Is that even possible? Planning can’t be simple, can it? If you have been hanging out here for any amount of time, you know that I have a hard time relaxing sometimes. I like to have control of our plans for the day. I have written in previous posts about the evolution of my becoming a relaxed homeschool parent and giving up some of the control…(It’s a work in progress.)But I have found that sometimes allowing the child to decide what they are learning can help them feel like….well like they’re in control. Imagine that. So how do you plan your homeschool and give up just a small amount of control to your child? (See how I say small amount…I am learning to let it go myself.)
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Plan Your Homeschool with BINGO!
That’s right, BINGO. To be honest I have been in a bit of a slump lately. I feel like no matter what I do my boys complain about school. Perhaps it’s the weather. Cold, rainy, uninspiring weather. We enjoy getting outside when the weather is nice. We take our picnic blanket out and enjoy the warm weather. Nature and science come alive and all learning seems so much easier for some reason.
When I was in a particularly bad slump last night, having horrible thoughts…That’s right, I was thinking that I need to just send my son back to public school. Maybe I am not cut out for this whole homeschooling thing. Or better yet, maybe he is not the type of kid who needs to be homeschooled. Maybe I should go against everything in my gut telling me otherwise and put him back in public school. That’s where he wants to be right…He says he wants a challenge, well maybe he would get a wake-up call and realize that he has it easy…(see how easily I can spiral?)
How the Plan to Create Bingo Came About
In the middle of my mental spiral, I asked my younger son if he enjoyed school that day. He said yes and wanted me to guess why he enjoyed it. I asked him if it was one of the games we had played that day. (See I am fun!) No, not that. Was it doing math on the floor? Nope. What he liked about school that day was that we had crossed off a couple of spaces on a BINGO card for our local library! Of all things! (He also found a new love for audiobooks. Who knew? Pair Spiderman with audio reading and you got yourself a happy kid!)
This was when the veil was lifted and the light bulb lit up! BINGO! Quite literally! (If only I had been clever enough to say this out loud…)
What if I could combine BINGO in some way with their daily schedule? I set out immediately to create something that would work well for us, and quite possibly you too. Although every schedule is different, planning your homeschool can be fun when you include a game!
How to Use BINGO in Your Homeschool
My boys wanted to choose their BINGO cards, but you could also mix them up and choose at random. There are a few ways to go about it. At first, I was having them pick a row that they wanted to use to get a BINGO. However, you could play the more traditional way and mark your card when a subject is completed at random and see if those are able to make a BINGO, this may require you to do a subject you didn’t plan to do for the day.
I have even made some customizable cards for you to make it your own!
I find it necessary to be prepared, even to a small degree, for anything. Say the child sees that there is a math game on their card, make sure to have a math game handy. My 9 yo has been practicing his multiplication and division facts with this game. There are also opportunities for language arts games. If you have little ones, something as simple as a self-correcting rhyming words game like this one would be great.
Looking for more rhyming words? Check out this post on how to use CVC words to teach your child to read!
Plan Your Homeschool: Relax, and Make It Fun!
I hope these BINGO PDF prints make planning your homeschool a bit easier. And I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them. Just remember to relax, keep things simple, and enjoy the moments you have with your child!
Looking for more ways to plan and schedule your homeschool? Find out here!
