Activity Ideas - Guilt-Free Homeschooling

Workshop Wednesday: Letter or Number Manipulatives (DIY)

September 18, 2012 by CarolynM 1 Comment

Have you ever found yourself wishing you had a whole big bunch of fancy-schmancy letter or number manipulatives to help your struggling learner? Well, don’t move, because you’re about to learn how to make them inexpensively for yourself!

A child who has difficulty learning letters or phonics patterns, identifying syllables, spelling words, or reading will usually benefit from using letter manipulatives, something he can move around and re-position himself. The struggling student might be any age, so using letter tiles is helpful for older students who already know the letters but struggle in spelling or syllable divisions.

Number manipulatives are helpful for the student who struggles with math, as are extra tiles with math operation symbols, to use them in building and solving equations. It’s one thing to use math cubes to illustrate 3 + 2 = 5, but it’s another thing entirely to use number tiles to solve 3 + 2 = 4 + y.

It’s fairly easy to cut out letter or number shapes by enlarging a simple font to super-size status, about 3″ tall (or around 350 points) on your computer’s word processor. Experiment to find a font you like, enlarge the letters or numbers, then print them on cardstock and cut out. These shapes can also be used as templates for making cut-out letters or numbers from materials that can’t be put through a computer printer, or to get more letters or numbers from a single sheet of paper.

Squares or rectangles can be turned into cards or tiles by writing the letters or numbers on them with a Sharpie marker. I have used cardstock, sandpaper, and cereal box cardboard for these with great success. The sandpaper adds a nice tactile element for kids whose learning styles appreciate more texture. I have varied the sizes, depending on the age of the kids using them and the application they will fulfill — 6″ squares are great for matching games on the floor, but 1″ squares work great as tabletop tiles for spelling practice. We had a few hundred small letter tiles made from cardstock, which were great for building a list of spelling words.

For students who are just learning their letters, I highly recommend starting with upper case letters first, then once the student knows them without mistakes, introducing the lower case letters as the “little brothers” of the upper case. This results in less confusion and fewer possibilities for reversals.

These cut-out letter shapes are wonderful tools for teaching and learning recognition, matching, phonics, spelling, syllables, and so on, whether by themselves or in combination with cards, tiles, and a variety of sizes and font styles (especially helpful for learning to recognize all the different appearances letters can have). You could even make some in the exact same size and shape as the letter tiles from a Scrabble or Bananagrams game and combine them all for even more learning fun!

I have made letter and number shapes and cards from these materials:

Sandpaper (fine to medium texture works best)
Craft foam
Textured fabrics (corduroy, vinyl, fleece, denim, etc.)
Cardboard (including cereal boxes), poster board, etc.
Cardstock
Textured scrapbooking paper

Bonus Tips:

Sometimes I needed to glue an identical shape of cardstock or cardboard to the backs of some flimsy materials for stability and durability, especially with cloth or thin paper.
Wood or foam cut-outs can sometimes be found with craft supplies for a quicker start.
It can also be helpful to decorate the front side and/or bottom edge of letters and numbers to help kids learn to orient them correctly (even a line drawn with a marker can be enough to discern top from bottom or front from back).

Letter Activities:

Matching — sort lots of different letter shapes, tiles, and cards into separate piles for each letter. Alphabetizing — mix up one set of letters (A-Z) and put them into alphabetical order.
Phonics Practice — use letters to make short words (2-3 letters) and practice reading their sounds in order to read the words. Change one consonant and read again; repeat. Ditto for changing the vowel. Repeat for longer words as skills increase.
Spelling practice — use your supply of letter manipulatives to build spelling or vocabulary words. Add as many words as possible that use the same phonics patterns.
Syllables — build a vocabulary word, then scoot the letters apart to divide the word into its proper syllables. Compare to the dictionary entry to self-check.

