The One When Chesca and I Fixed the Playroom

Since Chesca is going to homeschool Kendra and Scarlet, I helped her again with organizing another special part of their home. This time it’s the playroom which can also be another area for the kids to learn and have fun for their homeschooling program.

I really admire Chesca’s decision to homeschool her kids. While our home is the first school of our children, having a program for structured teaching in it is really something different. I mean, dealing with homework alone is already tough, with all the crying and shouting… how much more having you mommy doing the actual teaching for an extended period, every day. But more than the ABC’s, 123’s, maths and planets, one thing that’s common to us parents, whether homeschooling or not, is the passion to instill values and good morals to our kids. And most of these can actually be done in the playroom. How?

Well, here are few things your children can start learning from the playroom:

Prayer – for the times they feel grateful for what they have, it’s an opportunity to teach them how to pray for the blessings and toys that they receive. Even between actual play times and learning.
Patience – when they want to do or get something, you may opt to have them sit and wait to finish one task before another. And its good to have a special place in an area that they can’t reach easily. Hello, marshmallow test!
Sharing – teach them how to open up and let other kids play with their toys too.
Charity – let them choose the toy that they want to give away and bring them along when you actually donate it.
Courteousness – practice saying please and thank you whenever they want to get something.
Kindness – teach them to be kind to their toys and more importantly to their playmates.
Respect – when with playmates, you can tell your kids that it is important to respect others by listening and cooperating when someone is explaining or talking
Obedience – set rules and boundaries even when it comes to playing. Example: Avoid being rough, turn off the lights/fan/aircon when not in use.
Leadership – when they invite friends over teach your kids to let them explain the rules that you have when it comes to playing with their toys. This way they will also show ownership and for them to teach their friends that there are rules to follow. (Ex: pack away after playing, no opening of new toys etc.) And lastly,
Being Neat and Organized – make sure to have a system in place by providing labeled bins so that your kids will learn how to sort and match in the hope that one day they’ll learn how to properly store things on their own.