Many families may be stuck at home because of Coronavirus. The nation is on high alert and many parents have become homeschool teachers. Homeschool families do school at home all the time but this is new for “normal” school kids. If you have ever considered Unschooling this is a great time to start. Over the years we have learned how to make learning fun.

A brief description of Unschooling

Unschooling has several meanings and can mean a lot of different things depending on who you talk to. Over the years we have done radical Unschooling, Roadschooling, and Eclectic homeschooling. I have learned how to socialize my kids, find co-op classes and roll with the punches.

Unschooling is letting your child decide what they want to learn and how they are going to learn. It puts the educational decision into the child’s hands instead of letting the parent or teacher make the decisions. The parent is there to lead them to find answers they seek and help them along the way. We encourage the child to ask questions and make learning fun.

Ideas for younger kids stuck at home during Coronavirus

Start, with learning about St. Patrick Day. Learn about the holiday or the history of Scotland and Ireland. Try making some fun craft with the kids and learn about Gnomes, Fairy or Leperacauns. Make fairies out of flowers and leaves, or try making fairy homes. Next, try making rainbow cupcakes, and google how to make marshmallow fondant, or Rice Krispie treats.

My kids that love to read. Try heading to the library but if your kids are stuck at home and the building is closed try downloading some books. Let your child pick what book they want to read. Second, get on Netflix and find a documentary about the subject they choose. An example, let’s say little McKenzey picks a book on ants, then encourage her to watch the ant documentary. Next, do a little science, see if you turn ants a color, and add in math by counting them. Third, order a sand and gel ant farm. Start asking questions, like which one will they build tunnels the fastest?

Ideas for older kids or teens

Learn about the human body by making it fun and tasty. The kids decided they wanted to learn about the human body. We started looking up Ted Talks and documentaries on YouTube and Netflix. Then we made an edible skin cake and edible blood. Second, learn about bones and tendons by making a hand that can move out of straws, string, and cardboard. Do a little math by figuring out how fast the virus is spreading. Talk about how and why we are being self quarantined, and how we can prevent the spread.

This would be a great time to take online classes. We have taken several classes on Outschool, Khan Academy and Code.org. My kids have learned to code with LearnToMod playing Minecraft while getting college credit. If you have a child interested in Photography, learning office skills, website building or 3D animation then Lynda.com is a great place to start.

My kids read every night and do Kahn Academy every day. For fun, you could let the kids watch a movie and then they have to come up with an alternate ending. Maybe the villain or bad guy wins, sometimes they practice writing it out and sometimes we do a home movie. One of our favorites was learning the art of storytelling with Pixar. Older kids can practice SATs at Kahn Academy for free.