My active kid keeps me busy! I bet your little active adventurous kid does too. Need an idea for your active kids? Looking for homeschooling ideas? Here are a few. Ideas for active kids are in the categories below. Click on the links or on the pictures.
Hi, I’m Jen founder of Tadpoles and Mud Puddles. That little dude with me is Aiden. He’s got boundless energy and is intensely curious.
If you’ve got a little energizer bunny too keep reading. We’re here to survive and thrive with active kids. Come play, laugh, and learn with us.
- What to do in the Winter with an Active Kid
Winter can be a really hard time on active kids. There’s less to do. Less light in the day. Too much of a break from routine. So when the weather gets cold and the outside gets less fun, you have to get creative with your active kids. If they’re getting in trouble for bouncing off the walls, just trying to burn off some of that energy. Here are a few of our favorite winter activities. What to do in the Winter with an Active Kid contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Feel free to read more here. Board Games with Active Parts We love games. Although some board games require you to sit down and play, like chess or Monopoly. Others get you up and moving. Games like charades or beat the parents. I highly recommend getting a few that are fun for your family. Some of our favorites are: Beat the Parents We found Beat the Parents at Goodwill. It was a trivia game with a reward (or consequence) offered as an activity at the end. Pitting kids against their parents is always fun. Brick Like This Aiden got this one for Christmas. You have cards and LEGO bricks to build a 2D image. The catch? You don’t know what you’re building. The person holding the card is the only one who sees it and gives you instructions to build. Twister Get up and get twisting. You’ll learn what still bends and how strong your arms are with a few rounds of Twister. Bop It This isn’t a board game, but it’s a fun passing toy that you can play alone or with a friend. Bean Bag Toss Tic Tac Toe CTO Pong (Similar) This ping pong game was grabbed at 5 below. It can be played alone or with someone else. It is a small vehicle that moves around in a circle with baskets on top. The object is to bounce ping pong balls into the baskets. The Amazon one that is similar is more strategic and stationary. Indoor Toys that Promote Movement Inside movement toys are a must for the wintertime. You might like a mini trampoline or a soft version of their favorite sports ball. An obstacle course or sectional sofa that is meant for climbing and jumping. Mini Golf Tic Tac Toe If your kid likes mini-golf, grab this mini-golf tic-tac-toe mat. It can be played with in different ways, like bean bags and velcro balls, too. Trampoline Aiden loves to jump, and a trampoline was a great choice for him. We got a small exercise one meant for adults with a handlebar. He can’t get enough of it. His goal is to bounce hard enough to hit his head on the ceiling. Training ball Aiden got one for Christmas, and he takes it everywhere. It’s a small ball, like a tennis ball, attached to a retractable string. It gives him something when he’s waiting. Great for footwork as a budding soccer player. Sectional couch If you’re tired of your couch’s cushions getting jumped on, you should consider a sectional couch designed for play. Your child can build it how they like and mess with it to their heart’s content—jumping on it as they please without damaging anything. Doorway swing/climbing set If you don’t have a lot of space, a doorway swing or climbing set might be perfect for you. Classes at Community Centers The wintertime is the perfect time to add a couple of extracurricular activities. Check out your local library, community centers, and ymcas. You will find plenty to do. From learning a new language to learning how to use a 3D printer to indoor rock climbing, you’d be surprised at what you can find. We’re doing indoor soccer, rock climbing, gym & swim, and a 3D printing club. And although I don’t love the dark time driving, I do love that my kid is happy and active. Outside Play like Sledding, Hiking, and Animal Tracking Even though it’s cold, you can still spend time outside. I would get yourself a good coat and a pair of snowpants, too. It’s more fun if you’re warm. Go sledding, hiking, or animal tracking. Throw some snowballs and build a fort. Crafts and Science Experiment Kits We like to branch out after Christmas in our homeschool year. This is the perfect time to break out those craft or science kits he got for Christmas and do something hands-on. What to Do When it’s Cold Outside with an Active Kid Although personally I’d love to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book, I know I need to give my son things to do over the winter. We do love our classes, activities, and active toys. What do you do? Let me know what you love to do in the winter months with your active kiddo(s). Pin it: What to do in the Winter with an Active Kid - What Do You Do When Homeschooling Is a Struggle?
