Must Haves for Homeschooling Boys

 

I love being a boy mom…boys are so full of life and adventure. There is always an adventure waiting to happen, don’t you know? I grew up with 3 brothers and lots of boy cousins. I can be a tomboy or quite feminine. I am sure I would love being a girl mom too, but we were never blessed with a sweet little girl. We have been blessed with 2 amazing sons…we were told we would never have children so they are truly a blessing!!

Homeschooling is a privilege and something our family loves. We have homeschooled our boys from the beginning. It isn’t always easy, but what in life is that is worth doing right is?

Even before homeschooling our sons, I always loved teaching boys at school. I loved their curiosity and warrior hearts. We would do some lessons under a tree outside and they would have fun digging in the dirt while listening. As long as they were getting it, I didn’t mind.

What have I found in my many years of teaching boys to be some of the must haves?

{Be sure to check out the Big Book of Homeschooling at the end of this post}

Prayer~ This is a necessity for any mom. Homeschooling in general brings challenges that you often have no idea what to do with. Homeschooling boys can bring up new issues, depending on their learning styles, personalities, family situations and more. Pray about what curriculum would be best. Pray to better understand you son. Pray for wisdom as to how to lead them through the schooling experience.

Patience ~ Boys are more adventurous and wired to move and get things done. Sitting in a desk for hours was not part of their design. It takes patience to learn how to homeschool boys, especially if you had a studious girl first. Be patient. Let him be the boy that God created Him to be. This is part of him becoming a man. Don’t try to put him in the school mold…school was not made for boys. Let them move and be active. Let them run around the house or do jumping jacks. Instead of losing it with your sons who are just being boys, let them move!!

This is why so many boys are on Ritalin and meds…they don’t fit in the box of the school system. Just let them move, be patient with them and let them be who God designed them to be.  And if you find that they really do have a hard time focusing and concentrating, consider using something natural before medication. No, don’t let them run wild, but learn to understand their heart and their design, rather than following everything the world says. Hello~ the world is going the wrong way generally.

Adventurous spirit~ bugs, snakes, pets, mud, dirt, torn jeans…get ready for the adventurous spirit that most boys have. And you are going to need it to0, mom!! Again, this is part of their makeup and part of their journey to becoming a man. As a boy mama, you need to embrace all of this and learn how to deal with it and love it and your boy! The season is very short and you will wish you had loved all this about your sons. Dig in the dirt, look for bugs and rocks. Be an adventurous mama, right beside them.

Embrace their likes~ Do you know how many rocks and gems I have in my house? And rock books? How about bird books and all types of bird calls and bird noises. And toy cars and tractors? And trains. And tools. Everywhere I have this stuff.  There is an entire book shelf full of rocks and gems from everywhere…and to me most look the same, but nope…they are all different and came from different places. They are even labeled. Do I necessarily want rocks all over my house? No, but I love my boys and I love their passion and their interests. God wired them all different and I love to see them studying things and researching more about God’s Creation. It won’t be long before they are going to have other interests and your house will get back to normal. Things will be boxed up and moved out and you will long for it all over again. Love it, love them, embrace this season and their interests. Let them know things that matter to them matter to you.

Timer for short lessons~ attention spans are short. They need to be moving, touching, creating, conquering. Who has time to sit for an hour math lesson that equals BORING in their book. Make it interesting and short, especially the younger they are. Our homeschooling completely changed when we tried the 15 minute lessons from Charlotte Mason. Keep the lessons short, switch up the type of lessons so different parts of their brain are used.

Dirt~  You read that right, dirt. Boys need to dig and play in the dirt. One of my boys’ favorite things to do outside is to dig and create all kinds of little cities with their toys. We are farmers, so they are always using their little toys to recreate life on the farm…feeding the cows, chopping silage, filling up the silage pits. I love watching their imagination at work and seeing how observant they have been to life around them. Don’t be afraid to let them get dirty. A little dirt and mud never hurt anybody. And the floors and rugs will clean. Try not to be too obsessed with the house and wound their little hearts when they have mud prints all across your newly mopped floor as they are bringing you a fresh flower to say “I love you, mom. “

Gear for the Adventure~ Boys have to have the right gear to be boys, did you know that? 😉  Cowboy hats, toy guns, swords and bows and arrows can make for a rousing adventure!  They love Cowboys and Indians. Then there is Cops and Robbers. Or they could pretend to be Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett with the Coonskin Cap.

I love looking through the J.M. Cremp’s Catalog because they get boys and have what they need to live a life of adventure!  This is one of my favorite places to shop for Christmas and birthdays. They love the catalog too.

Boys need stuff like binoculars, magnifying glasses, a compass, survival tools, shovels, backpacks, radios/walkie talkies…there are so many options to get their imaginations going and their adventures real. It is great to see them acting out history lessons with all their cool gear. Now that they are older, their gear grows and becomes real. Real life skills and safety lessons.

 

Dvds ~ It is important to know your child’s learning style, but many boys do best by touching and seeing. We do not have TV in our home due to the junk it brings. For entertainment, {when we actually watch tv} we just watch dvds of old shows like Leave it to Beaver, Hazel, and Donna Reed, along with old adventurous movies. Men on modern shows are not portrayed in a positive light…rather they are shown to be sissy and stupid and need a woman telling them what to do. No thanks…not the influence I want. Old westerns and shows like Robin Hood, Little House on the Prairie, Lassie, etc… show men to be men.

Educational dvds that my boys have loved are anything farm related or machine related. There is a series about John Deere and life on the farm. Popular Mechanics for kids has taught them a lot, Drive Thru History…we love history in our home and this brings it alive!  Science dvds like Moody Bible Institute are really good to help them learn about God’s Creation. Nest Entertainment has an excellent history and Bible series. What’s in the Bible is a fun way to learn about the Bible.

