By Jen Duncan of Life Beyond the Lesson Plan
As homeschooling families, we all have times where the traditional approach just doesn’t work.
Whether you have a child with a different learning style, have a subject they’re struggling to grasp, or simply want to make learning more fun, it’s often necessary to think outside the box to make those “aha” moments happen.
Over the years, I’ve discovered some creative methods to teach math and language arts that not only worked but turned frustration into excitement.
Here are four unconventional ideas to try with your learners. I’ve tried them with both my son and my co-op students, and found them to work well!
*One note before we get into the activities: every child is different. What worked for my son and students may not work perfectly for yours, and that’s ok! Feel free to take these ideas and make them your own.
Building Grammar with Construction Toys
Teaching grammar to a hands-on learner can be challenging (to say the least). The rules, terms, and abstract concepts can feel overwhelming, especially for students with learning differences like dyslexia.
That’s where Zometools—a construction set similar to K’Nex—came to the rescue for one of my high school students.
During our sessions, we would create sentences and parse them, identifying parts of speech like nouns, verbs, objects, and prepositional phrases.
Then, using Zometools, he built small structures to represent each grammatical element. One structure might represent nouns, while another symbolized linking verbs, and so on. As he constructed the sentence physically, he also internalized the grammar rules.
By combining tactile learning with grammar, this student moved from dreading language arts to confidently dissecting sentences - and improved dramatically in his writing and foreign language homework.
The tangible aspect of grammar made it stick in a way that worksheets never could.
Games aren’t just for younger kids!
Running the House with Math Facts
For some kids, sitting still with a worksheet feels like cruel and unusual torture. My son was one of those kids.
When it came time to memorize math facts, he needed a way to move—and I needed a way to keep him engaged.
His math program came with a set of flashcards (so I knew they were the facts he was working on); I laminated 50 to 100 of them and stuck them around the house with poster tacky.
Armed with a dry-erase marker, he ran from one card to the next, solving problems as he went. He’d complete all the flashcards in under five minutes, thrilled with the race-like challenge.
He even asked me to time him so he could try to beat his time on the next round!
Contrast that with a traditional worksheet, where he’d sit frozen in front of a blank page for 20 minutes, and you’ll see why this method was a game-changer.
Movement and novelty turned a frustrating task into a fun one, and he mastered his math facts in no time.
Spelling with a Kickball
Sometimes, turning learning into a game makes all the difference. Spelling was one of the areas where my son needed a confidence boost, so we grabbed a kickball from his closet and introduced it into our lessons.
It was a simple game. We stood a few feet apart, and I bounced the ball to him while giving him a spelling word. Before he could toss it back, he had to spell the word correctly.
This simple activity added just enough physicality and fun to keep him engaged. He actually asked to do spelling, even on our “off” days!
The best part? The improvement in his spelling was almost immediate. The act of moving his body while thinking seemed to help him connect the letters and words more effectively. It wasn’t just a game; it was a confidence-building exercise.
“Outsmarting” the Math Instructor
Sometimes, the best way to learn something is to teach it—or in my son’s case, to “outsmart” the teacher.
When he started watching math lessons on DVDs, he quickly developed a system: he would watch the lesson once to understand the concept, then rewatch it later to uncover related ideas or patterns the instructor didn’t mention.
One night, he came bursting into my room at midnight, thrilled to show me something he’d discovered: “Mom, come see! I found a pattern he didn’t even talk about!”
His excitement was contagious. Suddenly, math wasn’t just a subject he had to do—it was a puzzle he couldn’t wait to solve.
(And from then on, he worked on showing me during daylight hours. It worked well!)
This approach turned him into an active learner rather than a passive listener. It taught him not just to follow instructions, but to dig deeper and find new questions to answer.
Why Fun-Schooling Works
Every child learns differently, but introducing an element of whatever they consider “fun” is a sure way to grab their attention and help them understand the material.
Each of the methods described above shares a common thread: they meet the child where they are. Instead of forcing a student to fit the teacher’s manual, they adapt the lesson to the learner’s strengths.
Whether it’s hands-on building, active movement, or independent exploration, these approaches make learning engaging, memorable, and most importantly, effective.
If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated because your child wasn’t “getting it,” I promise you’re not alone.
Sometimes the problem isn’t the student or the subject—it’s the method. Trying something “outside the box” might just unlock a whole new world of learning for your child!
Teaching isn’t about perfection; it’s about persistence and creativity. So grab some construction toys, flashcards, or even a kickball, and see where the adventure of learning takes you.