Guess what? Homeschooling isn’t always easy. It’s not all wonderful. Sometimes it’s the hardest part of the day. If you are struggling, you are not alone. We all have bad days and sometimes more than one in a row. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do this. It means you’re homeschooling. Homeschooling is a commitment; there’s no question that there are going to be days when it’s hard, but what happens on the days that are hard all the time? Do you quit? Do you pivot? Do you throw the book at your spouse and say, “You do it.”? Here’s what we do. The Days We Struggle With Homeschooling from day one isn’t easy. There are days when I don’t like homeschooling. My plan was always to homeschool. I didn’t think about any other option. And there are days when it’s not what I want to do. We homeschool in the afternoon. I work mornings and only have a small window for “school work”. It either needs to get done or it’s not going to happen that day. If I come home in a bad mood or Aiden is already upset about something, it’s not going to be a good school work day. There’s only so much you can do about that. Bad Days Some days the struggle comes from a bad day. It might be me or it might be Aiden. Sometimes it’s both of us. The way we homeschool on a bad day? We skip it. We always start in July. So we have more than enough time to make it up. It’s not usually hard to talk him out of schoolwork. So there are no complaints when a day gets tacked on to the last part of the year. There are also other options like board game days or going to the library, and letting him use the computer. My plan doesn’t have to happen today. It’s okay to do something else. The school work will be there tomorrow too. Consistent Funk When it’s more than a bad day, and it feels like a week, we pivot. I always get more than one book on what we’re doing. It’s a good time to go to the library for an interest-based unit study. If you’ve never tried a unit study, I’d highly recommend trying it. Pick a topic, grab some books on the topic, and learn from it. You can make you’re own experiments, art projects, reports, or build on another topic. It’s a perfect opportunity to get creative and learn together. An interest-based study is so much more fun than boring old algebra. Now, if you don’t have time to come up with your own unit study idea, I guarantee there’s something out there that covers pretty much any topic. It might even be free. When Homeschooling is a Struggle Whether you have one or ten kids, we all struggle some days. It’s a sign you’re trying. That this isn’t easy, don’t give up. You’re doing something that your kids won’t forget or take for granted one day. I promise it’s worth it. Keep on homeschooling. - Homschooling Alone
Homeschooling is one of those things that you choose to do. It takes sacrifices. It’s not easy. Every time I see this parent at church, I hear him say, “I’d love to homeschool but…” He works full-time. Or he doesn’t have support from his extended family. I feel like the list can go on forever. For those of us who homeschool, I’m sure there are days when we have the same excuses, too. I know I do. “It would be really good for her but…” It’s true. Homeschooled kids excel in a one-on-one or a few-to-one environment. It has something to do with our ability to shape the education to the child and not the other way around. If it’s what you want, you have to make the sacrifice to do it. The testing scores are higher. The future is brighter than ever for homeschool kids. Homeschooling can be tough on any of us, moms. It’s a lot just to parent, and adding the education of your children is a huge responsibility. I deeply hope you all have support, however that looks in your family. Mine has changed a lot. It has something to do with our ability to shape the education to the child and not the other way around. Homeschooling Alone I never thought I’d have to do this alone. I got married the same year I had Aiden. This seemed good at first. But when I said I was going to homeschool, it wasn’t something he thought was a good idea. He’s from a different country. His country only homeschools when there’s something wrong with the kid. Everyone normally goes to school. So I started on my path to homeschool my son myself. In August of 2023, my husband left. We were a month into the school year, and I was a lot more shocked than I thought I would be. We had been fighting a lot. He packed up in secret and left for a weekend at his sister’s house. I went to put some socks away and realized all of his stuff was missing. He was gone, and he didn’t even say goodbye to his son. But we were never on the same page. He was on one page and I was in another book, entirely, especially when it came to homeschooling. Initial Shock After we got over the initial shock, we had to keep going. Homeschooling, soccer, work. None of it was going anywhere. We’ve been doing this for the last two years. I’ve been working full-time since Aiden was 5. And homeschooling from the beginning like that. We do at the most 2 hours of education work a day. And we’re now doing middle school work. My mom is my child care. She homeschooled 4 kids, me and my three brothers. There are days when she helps, and they’ve done a ton before I get home. And there are days when we’re still trying to get school work done at 8 pm at night. There are days when it’s good and days when it’s really hard. If it weren’t for her, homeschooling would probably not work. After all, I need an income. And that means working. Although I’ve looked, I haven’t found a full-time job online yet. So I go to a job I’ve had since college. Fortunately, it’s at a y, so my kid is welcome when Grandma can’t babysit. Changing Your Expectations If you have to work part or full time you won’t have time for everything. Even though I would love to participate in more “homeschool” stuff, it’s