home worksheets for homework? Set up and area outside for your kids to work. Get an outdoor blacket, a lap desk, pencils, and a refreshing snack. Send them out to complete their worksheet and get some good vitamin D.
Our kids have been cooped up all day at school as well as all winter, let’s get them outside and in that sunshine! What are some ideas you have to take your kids’ homework outside and get rid of the homework blues?