Number Activities:

Matching — sort lots of different number shapes, tiles, and cards into separate piles for each number.
Numerical order — mix up a set of numbers (0-9 or 1-10) and put them into numerical order.
Number value — match the appropriate number shapes, tiles, and cards with the dots on dice or dominoes.
Double-digit numbers — combine digits to make teens, twenties, etc. and practice reading them. Ditto for three-digit numbers and beyond.
Arithmetic practice — build arithmetic problems using the number shapes, tiles, cards, and operation symbols, and put the correct numbers in place for the answers.
More operations — be sure to make some commas, decimal points, fraction bars, dollar & cent signs, percent signs, and anything else your student will encounter in his math lessons.

For more activity ideas, see also (in any order):

ABC Flashcards

Building Blocks for Success in Spelling

Building Blocks for Success in Math

“Stealth Learning” Through Free Play

What Is the Missing Element?

Letter & Number Recognition

Tactile Learners

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Auditory Learning, Homeschool How-To's, Kinesthetic Learning, Learning Outside the Books, Learning Styles, Math, Phonics, Reading, Roadblocks to Learning, Spelling, Tactile Learning, Visual Learning, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: The Moving Answer Worksheet

August 7, 2012 by CarolynM Leave a Comment

Addition facts are not tricky; they are merely a short-cut to counting from one number to a higher number. Subtraction is not a difficult procedure; subtraction is just un-doing addition. When taught together, addition and subtraction become different ways of looking at the same problem. Children often get the impression that addition is one skill, and subtraction is a completely different skill. They are not different skills, they are just different methods of looking at the same facts. It’s the same principle as if you and I were holding several pencils, but I give you a pencil, and then you give me a pencil. We can trade pencils back and forth for as long as we want, but we are still holding the same total number of pencils.

When my kids got stumped on variations of the same math fact (is 2+3 different from 3+2?), I created a simple worksheet to show them how to see those variations as always being the same statement, no matter what form it took. I rearranged the numbers in every way possible, and I moved the answer blank around to different locations, too. By completing this short worksheet, my kids learned to see the statement as a whole, instead of seeing each variation of it as a completely different problem. By combining the addition and subtraction variations of the same math fact, my kids caught on quickly to the idea that those particular numbers always went together, whether adding or subtracting.

Some math teachers and some math programs only place the answer blank at the extreme right end of each problem at this stage. Some students who experience this consistency can become incredibly confused when they are eventually presented with a problem that has the answer blank in a different location. Learning to relate to each set of facts as a completed puzzle helps students identify which piece of the puzzle is missing, and the many variations possible in this worksheet will prepare students for later math (such as algebra) when the answer blanks shift around to different positions within the problems.

Notice how this method was extended in a few examples to include the arithmetic symbols, as well as the numbers, such as in 2 ___ 3 = 5. Obviously, a plus sign belongs in that space, since 2 and 3 must be added to equal 5. It’s obvious to you and me, because we’ve been doing this for so many years, but to a youngster just learning arithmetic, it’s not quite as apparent, and a little discovery is good for the brain cells.

This principle can also be applied to multiplication and division facts, as division is simply the un-doing of multiplication. The stage of learning the facts is a good time to combine these skills, since there are no remainders yet.

The worksheets don’t have to be fancy at all — a handwritten version is just as valid as a computer printed one, but handwriting will probably be much faster and easier to produce. Stick to one set of numbers for each worksheet, but include all the possible variations. Your students will catch on quickly!

Use other learning style methods along with this visual worksheet. Auditory learners will benefit from discussing the patterns in the problems and will appreciate a chance to answer orally. It helps to connect learning styles if you encourage them to write their answers in the blanks after giving the correct oral answer. Do any of the following activities with your auditory learner, but talk about what you’re doing and read the problems aloud, or let him talk aloud to himself. Background music is also helpful for auditory students who need it as “white noise” to drown out other noises and help them concentrate, so keep the iPod and headphones handy! If you have any other students nearby who are not auditory learners, they may appreciate being allowed to do their work in another part of the house — my visual/tactile daughter did a lot of lessons quietly in her bedroom while her auditory brother and I discussed his work in the kitchen.

