Home Responsibilities: Set the table, help load and unload the dishwasher, tear lettuce for salads, clear the dinner table, sweep a floor, vacuum, dust, carry in groceries, water flowers, sweep porches, rake, and feed/water pets.

Physical Exercise: Swimming, running, biking, and maybe a team sport if you have the time. And, of course, lots of time for outside play, with an array of balls, frisbees, hula hoops, and possibly a swing set. - This is a great time to put your child in swim lessons and possibly swim team. We never had much spare time or money and we had lots of children, so I taught my children to swim myself and then put them in swim team as soon as they could swim backstroke and freestyle across the pool. They were motivated to swim well by the coaches and other team members and continued on to swim competitively for years. A real plus—all ages worked out and competed at the same time! Much easier than soccer. 😊

When swimming was not available, a good set of running shoes is an inexpensive alternative or supplement. As a family, we run two or three miles before breakfast six days a week. It’s amazing how strong children become and how much calmer the house is with an early morning workout! We have persisted as runners. Once they turn 13, they start running longer distances. Some of my children have run marathons as early as 13, marathons at 15, and ultras at 16. Just be ready to provide lots of food at meals and to do a lot of laundry!

One last note on team vs individual sports:

I used to spend my evenings and Saturdays running from one soccer or Little League game to another, nursing babies under my coat, eating on the go. I am sorry to say that none of my kids have too many memories of those games. They do have memories of going to swim meets as a family and running races as a family. I have come to the conclusion that individual sports are actually a better method of building discipline and encouraging self-motivation. For those that are drawn to team sports for the social aspect, working out is no longer appealing once they leave the team. However, if a child grows up with an individual workout that is purely self-motivated, they tend to continue working out throughout life, even if they are no longer able to participate in team sports.

Rug Time: Quiet time to look at books.

Art: Exploring with crayons, watercolors, play-do, scissors, and glue (just be sure to lay down a plastic tablecloth or old sheet first to protect your table!)

I started to explore Art History once a week with my children at this point. Some of the books we used included:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art series of Can You Hear It?, Can You See It?, and Can You Find It Outside?

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art series of Museum Shapes, Museum 1 2 3, Museum A B C, and Museum A B C Nesting Blocks

Music: Singing together was a great activity. Most children enjoy simple American folk songs and international chants that are fun to sing together. Some of our family favorites include Hunk-ta Bunk-ta Boo albums by Katharine Dines.

Imaginative Play: Dress up, play kitchen (you can share some of the more durable items from your kitchen), puppets, dolls. This is essential for building imagination.

Educational Building Sets: Legos, K’nex, Zoobs (we personally own this set), Uberstix, Keva building planks, marble runs (Be careful with choosing your marble run! Marble runs are endlessly fun, however, you will want to read all the reviews and make sure that it is possible for your child to have a successful and creative experience; some sets require that they build in only one way to work - this defeats the purpose! You can view here the set we personally own).

Perusing websites and catalogs is essential while home educating. Though you may not purchase anything, ideas for activities and possible alternatives will be inspired. Two of my favorite companies for hands-on toys and building kits are Mindware.com and Timberdoodle.com.