Begin Your Carschooling Journey

Ok, fine. Carschooling is a word I made up. I think. It's possible that it already existed, but I definitely made it part of our daily schooling, regardless of how it came to be a part of our lives. It works and it's awesome. As a homeschool family that is always on the go and that has a child that is resistant to being taught in the traditional sense, I have found that car rides are one of the best times for education to occur. Whether it is reading sight words at a stoplight, reading books while waiting in the car, or playing games on our drive, it is always a perfect opportunity for us to learn. It seems like drawing and writing are activities that tend to occur organically during car rides.

So what is it?

I would categorize carschooling as a mix between gameschooling and strewing, because I tend to have a container filled with tools, such as notebooks, crayons and markers, flashcards, bingo games, easy reader books, and quizzes, plus a list of games that we play.

These things allow me to come up with learning activities when we are on the go and bored in the car. My son and his friends will playschool, the kids will play car bingo, or my son will write out the grocery list for me. The following are more specific games that his amazing reading tutor suggested for us. You can contact her at www.teachingyourchild.net for in-person or virtual tutoring and coaching. She is wonderful!

Yes/No Word Game: Create a word list of words that your child knows. At the top of this word list card, write the vowels AEIOU. Let your child pick a word card and you ask them, yes and no questions to guess what word he has picked. Does the word begin with the letter ______? Does the word end in a vowel? Does the word have a short _____ sound, like ______? Does the word have a long ______ sound like ________? Hunt the letter or word games: Shoot the Letter: Ask your child to find the letter ______ or the word ________ and have them point and shoot with a pretend bow and arrow. They can hunt the words and letters that he is working on. Rack 'em Up: Give your child a dry erase board and write out a word that they are learning. Have them find the letters in the word on passing signs and have your child cross off each letter that they find. Word Search: Create a word search puzzle from the words that your child can read. Print it out and put on a clipboard. Have them mark the words while driving. Using words from their favorite shows or video games are also fun ways to get them engaged. You can use the site http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp to create your own word search puzzle to print out. Word BINGO: Create a BINGO card with the words that your child can read. You can call out the words and have them mark them off until they get BINGO.

You can find the Printable Game Cards BELOW! Printable Car Games (HG)

This was originally written by Elizabeth Kleibart and posted here https://thehomestead.guru/carschooling-what-it-is-and-tools-to-get-started/

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