Making Learning Fun

J-man is in 5^th grade and hasn’t had homework since October.  In my opinion, it is an outrage and absolutely unacceptable.  I’ve voiced my opinion to his teachers and their response was alluded to the fact that only a small percentage of the students were doing their homework, so they felt it was more constructive to only have in-class work.  I disagree.  Children need to learn how to study for tests outside of the classroom and they need to practice what they learn in school.  Even in grad school, I solidified and sometimes learned concepts through me “homework.”  The repetition is vital for children. 

Since he isn’t receiving homework, my husband and I have given him our own assignments.  We have him read nightly, print and create math worksheets for him to complete, have him write poems which are generally amazing, and most recently, we started reading riddles to him.  This last one is fun for the entire family and really makes him use his brain power and think outside the box.  We only started doing this last week, but it is definitely my new favorite learning tool!  Ryan and I join in on the fun as well and it’s hilarious when J-man solves it before we do.  The most rewarding part is when he realizes that this riddle is like the other riddle with the X, Y, Z characteristics. I can see the wheels turn in his head.  It’s adorable!

Jared’s favorite one is I come once a year, twice a week, but never in a day.  What am I?

There are some wonderful websites that provide riddles of all levels and varieties!  I strongly recommend playing around with riddles with your kiddos!  Learning is fun!  Let's use that brain the Good Lord gave us to it's fullest potential!

Much love.