Tactile learners can use manipulatives to help solve these problems, such as small blocks or dry beans. The same group of objects can be used for the entire worksheet by rearranging them to fit each of the various problems. Other helpful items may be individual cereal-box cardboard “flashcards” for each number and arithmetic symbol–students can arrange and rearrange them to see which piece of the puzzle is missing. Tactile learners need to keep their fingers and hands involved during the lesson, so use whatever materials you have available to make that happen, even if that means making the worksheets large enough to hold numbers formed from Play-Doh on each answer blank!

Kinesthetic learners work well with large-scale manipulatives, such as sports balls arranged in groups in the back yard to fit the problems. You can adapt tactile manipulative, table-top methods for kinesthetic learners by making things large enough that they will be using the big muscles of arms and legs instead of just fingers to move items around. Another good kinesthetic learning method is to write large problems on a whiteboard or chalkboard, or use a slick-finish white shower curtain liner as a giant piece of paper on the floor and write on it with wet-erase markers (or use Post-It notes for the answers). Chalk on the sidewalk or driveway is another good stand-by for over-sized writing projects, but don’t forget that your kinesthetic student will also respond well to doing standard worksheets if he can lie on his tummy on the floor to do them! Any method that keeps those big muscles active is a kinesthetic method, so if you want your student sitting quietly in a chair, it’s not a kinesthetic lesson.

Whatever your students’ learning styles may be, it should be their goal to learn how to learn through every style. Therefore, using a few of the above ideas for each student in whatever lessons you do will increase their ability to learn through other styles and increase their overall understanding. Besides that, variety just makes the learning that much more fun!

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Auditory Learning, Homeschool How-To's, Kinesthetic Learning, Learning Styles, Math, Tactile Learning, Visual Learning, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: 100-Grids and Flashcard Bingo

July 31, 2012 by CarolynM 2 Comments

A 100-grid is another marvelous teaching and learning tool that can be made in numerous fun ways. A standard 100-grid contains the numbers from 1 to 100 (too obvious?) in ten rows of ten squares each, 1-10 in the top row, then 11-20 in the second row, and so on.

Draw the grid on the driveway with chalk; your kids may also get Dad’s permission to draw it on the garage floor if they promise to sweep it clean again when they’re done. I drew a 100-grid on an old tablecloth (you can also use an old bedsheet) with permanent markers for a reusable, storable, portable, floor-cloth version. These grids are big enough for your kinesthetic learners to hop around on for hopscotch-style, action learning!

Draw a smaller 100-grid on paper or cover the blank-grid side of a Scrabble Junior game board with clear Con-Tact paper (to make it washable & more durable) and fill in the numbers with either wet-erase or dry-erase markers. These versions are more tactile, since your students can use game pawns, pennies, or dry beans for marking number squares in learning activities.

Add a visual learning element to your 100-grid activities by alternating colors of the numbers. To skip-count by 2’s, write the odd numbers in one color and the even numbers in another color. To skip-count by 3’s, use one color for the multiples of 3 and another color for all the other numbers. If you want to do this activity many times for many multiples, write all the numbers out in one color, then place a colored marker on the appropriate skip-counting intervals.

Do you have an auditory learner? Challenge him to say the numbers aloud while hopping or jumping from number to number, or while placing markers on the correct squares.

Try varying the arrangement of the numbers in your grid for some interesting game play. If you have a Chutes and Ladders game, you can see one simple variation of our grid — it starts in the lower left corner and zig-zags back and forth to the top. For another game board variation, start with 1 at an outer corner and spiral the numbers in toward the central 100 square–but you might want to outline the path to make it easier to follow.

For a very simple game to practice math skills using these novelty grids, remove the face cards from a normal deck of playing cards and use the remaining “math deck” for an addition game. Let each player select a pawn and set it just off the grid near the 1 square; on his turn, each player will turn up a card from the deck and move his pawn that many spaces. The first player to reach 100 wins that round. For more advanced play, let the black cards represent positive numbers (adding, or moving forward) and let the red cards represent negative numbers (subtracting, or moving backward).

