How Technology Has Changed Our Homeschool ~
Written by Jessica Waldock of The Waldock Way
A willingness to incorporate technology into our homeschool has changed everything – screen time doesn’t have to be negative.
Instead, it can be a tool for increasing retention, bringing lessons to life, and squeezing in learning on busy days.
Technology has certainly changed a lot about how we do things. From learning lunches, to interest-led unit studies, and watching documentaries together as a family, we have learned how to make screens work for us.
I believe that incorporating technology into homeschool lessons is an excellent way to keep young learners excited about learning with a teaching style that is visual, auditory, and engaging at the same time.
Keep reading to discover how we have created a homeschool filled with educational resources that incorporate all the best aspects of technology for early learners.
Screen Time Doesn’t Have To Be Negative
Sometimes screens get a bad rap in the homeschool world. While there can be challenges to incorporating screens in your homeschool lesson plans, there are some awesome benefits too.
Tablets, smart watches, YouTube, and live online classes are just a few of the fun ways you can incorporate tech into your homeschool. Adding technology to our homeschool lessons has added a lot of value to our experiences.
For starters, young learners seem to retain more of the information they learn from videos and apps than they would from listening to a lecture. It’s one of my favorite aspects of adding technology to preschool and early elementary lessons.
Technology In Our Homeschool
We regularly incorporate technology into our homeschool lesson plans in many ways! Each of our interest-led unit studies incorporates video playlists and documentaries as well as learning resources online.
Here are some of our favorite ways to use tech in our homeschool:
We use a tablet for reading and learning on the go. This tool has been an important part of our homeschool experience. There are so many great educational apps she can practice math, grammar, spelling, writing, foreign language, and more independently.
They’re perfect for squeezing in homeschool lessons or extra learning while we run errands and when we travel. She can use her tablet to watch an educational video or YouTube playlist too. It’s easy to stream documentaries from some of our favorite places like the Smithsonian or Curiosity Stream.
There are many fabulous online curriculum options for homeschoolers to enjoy with technology in the mix. For example, we love Teaching Textbooks. It’s a computer-based math program for kids from elementary school through high school.
We love watching documentaries as a part of our homeschool learning experience too. Documentaries are great for low-pressure learning days after a long weekend or when we aren’t feeling well. We also enjoy watching them together.
Documentaries are easy for Emily to watch on her tablet too. I let her stream a documentary or learning video with lunch. I can get a much-needed break or take care of tasks I need to do independently while she learns.
How Technology Has Changed Our Homeschool
Adding YouTube playlists to our interest-led unit studies makes it possible to follow Emily’s passions and respond to her natural curiosity with up-to-date information. Incorporating online classes, social groups like LEGO clubs, and online curriculum options has been a game-changer for our homeschool experience too.
Online lessons have helped Emily master new information, build friendships, and learn about interesting topics from many amazing teachers. Social clubs and book clubs online give her opportunities to interact with other kids her age even when we can’t get out of the house for a meet-up.
Adding learning apps and games to our homeschool has helped make gameschooling a really fun part of our homeschool learning experience too. They’re perfect for helping her get extra practice with challenging concepts.
I’ve put together a guide to help you get started adding technology to your homeschool lesson plans. It’s filled with all my favorite ways to add learning with screens and other tech options. Get my Guide to Using Technology in Your Homeschool to begin seamlessly incorporating screens into your learning!
If you’ve been afraid to add technology to your homeschool lesson plans this year, I want to encourage you to give it a go. There are so many awesome benefits to discover!
How do you use tech in your homeschool? We’d love to hear!
What’s Your Child’s Learning Style? Take Jamie’s new quiz now and set yourself up for homeschooling success by understanding the way they learn best!