 

CDs~ There are seasons that we spend a lot of time on the road…running errands and getting parts to fix broken equipment on the farm or help during harvest season. To make our time count and more profitable, we love to listen to CDs. One of my boys’ favorites is Jonathan Park...a Creation adventure that teaches about science, , creation, history and geography, as well as families and trust in God.  This is an excellent resource and you could even expand the cds to your science curriculum to help you as you discuss Creation vs. evolution, where in the world Jonathan Park is traveling and reading what the Bible has to say about what Jonathan is saying.

Jonathan Park Volume 5: The Explorer’s Society, Audio CD

Great Stories Volume 7 on Audio CD

Your Story Hour is another great resource that we love. I grew up listening to these stories on the radio and now my sons do the same. I love the Bible stories, History Series and stories that train their little hearts. This is a wonderful addition to our listening library.

Good Books~ In addition to the audio books mentioned above, boys need good books to read. Books about adventure, books with heroes, books with a heart. Here are some of our favorites:

The Sugar Creek Gang Series, Volumes 1-6

Treasures of the Snow By Patricia St. John

Danger Lies Ahead!: Four Books in One-Adventures In Odyssey Books By Paul McCusker

Heroes of History: Abraham Lincoln, A New Birth of Freedom By Janet & Geoff Benge

 

Playdough ~ Something that kids love and moms can despise…especially if it gets in the carpet. 🙂 It is a great learning tool for so many areas. It gives boys something to do with their hands and they can create all kinds of good things. You can use it for most subjects.  Plus, it is just fun!

 

Legos~ Legos are popular in our house. They were banned for a while…do you know what damage can be done by stepping on one? I ended up on crutches for a couple of weeks with a bad sprained ankle from one of these little things. But, I let them come back in our home…I just am more careful now when walking in the “Lego Zone” and they are older so they are kept neater. 🙂  You can do all sorts of things with Legos and there are even educational programs available. Boys love Legos…building, creating, tearing these apart.  Check out all these ideas here. If you are interested in creating a homeschool Lego group, you can read about that here.

 

Cars and Toy Tractors/Construction Toys~ My boys loved {and still do} playing with all their little vehicles. They especially loved all their farm equipment since we are farmers. Boys can play for hours making roads and cities. They can build things and recreate life on the farm. Step back and watch their imagination in action. I love to watch them and hear their stories.

These can also be used as manipulatives for all kinds of things. When they are little, use them for sorting skills, colors, and to help with basic math facts. When they get older, they can be used for classification and learning about different types of cars. That is more Daddy’s department in our home. The amaze me as we drive down the road and they tell me what kind of motor a vehicle has in it, 4 wheel drive/ 2 wheel drive, off road and more. I just know the color and make. 🙂

 

Nature Notebooks~ Most boys love the outdoors. Not all boys, but most.  A wonderful way to spend time outside and to study God’s creation and science is by keeping a nature notebook.  Let your boys explore the wonderful outdoors and then go on scavenger hunts or have a specific topic for them to look for. Boys love to learn about birds, rocks, bugs, leaves, plants, worms, butterflies, animals, flowers…the list goes on! Enjoy this special time with your son as you share with him about the Creator. You can make your own notebook or get a sketch pad. Collect things you see to study more in depth in the house. Take time to let them sketch what they have seen or write a little about it.

Don’t like bugs and spiders, mom? You are going to need to get over that to enjoy this part of homeschooling with your sons. You are a boy mom!! You are making memories!! You can hate bugs later. 🙂

 

Tools~ My boys always had toy tool benches from the time they could walk. They loved to “build” things and they learned basic safety skills. Now they have graduated to real tools and toolboxes. They love to save up and buy new things to add to their collection. We add to it too on birthdays, Christmas and special occasions. We want our sons to have a complete tool collection and know how to fix things around the house before they leave home. That will save a lot of money when they are living on their own if they know how to fix things around the house and on their vehicles.

They love building things. So far, they have built a patio, with an in-ground fire pit, a fish pond with water fall and picket fence, with a patio, a fence around our garden, tables, paper towel holders. And much more. They love to build…it went from pretend things as little boys to real things that are useful and sweet gifts. This is part of a well rounded education…much better than sitting and playing video games all day. 😉

 

Make Learning Fun ~

That can be done…especially as homeschoolers. Sometimes we get overwhelmed or are in a really tough season and our school is not looking like we want it to. I have been there and have had to opt for textbooks or computer programs. Those are not my first choices but they only lasted for a season. We love and thrive on a Charlotte Mason with a twist of classical thrown in.

One way we are making it fun is with  Little Passports as a supplement. I have been meaning to try this for a long time. I didn’t want the boys to get too old before we tried it. It looks like it will be a fun adventure…you can choose to go around the world or across the country. And don’t kids like getting things in the mail…that is getting to be a rarity these days.

Homeschooling boys is an amazing adventure and one that I am thankful to be able to do with my family. It has not always been the way I planned it or dreamed of it being, but we learn to be flexible and go with the flow. We learn from our experiences and the different seasons in our lives. We are teaching our sons to be men and to be leaders. Embrace this time with your precious boys!!!

 

GIVE YOUR BOYS YOU!! They love you and want to be your little Knight in Shining Armor. In this busy age where everything is available at our fingertips, step away from it all and focus completely on your precious son.

Happy Homeschooling!

You might like the Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas ~ I have several chapters in it and it is packed full of ideas to help you.

Head over to read more Must Haves for Homeschoolers by the writers of iHomeschool Network {click the pic}