Another amazing math activity is the “Sieve of Eratosthenes.” This scholar from long, long ago created a fairly simple mathematical process for isolating prime numbers. On a standard 100-grid, have your students cover each multiple of 2, starting after 2 itself, to cover each number that has 2 as one of its factors. Since 2 has only itself and 1 as factors, leave it uncovered; it is a prime number. Now repeat with 3, covering each number after 3 that is a multiple of 3. Continue for 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The numbers that are left uncovered are all prime numbers that have no other factors besides themselves and 1. This is fun to do on paper, using colored pencils to color in the squares and using a different color for each round. Starting with a light color and getting a bit darker on each round will show very plainly which numbers have the most factors — they will be very dark when you have finished.

Now for a bonus — here are the instructions for a game I call “Flashcard Bingo,” that is played on a 100-grid.

FLASHCARD BINGO

Equipment:

1-100 chart
Math flashcards–combine addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division flashcards (The combination of cards used should be appropriate to the players’ skills.)
Several dozen markers for each player (colored paper squares, pennies, dry beans, etc.). If playing outdoors, larger objects, such as poker chips, can be used as markers.

Shuffle all the flashcards together and place them in an index card file box or other box that will hold all the cards and allow extra room for fingers to draw them out.

Use the honor system for not peeking at the answers if they are printed on the cards, or have players draw & hold cards for each other, covering answers as needed.

The first player draws a card at random and gives the answer to the problem. If he gives the correct answer, the player puts his marker on the answer number’s square on the 100-grid. If the card has two different problems on front & back, he may look at both problems and choose either side of the card for strategy: if the player already has possession of the square for that card’s answer, he may choose to answer the problem on the opposite side.

If the player gives an incorrect answer, the next player gets a chance to answer correctly and “steal” the square. If the second player cannot answer correctly, each player in turn is given a chance to answer and steal the square with the correct answer. The player giving the correct answer may not be holding the flashcard or may not have seen the answer on the flashcard.

At the end of a player’s turn, his card is returned to a random location in the box. Play proceeds to the left of the player who drew that card, even if he answered incorrectly, and even if the player who gave the correct answer is the next player in the circle.

If a player’s answer number is already covered by another player’s marker, the new player may “bump” the occupying player’s marker off the grid and place his own marker on the square, or the player may opt to take another card instead of bumping the occupying player’s marker.

If the player already has possession of the squares for both sides of the card, he may announce that he will combine both answers as desired (adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing) to achieve a hard-to-reach number square, such as prime numbers or large numbers. Paper & pencil may be permitted, but not calculators. If a player draws a flashcard with a correct answer of 0 or an answer larger than 100, and he is not able to combine the answers from both sides of the card, he may opt to draw again. There is no limit to how many cards a player can draw, as long as he already owns the squares representing the answers to the cards drawn, but he must use the first available square.

Winner is the first player to get 5 markers in a straight row, vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

Advanced Option: Add a game die for another challenge. Players roll the die on each turn and add, subtract, multiply, or divide that number into the answer on the flashcard to determine which square to occupy on the grid.

Discussion Question: As your students play this game, ask them if they notice which part of the grid accumulates the most markers and if they can explain why that happens.

Younger Players Option—

Use only addition & subtraction facts from 1-20. Play on a 20-grid with 4 rows of 5 squares each (1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20). Winner is the first player to get 4 markers in a straight row in any direction, vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

For more ideas, see also:
Applying Learning Styles with Skip-Counting
Hopscotch–A Powerful Learning Game

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Auditory Learning, Homeschool How-To's, Kinesthetic Learning, Learning Outside the Books, Learning Styles, Math, Tactile Learning, Visual Learning, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: Flannel-Graph

July 24, 2012 by CarolynM 1 Comment

Back when I was a wee tot, every one of my Sunday School teachers used a flannel-graph to illustrate lessons. If you’re not sure what I mean, a flannel-graph was a board covered in fuzzy flannel fabric, usually made so it could fold in the middle like a book. Teachers opened it enough to stand it on a table or spread it wide open on an easel. Cut-out pictures made of felt could be placed on the flannel board and magically stayed where they were placed — well, it appeared to be magic to a small child in the Sunday School classroom. What really intrigued me was when the teacher would place a paper picture on the board, and it stuck, too! I remember watching those pieces of paper carefully, trying to see what gave them their magical sticking ability, finally noticing a small strip of fuzzy cloth glued on the back of each one. One summer, during Vacation Bible School, I got to make my very own set! Each student was given a set of pictures appropriate to whatever the lesson was that day, and we got to color them, cut them out, and glue a small strip of sandpaper on the back of each one. Many years later, I applied that same simple technology to making quiet toys and learning aids for my kids.

