I am thrilled to share with you this guest post from Zara Lewis!

We’ve all been there: our kid comes to us, pulls us by the sleeve and looks us with the saddest puppy eyes saying – Mom, I’m bored. This triggers an inner parent alarm and urges the most of us to start entertaining our little ones: from coming up with different games and activities to literally amusing them with making faces or participating in playtime. The St. Louis Dad blog has some great ideas of things you can do with your kids but this should be a last resort after first giving them the opportunity to figure out what to do themselves. You risk raising spoiled kids that are used to instant gratification if you cater to these requests, and you are robbing them of the incredible benefits of boredom.

Understand the positive sides of boredom

Boredom is one of the rare states that make us fully focus on ourselves. Studies have shown it can also boost our creativity – a key skill for problem-solving in the future life of your child. Having unstructured time is essential for children’s healthy development. It helps them strengthen their creative thinking skills, nurture their imagination, and gain a better understanding of their place in the world, as well as the relationships they have with others. Doing nothing is beneficial as it ensures all the needed conditions for your child to explore his passions: with no particular activity your child needs to focus on, their mind is free to wander around, your child can daydream, experience creative breakthroughs, or ask new, unusual questions. With numerous tech gadgets, kids are used to intensive screen time but boredom ensures the quiet time that’s far more important. It can support a healthy inner dialogue and help your child listen to his body and thoughts – a skill a worrying number of today’s adults lack.

Provide the needed tools but don’t be a clown on duty

There is a fine line between deciding not to amuse your child and completely ignoring them when it comes to you for help during the unstimulating times of boredom. Make sure to balance the two out: sometimes, your child needs just a bit of inspiration. You can engage in the first couple of minutes of playtime (e.g. building blocks, coloring, or playing play-pretend) but it is important to empower your children to entertain themselves on their own. To kill two birds with one stone, try introducing your kid to some kind of sport. Not only will they find a way to have fun without you interfering but they will also enjoy other benefits: building muscle strength and stamina, preventing obesity, perfecting cardiovascular fitness, and preserving mental balance. Install a couple of soccer goals in the backyard and encourage your child to practice their shots. Most children love imagining the crowd cheering or they dream about becoming the next world sports star. Even if there are no other kids around – your little rascal will cultivate their imagination while getting some great physical activity.

Support healthy hobbies and beware of chronic boredom

Of course, not all types of boredom are beneficial. If you notice excessive boredom in your child’s behavior, it might indicate a lack of clear direction or even demonstrate mild symptoms of depression. Being uninterested in anything is a positive sign your child does need additional attention and support so he can find something that moves them and brings them joy. Boredom that is not an occasional visitor needs to be addressed. If your child shows signs of lethargy, devote some time in order to help them develop a hobby or two. Reading is always advisable since it helps with cognitive development, as well as with understanding social cues better – which triggers the growth of interpersonal and social skills. Playing music is also a great hobby: if your child enjoys listening to music or has a great sense of rhythm – buy them a guitar and encourage them to develop the love towards this art. Don’t be too pushy, though. The science of relationships is one of the pivots of the Charlotte Mason Philosophy: enable your children to learn various things and build their preferences – let them be! They will gradually discover new parts of their identities and become who they need to become.

A child is like a little sponge that soaks everything in. A parent’s job is to ensure the optimal and positive surroundings for their growth, provide support, and arm them with love. Boredom is a natural state that can lead to beautiful results and broaden your child’s perspective: it enables your child to truly learn – not just from books but by contemplating, observing, or trying out different things.

Zara Lewis (Twitter: @ZaraELewis) is a mom, fitness & yoga enthusiast and a regular writer for High Style Life. She is devoted to implementing healthy life habits in every aspect of life of her

family and friends. She loves to share her parenting tips and is always open to learning some new skills, because she sees her parenthood as going to school forever. She enjoys traveling, hiking, cycling and baking.”

The first thing everyone asks when meeting Miss H for the first time is, “Are you in preschool?” I know it’s a common question for people trying to connect with someone that they have very little to relate to. That question doesn’t bother me. When H responds that we do preschool at home, sometimes the reactions get to me. One man said rudely, “Sucks to be you!” One thousand moms have asked, “Aren’t you worried that she’ll be behind socially?” No. Not at all.

Now, as we’ve fully embarked on our preschool at home journey, I’m getting more confident. I can give a brief answer, with my head held high, that won’t leave me second-guessing my choice. And while I don’t need to defend the choices that my husband and I have made for our children’s education, I feel proud of the good work we’re doing at home. These are the reasons why we chose to have preschool at home- and love it!

Related: The Complete Charlotte Mason Preschool Guide

Updated July 2019. 

I Can Witness Learning

When Miss H was about 19 months old, my mom got her a beautiful wooden cradle for her dolls for Christmas. We hadn’t played too much baby doll make-believe yet, but she loved holding them and took her little LaLa with her everywhere. On Christmas morning, when we pulled back the blanket that covered the cradle, she started rocking it and singing, “Baby ni-night!” She ran to grab her dolly and a blanket. We were shocked that she knew just what to do with her gift. How did she know to sing her baby to sleep before tucking her gently into bed?

When my mom asked me where she had learned this, I smiled, kind of sadly, because I knew. She had learned these things at daycare. I worked full-time until Miss H was over two years old. Even though I knew I missed some special moments when she wasn’t with me, missing out on learning made me the saddest.

I wanted to be there the moment something clicked. Getting to watch her construct learning on her own, or see her eyes light up when she successfully completed a task.