not possible. There are lots of classes available and groups that meet in the mornings in our area, but very few options in the afternoon. I work mornings so that stuff is out of reach. We do participate in a homeschool play group. It’s great for him to have friends to just play with. The academic stuff has to come from me, at least for right now. It’s hard to pick your battles. There’s only so much you can do. It might not be your vision of homeschooling, but it works. I promise you’re doing enough. Related Post: Fall Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers Planing Ahead Doing this alone has taught me. I think it’s critical to have a plan. Just because you have a plan doesn’t mean you can’t change things. That’s part of the beauty of homeschooling. When you want to, you can change anything. Every year, I start with a stack of books. Usually two of every subject. Or a core book with outlier books for each subject. What I know about Aiden is that he gets bored easily. If something isn’t interesting to him, it’s going to be a tough sell when it’s time to do schoolwork. Having two options gives me another book when the first one is “too boring”. I also love unit studies. They’re a break from the norm and usually pretty interesting subjects. In elementary school, I focused almost entirely on reading, writing, math, and science. Throwing other subjects in through unit studies, and what I read to him. Now that he’s a little older, I hope to do more with history, civics, geography, health, music, language, and art—that and independent study. I hope that by college age, he can handle learning what he wants, whether it’s in school or on his own. Get your Undated Homeschool Planner Today Extracurriculars “How do you socialize?” It’s the most common question when someone new finds out we homeschool. I’m betting you’ve heard it too. “My answer is we socialize. He’s playing soccer 6 days a week. He has friends he sees almost every week. We spend time outside of the home with other humans: grocery shopping, visiting the library, and church. What do you do?” Homeschool Mom Friends You need friends in your life. It’s much better to do it together. Finding a couple of homeschooling moms that you can do this with. It will make it better for all of you. I love my homeschool mom friends. Whether you’re talking curriculum or having a playdate, having other women who understand what you’re going through will help keep you going. If you don’t know where to look, try a co-op or Facebook group for homeschoolers. There are a lot of us out here. And plenty of homeschoolers are looking for good friends for moms as well as the kids. Homeschooling Alone Did you figure it out? Even if you are doing this without your spouse, you need other people to homeschool. Friends and family can make this much, much better for you and your kids. Look for your community and forget the excuses. You’ve got this, Mamma. Homeschooling Alone Pin It - Z is for Zoom
Ever since 2020, online options have become huge. There are classes on anything. You can find a ton of great Zoom classes and interact. Field trips, science experiments, museums, and virtual tours, the list goes on. By the way, this post is part of a new series in 2023 and 2025. Click below to see more of the series. Feel free to add your favorite Z activities, crafts, and ideas you use for your letter Z learning in the comments. Z is for Zoom contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Feel free to read more here. Letter Z As your kids get older, there may be things you don’t want to or can’t teach on your own. Aiden loves physics. And although I am also interested, my skill set will only take us so far. So to help him learn, we will eventually take classes, preferably on Zoom. I like the interactive nature of it. It allows you to ask questions in real-time. It also allows him to move about and wiggle to his heart’s content. Which he wouldn’t be allowed to do in the classroom. The letter Z is the twenty-sixth letter of the alphabet. Aiden picks zoo, zipper, and zip when he’s asked for a Z words. A z sounds like zua. Activities and ideas: Words that start with Z Vocabulary words are a great place to start with your new reader. Open up the dictionary and look for some good Z words. Learning a few easy words, such as spelling words or just sight words will aid in the reading process. It’s much easier to read if you know what you’re reading. Here are a few of our favorites: Free Alphabet Worksheets Grab our free writing and coloring pages. Practice writing lower and upper case letters Z. Color and display your letter Z word Zebra Swallowtail. Click below to download. As a homeschooling mom, I know one of the homeschool essentials is a good-quality printer with cheap ink. Make sure you look at the cost of the ink before you buy. The printer price isn’t the price to worry about. We have an old one we bought about 10 years ago. Totally worth it. It doesn’t even have to have both print cartridges to print. Alphabet Letter Z Whether you’re teaching reading, spelling, or vocabulary, the letter Z is a great place to start. What are your favorite Z activities? Want some more alphabet work? Get this workbook with worksheets, activities, games, and sight words. Click below for more details. Z is for Zoom Pin it - Y is for You Teach