I cut a remnant of flannel cloth about the size of a pillow case, but I did not attach it to a board. Instead, we would spread it over a pillow or sofa cushion or any suitable surface and place felt shapes on the cloth. My tactile child loved to smooth out the pieces, rearrange them, and rub them with her fingers. She would use the random geometric shapes to make simple pictures or sort the pieces into groups of squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles. We had a storage box for all of the pieces that allowed them to be stored flat, since a wrinkled or folded piece does not make good pictures in the next session. Our flannel cloth was folded up and placed in the top of the box for the next use. I also added a few pieces of yarn at my daughter’s request, to use for flower stems, grass, fences, and other imaginative play. This was her favorite quiet-time toy, and she never ran out of ideas for pictures to make with the pieces.

A sheet of Care Bear puffy stickers added another dimension to this set by sticking each one onto the back of a piece of sandpaper and carefully cutting around the sticker. Re-usable stickers!

The more I thought about my old Sunday School lessons, the more I realized we could use this low-tech play set for some creative learning aids. I glued a small strip of sandpaper onto the backs of some cereal-box cardboard math cards for some magically-adhesive, tactile flashcards.

Colors, shapes, letters, words, numbers, and more — how will you use this idea? This activity can grow with your students and expand to fit their needs. How about lots and lots of sandpaper-backed letter squares for tactile spelling practice? Or lots and lots of little number squares and arithmetic symbols for tactile math practice? Ooooh, how about flannel-graph fraction pieces? Mix and match fractional segments to prove that three-quarters of a circle occupies the same space as nine-twelfths of that circle.

The tactile student who plays with a paper clip or twirls his pencil during lessons needs that finger interaction as much as a visual student needs to study the diagram or read the directions himself. Tactile learning aids work for any student who prefers to keep his fingers busy, not just for fidgety youngsters. Tactile fingers help the student absorb information, just as much as standing up and moving around helps a kinesthetic learner pay attention and concentrate. Older students can make their own flannel-graph states from a cut-up map for tactile, self-checking, geography practice. Use flannel-graph techniques to create a timeline of historical events. Even diagramming can be accomplished with flannel-graph word cards! If some lesson concept is giving your student trouble, try making some flannel-graph manipulatives for it. Brainstorm together, and let your imaginations run wild! The textures can be surprisingly helpful for learning — and a lot of fun, too!

See this article for more ideas: Felt Shapes

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Learning Outside the Books, Learning Styles, Math, Spelling, Tactile Learning, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: Map Puzzle

July 17, 2012 by CarolynM 1 Comment

Take one large, atlas map of the USA (preferably an older one, not the one needed for an upcoming vacation or business trip). Cut it apart on state borders; mine was a 2-page map, so I taped the pages together before cutting the states apart. Optional: Leave the smaller states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, & New Hampshire together as one unit, making them slightly harder to lose. Using a large bulletin board and some long “quilting” pins (mine are approx. 1 5/8″ long), reassemble the map by pinning the state puzzle pieces in place on the board, forming the contiguous 48 states.

This puzzle can take students further than traditional USA jigsaw puzzles, since the pieces are not different colors and the highway markings can be used as clues for lining up the pieces. State borders become less noticeable, and major cities, highways, lakes, rivers, and other geological features are included on an atlas map, taking this from a simple puzzle activity to a fascinating exploration. The learning continues after the puzzle is assembled, by following the interstate highways from state to state, coast to coast, or border to border. Students can trace the route of a past family vacation or plan another, perhaps even evaluating various paths of travel across the country. Select two states at random and plot the most direct route from one to the other or the most scenic route or the best route to use during summer or winter driving for avoiding super-hot weather or snowy/icy roads. Older students who are nearing driving age may find this activity particularly interesting.

