If I shared some tools that you can set up in your home to do some of the teaching for you … would you be interested?!
If you answered, “oh, goodness yes!”, watch today’s video where I explain step by step how to make this happen in your own home school.
And when you invest a little bit of that creative energy within you towards these tools, the dividends you could enjoy often include:
More creative kids ✅
More independent thinking ✅
More curiosity ✅
More self directed learning ✅
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it! Let’s jump into this together!
Here are some examples of how we used learning baskets through out our homeschooling!
Video Transcript
Hey there, Gina Hamby here with help for homeschoolers and today… what if I told you that you could get your home set up to do some of the teaching for you? You’re doing something new. You’re doing something that’s challenging. It requires perseverance and creativity on your part… I remember very well.
So I’m going to show you exactly what I did to help create a home that was a learning environment for my sons.
How to Make Your Home Alive With Learning
I’m going to teach you about learning baskets and learning nooks.
I’m going to give you specific examples.
By the end of this video, you’re going to have your own ideas for what you can do to set your home up to be a place of learning, because we know out there … the world is a little bit unstable … it can be scary for kids.
Let’s make our home a Haven, that’s what today’s video is going to do.
Today’s video is going to help you know how to make your home have, and how to make it be a place of creativity where your kids feel safe, they feel like they can express themselves and they can discover.
Are you ready? I’m going to show you exactly what was inside of my learning nooks and basket…
What’s A Learning Basket
What a learning nook or basket is … it’s just a theme … put all together in one spot, it’s drawing all the attention to one subject.
Alright, let me give you some examples.
Here, the first one, this was my geography basket. So I put in the world globe, the kids could play with it, I wasn’t too worried about it getting broken. I found this at a craft store, it’s a world map. The state map, that was a place mat, and then some really good colorful books that are atlases that will… Spark their creativity and help them to learn about the world.
You can put this in a corner of your home, you can put it in your school room, wherever you do school. You can sprinkle these baskets throughout the house … Actually, that’s the best thing to do.
Also, you could put a map up on the wall, so don’t let that wall space go to waste… Hang up, maps.
Another thing that I did, and this was fun, I took this map and I put it on our kitchen table, and then I put a clear plastic overlay, and then when you’re eating and everything, you can reference it and you’re learning geography without realizing it!
It kind of stimulates conversation for them.
Alright, the next one is our Art basket. let’s say you’re doing Math with your 3rd grader, and your kindergarten says, “Mom, I’m bored”. Say, “You know what, why don’t you go get the art basket out”.
You can put paint brushes, foam stickers, construction paper in the bottom here. Maybe you put in projects that they could work on; a bird house.
Here, we have what I call a Wood Shop basket.
(At the end of this video, I’m gonna show you what did this look like in our home and in our record-keeping. You’re gonna see exactly what the boys worked on, things like that, so look for that as well.)
In this basket, of course, we’re going to be safe, and this would ideally, it would be done in the workshop or in the garage. But these are things that your kids can build with that you don’t mind.
Okay, so safety glasses, nails, depending on their age, maybe there’s a drill, their hammer in here, anything that they can use. Maybe they want to build a bird house and if that’s okay with you, with supervision, they can do that, but you have everything here in one spot.
Don’t Forget The Littles
Next basket, especially if you have little guys, I always had a “dress-up box“.
I told them, “Okay, go get the dress up box, you guys can play that for a while, get creative”. It does not have to be store bought costumes. I was a nurse, so you could put your old uniform in there, a stethoscope, and they took my own badge and put their name on it. Different kinds of hats and of course, the regular costumes.
They can pretend, they can put on a play … things like that. They can be a mighty hunter, so there’s Dad’s old hunting jacket and pretend bow in here… That’s your dress up bucket.
Help Them Love Nature
Here, I have what I call the nature study basket. I have Ranger magazines, I have this book that identifies leaves. There is a magnifying glass in here that they can take that out with them. They can take the whole bucket out with them as long as they bring it back in. Here’s a Mason jar, maybe they want to collect some flowers or a bug to observe for the day, and the lid has the air holes in it. Just makes sure they release that bug at the end of the day. We have other books, like animal tracking books, things that spark their creativity about nature.
Over here, I have my gardening basket or bucket.
Let them experiment, you’ll see a picture where my boys love to grow seedlings. So give them the seedling trays. Of course, you’re going to need to get dirt, you can put this outside in the garage or in the basement. Let them have some seeds, some books that will teach them what’s a good bug, what’s a bad bug, and some guide books. Things like that, little shovel, we couldn’t find our regular hand shovel … imagine that with four boys 🙂 !
Baskets & Nooks For “Quiet Time”
Here, you’ve heard me talk before on other videos about little nooks, where they can cozy up and relax. This is like a Listening Nook.
I told you before that sometimes during quiet time or at the end of our school day, I would say, “You know what, why don’t you go listen to a book on CD?” Find some good CDs, you can get them from the library, and a CD player. Then they can just snuggle up in this corner and listen to a good story.
Alright, this is a favorite in winter time, the bird watching basket!
I didn’t have bird seed or my bird feeder out yet, but I will hang a bird feeder outside on the porch. I put this by the window. I gave them some binoculars. This is a really great book about the bird feeder birds. It shows them how to start to identify the different birds that are going to come to the feeder. This provides a lot of enjoyment, especially when it snows, if it snows in your area 🙂 That is something my boys really love to look at … the birds.
Over here, this is our last one, this is our reading nook.
So you would make a comfy spot in your home. Have it with pillows and a blanket and a nice reading lamp. Then you’ll put in a variety of books and you’re going to want to switch out the books every so often, so they don’t get bored.
Put books for your older readers, like Sign of the Beaver. Some for your little guys, maybe you’re going to read with them. Anything you’re learning about… So if you’re studying Early American History, you have Davy Crockett. Put in colorful books, these as Usborne books where they can lift the flap and see how things work.
Pick books that are creative and interesting. Just keep a basket there, set it up. It’s nice and cozy.
To Wrap It Up
Okay, so I wanted to spark your creativity, make your home a place of learning, a place where they can be creative, be refreshed.
It’s not having all the work on you. When they’re done a subject, you can say, “Hey, why don’t you go look at the bird basket or take the nature study basket outside and go identify some leaves”. This way it’s all put together for you. You don’t have to come up with ideas as you go, there is already learning stations set up for them. You’re going to find that your children become so much more creative and they start to think independently for themselves, and they just feel like home is a fun place of learning.
You’re Doing Great!
I hope this was helpful. If you know somebody that this will bless, if you could share this video with them.
You’re doing great, guys. I’ll see you next time. Take care!
