It is impossible to think of home education and not think of home.  However in this age of ready accessibility to information and instant communication that idea is being stretched to reach outside the little white house on the corner and beyond the classroom walls of the local school as well.  How many of us as (home educating) parents have ever sent our children to formal music lessons outside the home or used CDs, DVDs or online classes?  I suspect many.

Here’s a quick list of just a few of the experiences my own children have enjoyed while learning at home, that were not directly ‘at home’.

Off the top of my head:  sports- how to play soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, swimming, trampoline, gymnastics; performing arts- how to dance (jazz, ballet), singing (solos, duets, with a choir and with a band, leading worship music at church), playing instruments: piano, guitar and bass guitar; computer science camp (at McMaster University), attending tech conferences and youth retreats; art classes; nature study outdoors, traveling, visiting conservation areas, the zoo, art galleries, museums and historic sites/tours etc.

Just for fun I’ll also add to that a brief list of subjects I did not personally teach them and the creative methods they used to learn:  Algebra 1- multimedia CDs with interactive lectures and a digital grade book, Latin- audio CDs with textbook and online helps, French and Spanish- interactive software, General Science and Physical Science- textbooks written to the student with online help available, videos, documentaries and audio books on mp3.  Then of course there’s online research and visiting the local library.

I am sure there are many things I’ve missed, but this is just an assortment of ideas that get us literally thinking outside the box (house).

I came across an interesting article about home education in the Wall Street Journal the other day.  It was a creative look towards the future of Education in America (I would imagine it could just as easily include: Canada, UK, Australia etc.).  In it the writer calls this kind of learning “Roam Schooling“; clever and fitting. If you’re interested in what someone else has to say about this idea you can read the full article on the WSJ website.

I’ll include the link here My Education in Home Schooling.

So roam if you want to…!

How do you build a creative curriculum for your students?  What are you doing that is outside the box?

© Una-Melina // Worthy Books & Things, 2012.