Not Everything Needs to Become a "Lesson"

Do you ever find yourself in this position?  You are getting ready to read aloud a children's book and you see all of these different studies to go along with the book so rather than just read the book you spend weeks working on it.

Or your child is doing an art project and you think of this great artist study to go along with it.


Or your child is interested in a particular subject and you turn it into a research project.


Homeschooling provides many great opportunities for children to explore their interests.  We have an amazing flexibility that can allow us to travel down different rabbit trails and obtain a lot of knowledge on a variety of topics.  But, sometimes we can go overboard.

Not everything has to be turned in to an "educational experience."  A children's book can simply be enjoyed as a children's book in that moment without turning it into a lapbook or a unit study.  A child can have fun experimenting with colors and producing their own artwork without a lesson on Renaissance artists.  They can go outside and enjoy bird watching without having to turn it in to a formal nature study.

If we try to turn everything into a lesson, we will take away some of that love of learning rather than encouraging it.  Our children will get burned out, and so will we.


We have to find balance in everything we do.  And for sure not feel guilty when we are simply letting our kids learn and enjoy the world around them on their own, because I promise they will.  They are like little sponges soaking up everything around them.  They don't always need us to direct and guide them, they can do it well enough on their own.

So, read Goodnight Moon, watch the hummingbirds as they come by to visit, make a torn paper collage, and just let it be enough!

Happy Homeschooling!