The map puzzle in these photos does not include Alaska or Hawaii, since they are usually not represented on maps in the same scale as the other states. The state of Hawaii consists of more than 100 islands, not just the eight larger islands we usually see on maps. The total land area of the Hawaiian islands is less than the area of the state of New Jersey, but greater than the area of the state of Connecticut. Alaska has more than twice the land mass of Texas, but Alaska’s boundaries and archipelago islands stretch its dimensions to massive proportions (see link below). Other state-to-state comparisons can easily be made with these puzzle pieces. A globe or world map is also helpful in comparing size and location of the various states, using latitude and longitude lines as guides.

Another way to supplement your explorations is with Google Maps. Use the satellite views to zoom in on tiny islands or coastal details, or visit the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Niagara Falls, or New York City’s Central Park (or anywhere else!) with Google Street View to take a virtual field trip! Many locations include a selection of up-close-and-personal photos from previous visitors to enhance your “travels.”

Here is a map showing the full size of Alaska as compared to the continental USA — http://www.tongass-seis.net/media/images/AK-USA.jpg

Other topics could be explored with a little extra research, then compared to today’s highways on this puzzle map:
The Appalachian Trail
The Lewis & Clark Expedition
The Oregon Trail
The Santa Fe Trail
…and many others!

Similar puzzles can be made from other maps for more fun geography — state road maps cut on county lines; a Canadian map cut on province boundaries; a map of Mexico or Australia cut on state borders; a map of South America, Europe, Africa, or Asia cut on borders between countries.

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Homeschool How-To's, Learning Outside the Books, Tactile Learning, Visual Learning, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: It’s So HOT, You Could Fry an Egg Outside!

July 10, 2012 by CarolynM Leave a Comment

So we did! Not during the most recent heat wave, but back when my kids were little, and the thermometer was stuck above 100 degrees for way too many days in a row, we proved that we could fry an egg outside. Here’s how we did it:

I placed my cast iron griddle in a spot that would remain sunny all day and left it there for at least an hour to get good and hot before starting the egg. The black iron really absorbs a lot of heat — science discussion #1. Then I smeared a little butter on the hot surface (to keep the egg from sticking and creating a bigger mess) and broke the egg onto the melted butter — this step was very undramatic, with no sizzling or crackling like you would expect to hear when frying an egg on the stove — science discussion #2. I placed a glass lid over the egg to help trap the solar heat (and keep any bugs away from our egg) — science discussions #3 & #4. Then we got busy and did other things for several hours, trying to keep cool while our little egg enjoyed its sauna — science discussion #5 was about the moisture inside the glass lid. We checked on the egg about once each hour, and if I remember correctly, I think it took about 4 hours for the white of the egg to appear cooked and, well, white. Then we posed for pictures. Notice that 1) there is proof of the temperature on the thermometer in the shady background, 2) my little guy snatched the eggshell off the plate just before I snapped the photo, and 3) a Pound Puppy is maintaining a safe distance from that hot griddle atop my daughter’s head.

Based on my son’s age here, this photo was taken in the summer of 1987! My now-adult daughter reminded me of this photo and suggested I post it now so that you can try frying an egg outside as a hot summer day activity and have a few brief scientific discussions of your own. Please don’t try to eat the egg after it’s spent so much time in the sun — no one wants food poisoning as their next summer day activity — science discussion #6!

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Kinesthetic Learning, Learning Outside the Books, Science, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: “Stealth Learning” Through Free Play

July 3, 2012 by CarolynM Leave a Comment

“Stealth Learning” is my term for lessons that don’t appear to be lessons but can teach as much as or more than their formally planned and structured counterparts. A prime example is letting kids play with manipulatives or learning aids, instead of using them only to illustrate planned lesson activities. Kids will naturally use these materials in ways other than their formal use, but that’s where the stealth learning part comes in. Sneaky, right?

Suppose you subtly leave a set of Scrabble letter tiles lying on the table after the spelling lesson is done (yes, Scrabble tiles are fabulous as tactile spelling manipulatives), or you might casually place the tiles on the table well before they are needed, in anticipation of the spelling lesson (again, stealth teaching mode). Now excuse yourself to go shuffle the laundry, pull something out of the freezer for dinner, or some other valid excuse to leave your student in the same room as the abandoned manipulatives with no other planned activities to occupy his attention. A quick admonition to “wait here, I’ll be right back” may be necessary for some students, but the pile of pieces on the table will beckon to his fingers.