One of the benefits of a classroom is the opportunity to present a project. When you teach something, you learn it on both sides of the brain. Give your child the opportunity to teach you or make a YouTube video and teach others. Use YouTube as a teaching tool. Pick any subject, and there are tons of videos to check out. Aiden loves videos on physics. It’s a great way to introduce a new topic and teach something you might know well yourself. *Always be with your kids. There’s great stuff out there, but there are also creepy and weird people who target even YouTube kids. Keep your kids safe. Keep your eyes on what they’re watching. And try to steer clear of the bad stuff. By the way, this post is part of a new series from 2023 through 2025. Click below to see more of the series. Feel free to add your favorite Y activities, crafts, and ideas you use for your letter Y learning in the comments. Y is for You Teach contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Feel free to read more here. Letter Y Like any great homeschool, we follow our interests. When Aiden gets excited about something, I let him learn about it until neither of us wants to talk about it anymore. One of the things about learning new things it stays with you if you teach it. When you teach, you are using the opposite side of your brain too. Now you have neural pathways for both. Now it’s a whole lot harder to forget it. So when your kids find something super interesting, let them teach you. Listen and learn. You never know; they may have found their career path, and neither of you knows it yet. The letter Y is the twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet. Aiden picks you, yeet, and yes, when he’s asked for a Y words. A y sounds like whu. Activities and ideas: Words that start with Y Vocabulary words are a great place to start with your new reader. Open up the dictionary and look for some good Y words. Learning a few easy words, such as spelling words or just sight words will aid in the reading process. It’s much easier to read if you know what you’re reading. Here are a few of our favorites: Free Alphabet Worksheets Grab our free writing and coloring pages. Practice writing lower and upper case letters Y. Color and display your letter Y word Yellow Jacket. Click below to download. As a homeschooling mom, I know one of the homeschool essentials is a good-quality printer with cheap ink. Make sure you look at the cost of the ink before you buy. The printer price isn’t the price to worry about. We have an old one we bought about 10 years ago. Totally worth it. It doesn’t even have to have both print cartridges to print. Alphabet Letter Y Whether you’re teaching reading, spelling, or vocabulary, the letter Y is a great place to start. What are your favorite Y activities? Want some more alphabet work? Get this workbook with worksheets, activities, games, and sight words. Click below for more details. Y is for You Teach Pin it - X is for Excellence
Building excellence is everything. Your child is good at something. Develop it. Building on their strengths is one of the easiest ways to build confidence. It also gives you a schoolwork “reward” for subjects that aren’t as fun. By the way, this post is part of a new series in 2023 through 2025. Click below to see more of the series. Feel free to add your favorite X activities, crafts, and ideas you use for your letter X learning in the comments. X is for Excellence contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Feel free to read more here. Letter X Building excellence is a task. It’s hard to strive to be the best when mediocre will do most of the time. It’s hard to teach putting all-out effort into things when it’s clear hard work is rarely rewarded. I teach Aiden to practice what he wants to know. For him it’s soccer. He plays 6 days a week. He plays hard. His footwork improved over the winter when his outside options were limited. He kicked the ball around inside. His passing improved with pickup games. He absolutely loves it and is good at it. I expect great things from my little soccer player. The letter X is the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet. Aiden picks x-ray, fox, and box when he’s asked for a X words. A x sounds like isk. Activities and ideas: Words that start with X Vocabulary words are a great place to start with your new reader. Open up the dictionary and look for some good X words. Learning a few easy words, such as spelling words or just sight words will aid in the reading process. It’s much easier to read if you know what you’re reading. Here are a few of our favorites: Free Alphabet Worksheets Grab our free writing and coloring pages. Practice writing lower and upper case letters X. Color and display your letter x word Xysticus Spider. Click below to download. As a homeschooling mom, I know one of the homeschool essentials is a good-quality printer with cheap ink. Make sure you look at the cost of the ink before you buy. The printer price isn’t the price to worry about. We have an old one we bought about 10 years ago. Totally worth it. It doesn’t even have to have both print cartilages to print. Alphabet Letter X Whether you’re teaching reading, spelling, or vocabulary the letter X is a great place to start. What are your favorite X activities? Want some more alphabet work? Get this workbook with worksheets, activities, games, and sight words. Click below for more details. X is for Excellence Pin it
Active Kids:
When you need something to do either inside, outside, or something to get the energy out check out our activities tab. You may want to pack some snacks.
If you need a kid-friendly or mommy-sane recipe, exercise ideas or a little encouragement from a fellow mom check out the healthy living articles here.
From a homeschooler who is homeschooling check out some preschool ideas, STEM projects for young kids, and free printables in the homeschooling section.
A millennia mom’s perspective from a house with three generations, multiple cultures, and issues with limited mobility in a grandparent and overactive toddler. Family time is a little complicated.
Traveling as a couple has its challenges but there’s nothing quite like being stuck in a car for 12 hours with a crabby kid. Check out travel for ideas with your little one: places to go and free lists to help make packing a little easier.
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