A twist for homeschooling

Although the weather is still cool, soon-to-be blooms on my dogwood tree are assuring me that spring is truly underway.  Since warm weather and soft breezes are on the way, it is a sure bet that homeschoolers of all ages will want to be outside biking, kicking a ball, or playing a game of tag.  In DC, there are a variety of neat outdoor things to do--visiting the Mall, enjoying a picnic at the Reflecting Pool, walking at Haines Point, taking a trip on the Old Town Trolley, not to mention the amazing outdoor festivals and street fairs that will soon be happening.

However, just like our schooling counterparts, there may be one or two (hundred!) things we want to accomplish before summer arrives and homeschool goes on the back burner.  Sometimes when beautiful weather beckons, a twist to your day can help keep the kids engaged and happy.  Nothing could provide a better twist than "Twister!"  Yes, that game you played when you were younger (and maybe more flexible!) can bring a whole new world of learning to your day.  Let me give you an example.

Last month, I was teaching colors and body parts to my French class (at our weekly co-op).  We had written the words, spoken them together, colored with crayons, took turns holding up arms, feet, etc, but I knew the kids needed more practice.  I did a little net surfing and came up with the idea to incorporate a game of Twister into our next class.  Here is how it worked:  I wrote down the colors from the Twister board on a big white board, in French.  Then I wrote down the necessary body parts, in French, as well.  I went over the French words with the kids, explained the game of Twister, and then we played.  When the spinner landed on "red, right hand" I said "rouge, main, droite.  After a little shyness between the players, the game really took off!  The kids were yelling out the body parts and giggling as the game spun faster and faster.  They laughed at themselves and each other, but best of all, they were using their French words to play and learn! 

Think of all the ways you could adapt this game!  With a little tweaking, I think you could use it to help your kids experiment with many different concepts:

• multiplication tables--replace the colors on the spinner with the problem (like 3x5), and put the answers on the colored circles on the game board (all the answers for the three times tables)
• phonics--replace the colors on the spinner with some of the sounds (like "ph", "sh", "wh") and put words starting with those two letters on the game board (phone, shirt, whale)
• state capitols--replace the colors on the spinner with states and put the capitol cities on the game board

I hope these ideas will help you and your kids have fun together as the school year winds down.  Please share your ideas of how to use this game, or others, to keep your kids excited and engaged with learning.

Photo: Amazon.com

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