Feel free to delay your return as needed to give your budding explorer ample time to begin stacking, aligning, and organizing the pieces in patterns and structures that will teach him great stealth lessons in spatial math concepts such as height, width, depth, horizontal, vertical, parallel, perpendicular, area, perimeter, volume, and so on. He may not yet know all the proper terms for what he is learning, but those will come through formal lessons later. For now, let him play and experiment and learn through stealth methods.

Lining up letter tiles or math blocks in a checkerboard design is valid learning. Stacking letter tiles in an attempt to create one very tall column is valid learning. Building forts or fences with dominoes is valid learning. Pouring water or cornmeal or rice from one measuring cup to another is valid learning. Drawing intricate designs with a compass is valid learning. Coloring the squares of graph paper to create elaborate patterns is valid learning. Borrowing parts and pieces from your collection of games is creative play and stealthy learning, and sorting them into their respective sources again provides even more stealthy learning. These lessons may not be what the designers of these items originally had in mind, but they are valid lessons, nonetheless.

Think for a moment about the lessons that are learned from the simple act of lining up dominoes on end into curvy rows that can be toppled in rapid-fire succession by one gentle touch on the first domino in the line. First, you learn that it requires a steady hand, precise fine-motor coordination, and siblings who won’t purposely jiggle the table. Second, you learn about spacing the dominoes accurately enough that each one strikes the next with precision when falling, and you learn problem-solving skills when things go awry, causing the process to stop before the entire row has gone down. Third, you learn whether you will experience that momentary thrill of watching your feat of engineering perform in exactly the manner you intended, or if you need to make a few more adjustments to your design and try again. Those are extremely important lessons in life, not just in dominoes. Who has not done this activity? How many of us have repeated it again and again and again until we finally achieved success? Has anyone given up domino stacking forever because of an initial, failed attempt? These are more than stealth lessons of observing physics in action. These are stealth lessons in precision and perseverance that no spelling workbook or math lesson can teach, even though precision and perseverance are required to succeed in both spelling and math. These are lessons of the kind that spurred the imaginations of Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, and Benjamin Franklin, and caused them to wonder “what if…?”

Allow your students to combine components from a variety of learning aids and games, designing new ways to use them, and ultimately learning new lessons—stealth lessons. To restrict “learning aids” from being “playthings” is to limit learning. Another way to encourage further discovery-play is by innocently asking leading questions, such as “what would happen if you did this…” or “is it possible to stack those like this…?” You can take advantage of a teachable moment to add the appropriate vocabulary now, or you can wait until later, reminding them of their free-play adventures and relating those to the lesson concept of the day. Try not to spoil their fun by instructing your kids in how to play with these new-found toys, but let their imaginations drive them. Insisting they formally narrate what they’ve learned is another fun-killer, but do listen with interest as they excitedly volunteer details of their discoveries. By paying close attention to their stories, you’ll notice what they’ve learned—even if they don’t realize they’ve learned it.

Playing games requires some degree of thought, planning, or strategy, and that translates into stealth learning. Word puzzles based on quotations, axioms, and folk wisdom provide more stealth learning. Other types of puzzles teach logic, math, and other valuable skills through very stealthy methods. Play is learning, and learning can be play. Stealthiness connects the two.

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Encouraging Your Student, Homeschool How-To's, Learning Outside the Books, Tactile Learning, Visual Learning, Workshop Wednesday

Workshop Wednesday: Letter or Number Manipulatives (DIY)

Workshop Wednesday: The Moving Answer Worksheet

Workshop Wednesday: 100-Grids and Flashcard Bingo

Workshop Wednesday: Flannel-Graph

Workshop Wednesday: Map Puzzle

Workshop Wednesday: It’s So HOT, You Could Fry an Egg Outside!

Workshop Wednesday: “Stealth Learning” Through Free Play

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