One of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as a parent was to hoe school Henry. When he was in the 3rd grade, his autism began to show more than ever, especially while in school. The quandary we were in was Henry excelled academically but socially and behaviorally, he was declining. When he began to have stomach issues that turned out to be stress related to hat was going on in school, we knew we had to make a change. It took a while to get the hang of home schooling, but we have done pretty well. The one thing I have found is whenever possible, you need to make homework fun. Here are some strategies we found helpful and I hope they are for you as well.
Five Easy Ways To Make Homework Fun
- Snacks: Make sure you have your child take regular breaks for snacks and drinks. Studies show if you have the right combination of protein and carbs, your brain reacts positively to the food. This gives them a second wind so to speak after a long morning of work.
- Surroundings: Make sure wherever your child does their homework is comfortable. If they work better hanging upside down from the monkey bars, then move the homework session outside! It never hurts to mix it up and change where they do their work every so often.
- Music: Some children work better when they have music playing. Again, studies show playing music can stimulate the mind, which makes concentrating and thinking easier. I work better when I listen to music and so does Caitlin. Henry likes to have his headphones on while he listens to Veggie Tales.
- Computers: If you have computer access, there are tons of resources available for kids school work. We use the Internet all the time for worksheets, computer games for match and word searches and even Roman Numerals!
- Games: When appropriate, use games and toys for learning. Many educational toys can teach a child as well as any textbook, sometimes even better. One of our very favorite companies we use for homeschool lessons is SmartLab Toys.
Make Homework Fun
If you have a child in the 4-12 age range, you can find a plethora of educational toys and books from SmartLab Toys. Almost 10 years ago, the company started out with just 8 science kits, and two years later, they added arts and crafts materials. Now they have almost 50 award winning products that can teach and entertain your child. Of those products, we were sent two of the most fun we have ever had the pleasure of using. We received the Glow in the Dark Lab and the Squishy Human Body. With the Glow in the Dark Lab kids can experiment with all things related to glowing in the dark while with the squishy Human Body, kids will learn all about the organs of the human body with these squishy organs and skeletal, vascular, and muscular system representations.
The Glow in the Dark Lab, which sells for $24.99, comes with so much stuff that will keep your kids occupied for several hours. It comes with all tools and ingredients you need to conduct 20 experiments. You will get the Glow for It! book with 20 experiments, 2 test tubes, beaker and stand, mixing utensils, 3 creature molds, bouncy ball mold and polymer, black-light activator, 4 glow sticks, star stickers, jelly balls polymer, glow powder, fake snow polymer, and fluorescent ink. My kids and I had a blast playing with the black light activator when we wrote secret messages to each other and the glow in the dark powder and ink. (I still have some on my table runner that shows up in the dark!). This was one of the most fun kits we have ever used and we still have more experiments left to try.
Henry and I were able to use the Squishy Human Body, which sells for $27.99, set for almost 2 weeks of lessons. You get this amazing instruction guide and book that breaks down the systems of the body, the organs, skeletal and muscular systems and how they work together. The kit includes a book that takes you on the journey of your life, 12” plastic human body model and stand, 12 plastic bones and muscles, 9 removable squishy vital organs, Body parts Organ-izer, Tweezers, Forceps, and Instruction sheet.We had more books in the library at home that supplemented the kit perfectly for some pretty intensive lessons. It was such a joy to see Henry’s eyes light up when he was able to place all the organs in their correct place and name them all. He also had a lot of fun playing with the brain (and chasing his sister around with it) and bouncing the intestines up and down on the table! If you have kids that love science, these are awesome and SmartLab Toys has a ton of other kits they will love as well. You can choose from items like the Bugs Playground for the little ones, the Squishy T-Rex for the older boys and the Spa series for girls. Be sure to follow SmartLab Toys on Facebook and Twitter.
One USA reader will win a Glow in the Dark Lab and Squishy Human Body ($52.98)
My son would love ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover.
the Extreme Secret Formula Lab
they would like the That’s Gross Science Lab kit
brich22 at earthlink dot net
My son would love the That’s Gross Science Lab.
We love the Glitter Art products
I like the Gross Art kit.
I like the Wallscapes Flower Garden!
My niece would love the Glitter Art.
1
We would love the All Natural Spa day!