When I finally got to stay home with her, these moments that I had previously missed were made even more precious. The thought of sending her away to let someone else facilitate her learning depressed me. Now, I love seeing her face light up when she hears a word that she just learned, or watch the concentration on her face as she tries to figure out if a number is more or less. Witnessing her learning is one of my favorite things about preschool at home.

We Save Money

As much as I don’t want this to be an important factor, it is. In our area, preschool is about $300 a month. Peanuts for some. For us? That made the difference in whether or not I could stay home with my children. I also like to think that the money we’re saving on preschool somehow counts as compensation for my Master’s degree. That one is a biiiiig stretch 🙂

I Can Use the Philosophy I Want To

This one was also one of the biggest motivating factors for me. There are no Charlotte Mason preschools near us (probably because her ideal was very hands-off for little ones!) Even though preschool is seen as fun and social, I was afraid that sending her to a program would introduce ideas of competition and shame. Those are so hard to erase. Giving her inspirational ideas to ponder is more important to me than introducing her to alphabet flashcards. I didn’t want her to be bombarded with worksheets and pressure to perform. Children should enjoy these young, carefree days!

Related: Why Your Child Won’t Be Behind if You Delay Academics

Working on Habits

According to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, habit development is one of the most important things to work on in the early years. Being with my children all day gives me plenty of time to work on habits. And a solemn thought: when they develop a bad habit, I know that it’s MY fault. I have somehow slipped and let something go. This means that I have the responsibility and ability to help them replace it with a better one. If they had gone to preschool, trying to replace a bad habit that wasn’t addressed at school would be counterproductive.

We Get to Set Our Own Schedule

Our schedule these days mostly revolve around little ones’ sleep needs. One of my children enjoys sleeping in, sometimes until 9:00! Not having to worry about preschool pick up and drop up is a huge blessing. I don’t have to wake up children to get them in the car. We started out the year getting dressed every morning, but now that it’s getting chillier, we stay cozied up in pajamas. Snuggling up next to those sweet little ones in the morning, wearing pajamas and reading a book is the best start to any day!

What I love most, though, is how much my kids love it. And, a love for learning is one of the most precious gifts I can give to my children.

We’ve been doing our play-based preschool for about 4 months now, and I am amazed by all the learning going on at our house! I think a part of me was skeptical that Miss H would learn so much through reading living books and playing, but she really has. Learning the alphabet through play has really worked for her, but now it’s time to mix it up a little. Even though Charlotte Mason said that young children learn through simply being outside, I wanted to find ways to learn the alphabet in the great outdoors.  These ideas integrate nature study and learning the alphabet. 

Learn and Practice the Alphabet Outside

Cold Weather

Snow Writing

If  you have snow sometime this winter, make snow paint and have your child write a few letters of the alphabet.  You can also buy a Sno-Art Kit if you don’t want to mess with making your own paints!

Frosty Window Writing

Write letters on a frosted or steamy window. Then you can teach your child responsibility by having them clean off their fingerprints 🙂 

Warm Weather

Sand Table Letters

If you have a sand table, sandbox, or access to some good ole’ dirt, put a small amount on a flat surface, and have your child write letters in the sand.  This is actually one of Charlotte Mason’s suggestions for having children learn the alphabet through play!

You could also make your own Kinetic sand, and stamp letters into it.

Painting with Water

Miss H loves doing this in the summer! Get a tub of water and a paint brush, and have your child paint some letters. Of course, they’ll have fun painting other things, too. This also allows children to explore evaporation because it will disappear quickly (at least in our dry climate!) 

Body Shapes

On a warm day, have your child lie on grass and try to make letters with his or her body. Some shapes will be nearly impossible, but some will work! If you have two or more children, making letters together is a great way to have them practice teamwork!

Tactile Nature Letters from Living Montessori 

This site has printable letters that your child can cover with small things that start with that letter. For example, for the letter ‘P’, your child could cover the letter with small pebbles. To be honest, we don’t do much that involves having to print resources, so I’ll have Miss H make the letters without the template underneath. Maybe I’ll draw them on the ground with sidewalk chalk, “paint” the letter with water, etc.

Any Weather

Stick Alphabet

1. Miss H and I gathered sticks outside, and then soaked them in the sink for a bit
2. We used twine to tie the sticks together. Cut about 8 inches of twine, and start wrapping around the sticks, leaving about an inch and a half at the back of the stick.
3. When you’ve wrapped up the sticks and have about an inch of twine left, tie the pieces together in the back.

This isn’t a super quick process, but making a letter or two at a time is really fun!

Nature Letters

Look for the shapes of letters in nature. We often notice the ‘V’ shape that geese make as they fly south for the winter, or the ‘T’ that crossed branches make. You can look for letters on man-made objects as well, like the peaks of a fence making the letter ‘M’. We found a stick that made a perfect ‘Y’ on our last nature walk. For an extension, have your child take photos of the shape.

This activity is similar to Charlotte Mason’s suggestion that children should search for shapes in nature to learn geometry.

Scavenger Hunt

Take a nature walk, and search for things that begin with a certain letter of the alphabet. One day, take an ‘A’ walk, and look for apples, ants, etc. On another day, search for things that start with ‘B.” Note: While it’s tempting to look for the whole alphabet in one walk, it will be more beneficial for a young child to do one letter at a time.

You can read more about nature walks here. 

Sky Writing

Have your child write the alphabet in the air with their finger. At night, try to connect the stars into letters. You could also do this during the day with clouds. 

Letter Search Pile

Put together a pile of leaves, grass blades, sticks, etc. Just throw it all together! Search for letters in the pile with your child. If you can’t find any, just toss the pile around a little! Some letters will be easier to find than others, like C, L, V, A, H, and X.

Make sure to follow me on Pinterest for more Charlotte Mason inspired learning ideas!