Create a Love of Homeschooling with Literature and Projects

Are you looking to incorporate fun and memories into your homeschooling? Explore homeschooling with literature and projects!

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When it comes to homeschooling, we as Mamas are given the unique opportunity to cater our children’s curriculum, to meet their specific needs. Combining homeschooling with literature and projects has really ignited a love of learning into my children. Today, I want to share how I have incorporated these into our homeschool.

Homeschooling with Literature and Projects

The Benefits of Homeschooling with Literature and Projects

When combined, literature and project-based learning offer a balanced approach that keeps kids engaged and excited about their education, creating a life long love of learning.

All too often, children are given what to read, with worksheets to record verbatim what the teacher wants written, and then a test to see how well they understood or memorized the material. Not only do we not learn this way, but we certainly don’t associate core memories with this.

I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy our homeschooling experiences. I love learning right alongside my children. The feeling of being able to put my head on the pillow each night and know what a fun day we had together is what I will cherish. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but on those awesome days, it is certainly worth it.

The Lasting Impact of Literary Experiences

We can all look back into our childhood and think of a few different books that shape how we saw and interpreted the world. For my husband, that was the Harry Potter series. It ignited a part of his imagination that had yet to be explored.

We love incorporating living books into our homeschool curriculum. What are living books? Living books are a term coined by Charlotte Mason. They are engaging and immersive. Most living books are classic stories you read as a child, like Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie. They encourage critical thinking and a personal connection to the material.

When our children are able to connect to what they’re reading on a deeper level, this will not only spark a love of learning, but also, a love of reading. They will remember more of what they’re reading.

Project-Based Homeschooling: A Hands-On Approach to Learning

Having kinesthetic learners and one child with ADHD, hands-on learning is imperative in our homeschool. Project-based homeschooling is just that, a hand-on approach. This allows kids to dive into projects that make learning tangible and relevant.

If I ask my children to tell me some of their favorite memories of homeschooling, it always involves some project they have done. Building volcanoes is a favorite among both of my boys. They have also enjoyed many of the projects where we have incorporated food and baking into the mix.

By completing these projects, they get to explore their own creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking. It allows them to dig deeper into a topic, they may have not known much about, or been super interested in to begin with.

Choosing the Right Literature for Your Child’s Age and Interests

I will be honest, my boys don’t always gravitate towards living books. After my oldest struggled to read for several years, the fact he loves reading anything is progress to me. What started out as comic books, eventually turned to books about video games, eventually to books about history in the same series of books. It was a slow process, but that’s where we are and I am so beyond proud of him!

I do require living books as a part of our core curriculum though. What they read in their free time and independent reading time is up to them. As for science, social studies, and language arts; I choose living books. Finding a list of living books is a good idea. I also like looking at the reading lists from curriculum such as Ambleside Online.

Incorporating Curriculum and Subjects into Projects

It’s super easy to incorporate projects into any curriculum you’re choosing. It’s even easier to choose curriculum for homeschooling with literature and projects. We have finally found the sweet spot when it comes to these styles of learning. We love being able to choose which projects we incorporate and how often.

Some of our favorite curriculums for homeschooling with literature and projects are Rabbit Trails Homeschool, Peaceful Press, Simple Studies, Five in a Row, and Heart of Dakota. I love these different curriculums for different subjects, ages, and stages. Sometimes, you just have to try what works.

If you’re looking to create your own, you certainly can. Simply pick a living book and search pinterest for some different educational projects and activities.

Embracing a Different Path to Education

At the end of the day, find what works for your family. I know for my children, they thoroughly enjoy rich, exciting stories and working with their hands. We have found something that truly works in our homeschool.

There you have it. Creating a love of homeschooling with literature and projects. Do you use literature and projects in your homeschool? Let me know in the comments below!

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