Have you ever considered doing unplugged homeschooling but have no idea how to homeschool without internet?
What? In this day and age?
How is homeschooling offline even possible?
Can you homeschool without a computer and internet access?
How do you homeschool if you want your kids to totally unplug (without hearing, “I’m BORED!”)?
What is this, Little House On The Prairie?
I hear you.
And, homeschooling not online is not by choice . . . at least not for us.
I repeat, learning how to homeschooling without internet was not by choice in my house . . . so we had to get creative with homeschooling without being online.
We live in a very remote area and that means that we are not able to get high-speed internet.
In order to get internet at all, we have to have a giant satellite dish in our yard.
It looks lovely.
A great yard decoration.
So, because of this, we are pretty limited to what we can do on the internet and why we need to get creative with our unplugged homeschool.
We learned how to come up with flexible homeschooling ideas.
We can’t download files or images, stream videos, or do any other fun online homeschooling stuff like that.
(We can’t even free online homeschool. It’s all homeschooling offline for us!)
I know . . .
We may as well just be in 1800s.
It feels that way sometimes when we are surrounded by things that other people get to do every day but we can’t.
It doesn’t feel fair and it actually makes me quite angry.
But, we can’t do anything about it.
(And, on the bright side, I never have to prompt my kid to unplug from technology or worry about kids and technology issues that some other parents deal with regularly.)
So . . .
How do I manage to disconnect and have successful offline homeschooling with my son without all the great modern advantages of the internet and the best online homeschooling programs?
It’s pretty simple really–much the same way parents have been homeschooling for decades.
Ready for the secret?
With books and paper.
(And, some other fun stuff.)
Honestly, I wish we were able to use the internet in our homeschooling,
I am always seeing those neat, online homeschooling curriculum and courses, learning games, and free printables that we . . .
. . . sadly can’t use.
I do my best to find engaging books and activities for my son but it can be a bit of a challenge, especially with many kids addicted to technology today and my kid seeing that.
It seems like all the cool things are tech-based.
My kid begs me to let him watch YouTube and play online games for homeschooling, but I have to say no.
He doesn’t really get why he can’t access fun technology online (since it seems as though everyone else in the world can), so I try to find fun things for us to do that will help combat this issue.
Here are a few resources I use to make school time and downtime fun and . . . without the fancy schmancy internet
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How To Homeschool Without Internet
4 Ideas for Unplugged Homeschooling and Fun Offline Homeschooling Programs
How To Homeschool Without Internet Idea #1: Subscription Boxes
If you’ve never heard of them, subscription boxes are a boxes of goodies that are mailed to you at intervals.
Each box (or the subscription) is based around a different them like STEM, art, history, games, nature, and more.
My favorites are the STEM boxes from Green Kid Crafts!
GKC is a fun monthly subscription box for kids in preschool through the tween years that has fun projects made from eco-friendly materials.
You can help your learner expand their mind and creativity with one of their award-winning boxes each month.
My son really loves doing the projects and I really like the company!
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How To Homeschool Without Internet Idea #2: Arts and Crafts
I usually pick up inexpensive stuff from the Dollar Store and let him have fun whenever he wants.
Sometimes we have specific arts or crafts projects to do, but a lot of the time I just let him go to town.
He loves to paint, so he really enjoys making a mess, ahem, I mean a masterpiece with his paints.
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How To Homeschool Without Internet #3: Reading
I read to him every night before bed (and have since he was in diapers), but only in the last few weeks has he decided to crack open a book to read himself.
I couldn’t be happier about it!
The key is to find a book that he is actually interested in, and I think this goes for any kid.
Whatever topic they’re currently into, take advantage of that by finding a book that is on that same topic.
For example, my son is obsessed with Minecraft.
So, for his birthday I got him a series of books all about Minecraft!
I also got this fun activity book that any Minecrafter would love!
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How To Homeschool Without Internet #4: Learning Board Games
I am always searching for fun board games and, if they educate while you play, then even better!
One of our favorite is Ocean Raiders.
It’s a math game that’s great for ages 4 through 8.
You search the seas for the answers to the math questions and move across the board and learn addition facts as you go!
Dive deep into math fun with this great little game!
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So whether you live out in the sticks (as we do) or if you just want to simplify your life or unplug and keep a limit on your kid’s internet access, I hope you have found some new ways to keep the kiddos entertained and how to homeschool without the internet!
Happy homeschooling!
Much love, JessXO
READ MORE BY CONTRIBUTOR JESSE MURPHY
