Schooling in the Car!

I am a huge fan of "carschooling." It saves me time, makes me use my time wisely and teaches my kids that every moment is a moment that they can use to learn...and you can have fun doing so!

I especially enjoy the tapes/CD's that involve singing when learning facts.....the order of presidents, the solar system order, skip counting, measurements, states and capitals, etc., etc., etc.!

I got all of my education tapes/CD's used from Vegsource for next to nothing. I would highly suggest posting a "wanted to buy" ad on that site and see what you can get. I get the majority of my curriculum/educational games/tapes and CD's on that site.

Our family's favorite learning tape are the Singin' Smart tapes! Even my 4 year old is learning the order of the planets and presidents and even the new countries of the Old Soviet Union! It's been great...those are a favorite. Check out the site for Sing 'n Learn. Get your "wish list" from there and then post for used tapes/CD's on vegsource....you'll save tons of $ by doing that!

You can also make your own tapes with a blank cassette and tape recorder. We just made a skip counting one and the kids love to play it in their Fisher Price tape player and "count" along with themselves on the tape. We did measurements and other things we just had to memorize that way too!

Also, I keep a lot of educational things in my car for when we're not using tapes/CD's! I have a box of pipe cleaners that fits under the seat of the van. They can entertain themselves by making shapes and designs. It's great for mastering spatial concepts and the pieces can't get lost to easily! I also have another large flat Rubbermaid-type box that fits under one of the van seats. It contains educational books on subjects we are studying, a clock for learning time, flashcards, math manipulatives (these you can get at Wal-Mart), Leap Frog and other educational games, etc. Anything that can be used for learning and DOESN'T have small pieces can go into that box. I change out the contents now and then so that the "car box" remains intriguing.

Just thought that some of these ideas might be useful to someone else in our homeschooling adventures!

Lisa Metzger