The Home Education

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

Play is a large part of the day for preschool and kindergarten children. Concepts are learned and encouraged through various forms of play, various types of toys and games as well as crafts and activities. But usually, the play stops there.

But play is important in the higher grades as well. With play a child can develop social skills, physical skills, language, literacy and conversation skills, exercise their imagination and master life situations. By taking playtime away from older students, we limit them from growing to their full potential.

Certain toys and games are great playthings to enhance learning. Many educational games are also meant for older children. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have them do a sit down game. There are various group games that can be played to allow students to learn about money, trade, social  situations, survival skills an more. Games like Pictionary or Scattegories are also great fun with educational value. You can even modify the games to fit into a certain subject of study or even modify them in difficulty. My kids loved Constructionary which was like Pictionary but instead of drawing the clue, you build it from Lego! Think of the creativity that could flourish from games like this.

Bingo is another game that can be modified for different subjects or degree of difficulty. For younger children it is more of a matching game, but for older students it can be more of a challenge if you use words to match rather than pictures, or words in a different language. Math bingo can include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Step outside of the box when instilling play into education. Tossing a ball around can evoke some great imaginative storytelling. One person starts the story then the ball is tossed to someone else who then adds on to the story, then tosses the ball again and so on. Older children enjoy dress-up as well so acting out a story or situation has some great play value. Sometimes, being someone else (in costume) allows them to say things they may not have said and therefore help bring them out of their shell. Living museums help tell the story of their time period through costumed interpreters. Students can learn history through costume as well. Challenge them to make their own costume then allow them to do a presentation about their time period.

Science is a great subject to allow play in. I was teaching the Scouts about Newton’s Three Laws of Motion one night. We used a slingshot flying monkey, some wind up cars and some paper airplanes. It was amazing how well they picked up the concepts! What sinks and what floats can be a messy but fun lesson as can various chemistry experiments that are simple and fun.

The idea is that education is more than just what you read in a book. It is what you experience, what you create and how you interpret it. By adding play into the equation a student can get a more in-depth feel for the subject. They will also get more enjoyment out of learning and be inspired to learn some more!

Sandra Wilson

owner and operator of

Home Education Resource Emporium where Education + Fun = #1