The demolition set!!!
The Thats gross science lab, I know they want it because we were just looking at it online a couple of weeks ago for my sons birthday but he chose a computer game instead.
My girly-girls would love the spa day
The custom car design shop.
The rover would be great, of course any science that involves mixing works too.
Squishy T Rex!
The Amazing Squishy T. rex
My son would love the Squishy T-Rex. Thanks!
My fiance would love the Glow In The Dark Lab for students. thnx! E
my kids would love the glow in the dark lab
the demolition lab triple blast warehouse
They would love the bug playground or Brain Fart. Very cool toys.
timothy j 228 AT gmail DOT com
The huma body is really cool! My son would love that!
I think my kids would love Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab
That’s Gross Science Lab looks awesome! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
I like the Bug Playground. My son would love that. He’s always finding bugs.
my grandson would like the gross science lab
The Jelly Balls Polymer looks interesting.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Catch the Thief looks awesome!
the weather lab!
He would like the Extreme Secret Formula Lab.
She would like the glitter art.
We would like the Human Body lab. It would go along great iwth our current studies.
My daughters would like the demolition lab
I like the Rock Fashion Studio.
My Granddaughter would love The Pink Art
My kids would love the demolition lab!
you build it headphones
My son would like the That’s Gross Science Lab best! Thanks for the chance!
lyndsey.rullman at hotmail dot com
Rock Fashion Studio is my choice
the glow in the dark lab
My grandson would like their Custom Rides
Demolition Lab: Triple Blast Warehouse.
I like the Wallscapes Flower Garden.
my son would like the Demolition Lab: Triple Blast Warehouse
My daughter would love the Amazing Squishy Brain! She already decided when she was four that she wanted to be a surgeon. The blood doesn’t bother her as long as it’s not hers. I think she’d have fun poking around in someone’s brain, even if it’s not real!
My daughter would love the Make Up Artist Studio.
The Amazing Squishy T. rex
You Build-It Headphones. My granddaughter would have a blast doing this.
My nephew would LOVE the Mega Wild Animals – 3-D Puzzles!
Demolition Lab: Triple Blast Warehouse
My kids would love the squishy human body or the demolition lab
My son would love the squishy trex!
I like the glow lab set.
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill12@gmail.com
I love the GROSS ART set.
The recon programmable rover sounds like hours of fun !
The Squishy Human Body.
there are several that would keep my boys entertained, for now would pick the Amazing Squishy Brain
I like the squishy human body
bug playground sounds like something they would like
http://www.smartlabtoys.com/the-amazing-squishy-trex.html
My great granddaughter’s would love the DJ Rock Dock.
My daughters would love the All-Natural Spa Day!
Spa Day kit
my daughter would adore the rock fashion set!
Snap Fashion Jewelry Studio
Our little ones would be excited for the Amazing Squishy T-Rex
Besides the project kits in the giveaway, my granddaughters would like the recon-6-0-programmable-rover.
I like the ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover
My daughter would like the SmartLab Science Lab
i like the rock fashion kit
I went to their site and i love the mega wild animals 3d giant puzzle.
ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover.
My daughter would like the SmartLab Science Lab.
I love the Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab
My son would love the The Amazing Squishy T. rex.
The boys would love the Gross Science Lab Set
extreme secret formula lab.
I think the girls would ADORE the Glitter spa or the Fizzy bath kits.. the boys, the Squishy T- Rex and the the Squishy brain one
I like the Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab
I like the Gross Art
My boys would definitely like the “That’s Gross Science Lab”
i think they’d enjoy the Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab
Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab looks fun!
Mys on thinks that Glow-in-the-Dark Lab would be COOL!
My son would love the You-Build-It Headphones or the ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover.
My kids would love the That’s Gross Science Lab.
Lots of cool stuff on their site! Another product I like is the Wallscapes Flower Garden 🙂
I think my niece would like either the Wallscapes Flower Garden or the Snap Fashion Jewelry.
Squishy science from head to toe
I like the Glow in the Dark Lab!
Stars and Planets
The Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab sounds cool.
3-D animal puzzle — adorable!
The Amazing Squishy Brain will be a hit!
The squishy human body is what my child would choose.
I think the ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover is really neat!
Glow in the Dark Lab