Homeschool Electives:
the Fun Subjects!

Homeschool electives are all of the subjects that are beyond the three R's of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are the subjects that your child wants to study.

Reasons To Teach Electives

There are several reasons that we teach beyond the three R's.

One reason to teach beyond the tree R's is your child's talent. He may be good in music or art.

Another reason is because of a job or ministry that your child wants to have. He might want to program or repair computers, so he would need computer classes. Another child might want to go to South America to be a missionary, so he would need classes in Spanish.

A third reason for homeschool electives is you child wants to go to college. He will probably need higher math, a foreign language, and extra writing courses.

When you are considering what to include in your electives think about what your child is good at. How does he like to learn? Does he like to do hands on activities? Or does your child like to get information from books?

You could even ask what your child would like to learn. He probably has lots of ideas.

Most of the electives can be done at anytime of the day. Most of the electives we did were not done during "school time." Here are some of my ideas.

Homeschool Electives for
Elementary Age Children

When your child is young you will want to provide lots of enrichment activities. Enrichment activities make school fun. By providing lots of different activities it helps you and your child see where his talents and interests lie.

Art projects provide fun activities for young children. Teach them to draw. Let your child use paint. Make play dough. Art projects can help develop fine motor control.

Free Online Art Classes offers information-rich art instruction in painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, as well as many art resources including homeschooling, art tours and travel and artful inspiration.

Your electives should include a music curriculum. Teach your child to appreciate different types of music. Music curriculum can also be a form of physical education when you study dance. Music can also be used to teach history. If you have the money and they are interested provide music instrument lessons for your children.

Teach also life skills. Teach your child how to cook. If you sew or knit or do any other crafts teach your child. Teach your child how to build things.

Teach your child how to take care of animals or plants. If you do not know much about animals get your child involved in 4H.

Another area that your child might be interested in is drama. They might like to write or act in plays. Maybe your child would like to use his art and sewing skills to design sets.

Maybe your child likes to write stories of poems. You can go beyond what your curriculum teaches and include some instruction in fiction writing.

Physical education should also be taught. Teach activities that can be carried over into adult life so that your child can stay fit.

You can teach a foreign language now or wait until later. Many foreign language curriculum are geared for young children.

Homeschool Electives for the Older Child

Continue with what your child is interested in. Teach him what he is talented in. Also expose him to new areas of interest. Let him work with power tools. Teach him how to fix the car.

You might have to find another adult to teach your child what he wants to know. My daughter took Russian from a tutor.

Sometimes your child will need to take a class from his high school. My son took a networking class from the school district.

Look at taking classes at a technical or junior college. Many schools are letting children 16 and older take classes.

You can also look on line to find classes. At one time I needed to know American Sign Language. I found a free class online.

The only problem I have with electives is the cost. In the early years the activities are pretty inexpensive. Latter they can be pricey. Musical instruments cost. Other hobbies can be expensive. If your child is just trying out an activity buy a lower cost item or try to rent one.

Homeschool electives help school to be fun. Electives also provide a way for children who do not do well in school to have an area that they excel in.

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Homeschool Electives
Want to have some fun with homeschooling?
Electives can bring fun to school.

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